Computers, Stress, and Eye Strain

Modern life brings many benefits, and also some problems.

A recent report showed that the percentage of people with near sightedness is increasing for the last couple of decades. This is probably in part due to what you are doing now, staring at a computer.

The staring at a computer not only causes near sightedness, but it is also uncomfortable.  This may be due to physiologic stress and cell damage. A recent study showed that prolonged looking at computer screens causes oxidative stress. But there are things you can do help relieve the stress.

How to relieve Eye Strain

1. Give your eyes a rest: Taking regular breaks and looking up from the screen is the most important thing to reduce the amount of eye strain. For each 45 minutes, you should take at least 5 minutes break.

2. Beta Carotine:  It is true, eating beta carotine improves your eyes and can help reduce the damage from eye strain. Carrots have beta carotine, but also other vegetables like yellow squash, yams, and dark leafy greens.  In Chinese medicine carrots also boost qi, they are called the little ginseng.

3. Herbal Teas- The combination of the herbs gou ji zi (wolfberry’s) and ju hua (chrysanthmum) is a traditional herbal remedy for treating eye diseases. Modern research has shown that these herbs both have strong antioxident effect.

In my following post, I will share a few acupressure techniques and points which help to improve circulation and decrease pressure on your eyes.