Tired eyes from staring at screens all day? Doctor shares 5 eye yoga exercises to ease the strain on vision

Give your eyes much-deserved breaks throughout the day that help reduce strain, improve focus, and refresh tired vision.

Scrolling, swiping, and streaming take up the lion's share of our daily routine, overburdening the eyes with digital fatigue. With so much time spent glued to screens, the repercussions often show up as eye strain, dryness, and blurred vision. That’s why taking care of your eyes has become the need of the hour. Amid a screen-crammed routine; hopping from work laptops in the morning to phones and TV at night, squeezing in a few minutes of gentle eye yoga may give your eyes a break in between.

Dr Digvijay Singh, MBBS (AIIMS), MD (AIIMS), at FAICO, shared with HT Lifestyle the crucial significance of regular eye yoga, especially relevant in today’s screen-dominated age. He explained, “Eye Yoga is specific to the eyes, while regular yoga is aimed at physical and mental strength and flexibility. Eye Yoga includes eye exercises which help improve eye muscle tone, reduce eye fatigue and enhance focus, apart from improving dry eyes.”

Dr Digvijay Singh shared 5 eye yoga exercises, along with how to do them and potential benefits:

1. Zooming

• How to do: This entails looking at a point or an object in the distance and then suddenly shifting the focus to an object or point near.
• Benefits: Alternating this many times can enhance the ability of the eye to shift focus from one point to another, thereby improving presbyopia and convergence.
• Who is it useful for: This is particularly useful for people who have a lot of screen time.

2. Pencil pushups

Those who are on phone for long periods can do pencil pushup to ease the strain. (Pexels)

• How to do: This exercise involves holding a pen or pencil at an arm’s length and then bringing it closer towards the nose while continuously maintaining focus on the tip of the pencil. It is done slowly and repeated multiple times.
• Benefits: This helps in strengthening the ability of both eyes to converge and focus nearby.
• Who is it useful for: It is useful for people with a lot of work or who have high screen time.

3. Constant focusing

• How to do: This entails looking at a fine object or point or a candle flame at a far distance for a continuous period of time without blinking. It often ends with eyes getting a little teary.
• Benefits: This enhances focus and the ability of the eye muscles to hold a gaze.

4. Eye rotation and 9 gaze movements

• How to do: The eyes are first slowly and then more rapidly moved from the primary central gaze to 8 peripheral gazes of vision i.e. left, right, u, down, up and left, up and right, down and left and finally down and right each time returning to the straight ahead gaze before moving to another direction.
• Benefits: This exercise is done to improve the overall strength and function of the extraocular muscles, which are responsible for moving the eyes in different directions. Slow eye rotation in clockwise and counterclockwise directions is done to stimulate the extraocular muscles.

5. Blinking:

• Rapid and slow blinking, repeated in sets, is a form of eye relaxation exercise which not only helps relax the eye muscles but also benefits in improving dry eyes.
• The blink helps the eye rest briefly and the tear film is able to smoothly spread over the ocular surface.
• Who is it for: This is a useful exercise for people involved in prolonged reading and screen time.

6. Palming

• Palming is not strictly an exercise but rather a form of eye relaxation.
• It is done by rubbing the palms of both hands together for 10 seconds to generate heat and then gently placing them over closed eyes to allow warmth to radiate into the eyelids and eyes.
• Improves circulation and reduces dry eyes.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.