Strained, tired eyes can create an achy, heavy feeling leaving you looking for a remedy. The good news? Tired eyes are not a chronic illness. They are a symptom of overexposure and can be prevented with a little bit of diligence.
Some of the most common contributing factors to tired eyes are lack of sleep, allergies, and poor lighting, as well as working on a computer, driving, or reading for long periods of time. Symptoms include redness, dry eyes, watery eyes, blurred vision, light sensitivity, neck and back pain, and a heaviness in the eyes.
These symptoms affect lots of people every day, but there are ways to prevent them. One of the biggest ways to prevent tired eyes from becoming a problem is to get enough sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep every day. This can be difficult for people living with young children or working difficult hours, but if you can increase the amount of sleep you receive, it is truly worth it.
Ensuring you have proper lighting in your home is very important. If you are using a computer, phone, or reading books in your home often, you can put extra strain on your eyes if you have low light or poor lighting conditions. Harsh contrast puts the most strain on your eyes, so make sure you light your home and devices as evenly as possible.
If you spend too much time on digital devices, or reading in poor light, you are risking tired eyes. By getting up and taking a break you provide your eyes much needed time to re-adjust and relax.
Finally, the best way to avoid tired eyes are ensuring your prescription is up to date. Whether you wear glasses or contacts, making sure you have proper correction is of utmost important, otherwise you are walking around straining your eyes from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed. Better yet, laser vision correction lets you remove the middleman (glasses and contacts) so you don’t have to worry about updating your frames or your contacts anymore.