Why are My Eyes Dry After Sitting at the Computer All Day?

May 21, 2022 | Dry Eyes

Why are my eyes dry after sitting at the computer all day?

There are a few reasons for this Today we are concentrating on your blinking

  1. Did you know that when we use a computer or concentrate our blink rate drops from every 2 seconds to every 10 seconds! This is a lot more time for the tears to evaporate, as the tears dry it leaves the cells on the front surface of your eye exposed to the elements, you can see why it would be uncomfortable!
  2. The blinks we do take become incomplete, meaning we only replenish the tears to part of the eye surface.

Here at Boneham Optometrist part of our eye examination involves testing how quickly your tears evaporate and how well you blink.

How do I make sure that I am blinking fully?

Blinking isn’t something we are conscious of, so can we train it? The answer is yes, at Boneham Optometrist we have been using an exercise originally written by Charles McMonnies, an expert on dry eye, who previously owned this practice. We recommend doing 20 full blinks when you have some free time. E.g. pausing to think when working or commuting. If you do 20 sets of these exercises a day for 1 week this fixes the problem. To maintain good blinking repeat this once per week.

If you are noticing dry eyes or irritation, after using your computer call us on 9264 6784 and we can check what is causing this.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Continue Reading

Subscribe to Boneham Optometrist

Subscribe to receive urgent reminders, tips to improve your eye health, case studies which may benefit you & Boneham Optometrist exclusive offers.

You have Successfully Subscribed!