Eye strain — also called “tired eyes” or eye fatigue — is believed to be a problem for more people today than ever before. Why is this? With more time spent staring into electronically-lit screens everyday (such as phones or computers) along with less simply resting the eyes, most of us are experiencing eye strain.
Researchers found that eye strain was ultimately influenced by factors including “artificial or insufficient lighting, prolonged watching of visual displays, poor diet, eye muscle inefficiency due to prolonged hours of office work and academic studies, psychosocial and emotional tension, and aging.” What are some of the ways you can find relief from symptoms like dryness, irritation, redness and decreased visual acuity? These include taking breaks from screen time and practicing eye exercises. It is also important to take care of your eyes as you age by managing stress and eating a nutrient-dense diet.
What is Eye Strain?
Eye strain affects the muscles and nerves of the eyes. It is also called asthenopia. With eye strain, the tiny muscles and nerves of the eyes become overworked, stressed and fatigued. Unlike many other eye disorders, eye strain can develop in people with no medical or genetic history of eye problems. It can also occur at a young age. For most people, symptoms include headaches, trouble focusing, pain in and around the eyes, and even irritability.
Did not know your eyes could actually become “tired”? Focusing light in order to make out images, read text and follow moving objects in your visual field takes a great deal of work. All day long a wide variety of visual information is perceived through the eyes. Our eyes are sensitive to things like too much light exposure, lack of sleep, nutrient deficiencies, muscular tension and environmental pollutants.
The following symptoms may be a sign you have developed eye strain:
- Burning sensations in the eyes.
- Feeling heaviness in the forehead and surrounding the eye sockets.
- Developing headaches behind the eyes, in between the eyes (on the center of the forehead) or on the sides of the eyes. Ocular Migraines tend to cause less severe pain than aura migraines. But they do cause temporary visual disturbances that can affect one or both eyes.
Risk factors for ocular migraines are similar are to those for eye strain.
- Redness in the eyes and signs of irritation or inflammation, such as eye dryness or glassiness.
- Pain around the eyes that tends to get worse as the day goes on, but usually disappears with rest.
- Decreased symptoms on days when you are not spending lots of time reading, on the computer or doing work involving focusing.
- Difficulty concentrating due to tension, or experiencing brain fog.
- In severe cases, poor visual acuity, blurred vision or double vision can occur.
Eye Strain Causes and Risk Factors
Intense eye use, including lots of focusing or exposure to bright lights causes eye fatigue (or strain, heaviness or tiredness). Some behaviors and situations that put a good deal of strain on the eyes include: reading (especially small text when in dim light, or making out small text that is far away), writing, driving, texting on your phone, typing on a computer, watching television, playing video games, or directly looking into the sun.
Risk factors for developing eye strain commonly include:
- Many hours spent on electronic, artificially-lit screens. This includes using personal computers at work or at home, along with phones, tablets, or televisions. A high percentage of the light coming off of these devices is “blue light.” This light has been linked to problems like pain in the eyes, headaches and trouble sleeping when used close to bedtime. It is now estimated that “computer-related eye symptoms” may be responsible for up to 10 million eye doctor visits a year in the U.S alone!
- Spending a lot of time playing video games, either on the computer or a TV. This is a growing cause of eye strain among children and teens.
- Constantly staring at spaces or objects that are very near to our eyes, rather than those that are further away in the distance. Focusing on close distances, such as when reading small text on a device only a foot or so in front of our face, requires a lot of eye involvement. Our eyes prefer gazing far off into the environment for more hours of the day, rather than focusing on objects that are small and placed too near to the eyes.
- Having a vision problem or an eye disorder that already strains the eyes. For example, wearing contact glasses or glasses or nearsightedness and farsightedness or having an astigmatism. This is a bigger risk factor if the condition is not being treated properly, leading to things like frequent squinting.
- Spending lots of time in the sun without wearing sunglasses or a hat.
- Being very fatigued, run down or chronically stressed.
Conventional Treatments for Eye Strain
If you choose to visit an eye doctor regarding your painful eye strain symptoms they will likely start by evaluating you to find the underlying cause of your pain. Certain underlying vision problems, such as refractive error or untreated nearsightedness, can contribute to symptoms and should be treated. Your eye-care professional will help correct your vision and reduce squinting using methods like glasses or contact lenses. Keep up with regular eye exams at least once every other year (or yearly if you require a prescription), especially as you age. Talk to your doctor about changes in vision or strong symptoms such as migraines.
Some of the methods doctors typically use to treat eye strain symptoms include:
- Encouraging you to take breaks from electronic devices and reading.
- If necessary having you change your home environment, lifestyle and work habits to give your eyes a break.
- If you have dryness in your eyes or trouble with blinking your doctor might recommend also using artificial tears. These can rewet the eyes, but usually will not solve the underlying problem. Look for types without preservatives and try to only use them when totally necessary, not more than 3-4 times daily.
Your doctor may recommend natural treatments. These could include: a yoga program, breathing, joint exercises, visual cleansing exercises, and relaxation in order to reduce tension surrounding the eyes and head.
Your health is our concern!
Mawuena Workartey/ ghanahospitals.org
