Computer work can cause tired eyes. You might notice puffiness, redness, or a feeling of tiredness, heat or pain, suggesting inflammation. But I’m not going to go into all the medical info on tired eyes and computer work. That isn’t what this article is about.
So one thing you have already established: Your eyes get tired after a long session of computer work. And you want to know why, and who you can prevent it so you can work for longer and without the horrible feeling of computer eyestrain.
Computer eye strain is a symptom of a more general issue. The issue is probably not nutrition, and it doesn’t primarily have to do with close work. The fact that some people can do computer work for extended periods of time without eye fatigue proves that it isn’t the activity itself that causes your tired eyes, but how you do it. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could learn how to work or read without getting tired eyes?
Your eye doctor most likely won’t tell you about this, but it is not a mystery. The solution to this is already known by people seeking the truth. If you misuse your eyes, they will exhibit symptoms of being abused or strained beyond their limits. It isn’t because you’re over-using your eyes; it’s because you’re pushing them to work in a way that is unnatural. The volume of the work is not the problem.
Sometimes eye doctors will prescribe “reading-distance” or “computer” glasses for myopic (nearsighted) patients, which are glasses that still correct for myopia but to a lesser degree, because at any distance less than 20ft the eyes do not need “full” correction. Some people find this is a bit of a relief. However, it is not the solution.
Taking breaks may help because you stop continuously straining your eyes for such a long period, but again, it isn’t the solution. The solution would be to not strain your eyes at all! Why can’t you do it when your co-worker seems to have no problem?
Switching out your old CRT monitor for a flat panel may help. Nowadays you might already have a flat panel (LCD) monitor. But you have probably already fiddled with the brightness settings and gotten things as comfortable as possible.
All these supposed solutions address side issues that may contribute to the problem but don’t address the real problem.
The methods promoted on this website help you to learn to use your eyes without undue effort or strain. If you have tired eyes from computer work, you almost certainly have other issues with your vision as well, whether it’s a form of blurry vision or another visual disorder that troubles you when your eyes get tired. That’s no coincidence. Your visual system is quite sensitive to your thoughts and the subtle ways you direct it to function. The eyes are sensitive organs that move many times per second and do a heap of work. Seeing requires a lot of energy, the system has to do a lot of things right for it to work at all, much less focus perfectly and not cause dysfunction or disturbances.
Interested? Read a more complete introduction to the method here.
And worth mentioning, although it isn’t part of the Bates method, the Lemon Juice Eye Bath might provide some relief.
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I founded iblindness.org in 2002 as I began reading books on the Bates Method and became interested in vision improvement. I believe that everyone who is motivated can identify the roots of their vision problems and apply behavioral changes to solve them.