#58: Blinking Exercises Reduce Dry Eye Symptoms
May 11, 2020
Blinking plays a significant role in our eye health. Blinking clears the front surface of your eye. It bathes the eye in nutritious tears to keep the surface lubricated and healthy. It helps to protect your eye from foreign bodies and infections.
Blinking even keeps the front surface of your eye smooth, so your vision will remain clear. Watch this cute video from the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society to find out some cool facts about blinking.
Blinking is one of the best ways to combat fatigue when your working on a digital device. However, there are another 6 steps you can take to keep your vision clear and comfortable while using digital devices. Download the Digital Eye Strain Relief Guide here.
Blinking Keeps Vision Clear
When light hits the front surface of your eye, the quality of the surface determines whether the image is clear or not. When the front surface of the eye is smooth. Then a clear image is projected onto the retina. And, you will see clearly.
When your eyes are dry, the front surface of your eye may become a regular with dry spots. These dry spots cause a distorted image to be projected onto the retina. Your brain will attempt to clear that image by causing you to blink. When fresh tears coat the front of the eye, it should help clear the image. However, when there is significant dryness presents the image will remain distorted.
Needing to blink or wipe your eyes several times an hour in order to clear your vision will decrease your work productivity. Taking artificial tears can make matters worse in your ability to see clearly. All of the water on your tear film will temporarily distort your vision.
Why do our Eyes Burn when we Stare?
Blinking has several different functions for our eyes. Blinking spreads new tears across the front surface of the eye. When the eyelids come together a bit of oil is released from the lids to spread across the watery layer of the tears and keep the tear film stable.
There are three layers to the tear film. The layer closest to your eye is made of mucus and holds the watery layer to the front of the eye. The second layer is watery and provides most of the moisture and nutrients to the front of the eye. The top layer is made from oils. These oils come from your eyelids.
The oil plays an important role in protecting the watery layer from drying out. It also puts a smooth cushion between your eyes and the eyelids. The less oil you have in your tear film, the more friction you will have between your lids and your eye. Dragging the eyelid over the eye can be very uncomfortable. So, adding oil to the tear film is important.
When there is too little oil, the watery layer evaporates into the air in the room. Lack of a watery layer makes our eyes feel dry. They will start to sting and burn until you blink again. Blinking refreshes both the oily layer and redistributes the watery layer across the eye.
Blinking Decreases when using Digital Devices
The normal blink rate is 20 to 30 blinks a minute. However, the blink rate can drop to less than five times a minute when using a computer or a digital device.
Blinking should happen unconsciously throughout the day. Most of us do not think about blinking at all. However, when you have dry eyes or use the computer for extended periods of time, you need to consciously blink.
You can do this through blinking exercises. Set a timer on your phone or your computer, or use a handy blinking app to remind you to blink. Learn about blinking apps here. When the alarm goes off, spend 20 to 30 seconds consciously blinking. The blinking exercises go like this:
When you squeeze your lids together firmly, the glands in your lids release oil into the tears. The oil spreads across the front surface of your eye to give you clear, comfortable vision.
What if you don’t blink enough?
If you don’t blink enough, your eyes will eventually dry out. In the beginning, it may only cause mild irritation. You will feel some stinging or burning. With prolonged use of digital devices over the years, your blinking may decrease, and your eyes may get used to the dryer state. Long-term, this means your blink reflexes are not triggered often enough.
Then, your eyes may become red and watery. And eventually, the oil glands in your lids will begin to atrophy. When there isn’t enough oil in your tears, the front surface of your eye will dry out. Your vision will become blurred, and your eyes may become more and more red and irritated.
What's the Fix
The best way to keep your eyes health is by performing those blinking exercises, of coarse. Remember, when using the computer or any digital device for longer than 20 minutes, you will need to blink on purpose. This can be easily accomplished by following this sequence.
Follow this sequence 2 - 3 times, after 20 minutes of reading or digital device use.
CONCLUSION
Blinking is an important part of keeping our eyes healthy. Blinking clears the front surface of your eye and allows you to see clearly at the moment. Blinking protects your eyes from bacteria and foreign objects. And, blinking is an important part of maintaining the health of the oil glands residing in your eyelids.
When using a digital device our blink naturally rate declines. Use the blinking sequence and the guide to setting up your work station by downloading the Digital Eye Strain Relief Guide.
