Eye Stretching
When we exercise and stretch, we tend to focus on the large muscles in our bodies, such as the hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps. An increasingly used muscle group that we often forget to stretch and provide relief to are the muscles of the eyes. Our eye muscles can be stretched to relieve pain and promote blood circulation and recovery.
Why is eye stretching important?
According to an article posted on Yoga International, the “Average adult Americans now spend more than eight hours a day staring at screens of one sort or another”. This has created increased eye strain as looking at screens forces the eyes to focus “intently at a single distance near the face”, as described by Marc Grossman and optometrist. This is putting extra strain on our eye muscles.
In addition, stress can also lead to eye strain and the tensing of the muscles around the eyes. This eye strain can be uncomfortable, and can include dry eyes, blurry visions and headaches. Stretching our eye muscles can help alleviate this discomfort, and improve blood flow and muscle tone, which helps to minimize eye strain.
Although blinking and yawning can help create moisture in the eyes to diminish the dryness, sometimes more is needed to help relax and stretch out our eye muscles to diminish the strain. A few simple exercises can be done to stretch the muscles. It is important to remember not to overexert or hold the stretches for too long.
Eye stretches to do daily
Focus changes are a great exercise to incorporate into our daily routines. This includes looking at an object close to you for around 15 seconds, before changing our focus to something 20 feet away for another 15 seconds. This helps break up long hours of maintaining a close focus on our screens. The 20-20-20 rule is a great way to ensure we are breaking up our focus. This rule is that every 20 minutes we shift our focus to look at something that is 20 feet away, for 20 seconds.
Eye rolls can help to alleviate eye strain and works to strengthen the eye muscles. When doing this exercise, it is important to maintain good posture with the shoulders relaxed and ensure that you roll your eyes in both directions. Figure eights is another exercise that helps reduce strain and build muscle. Again, ensure that you are sitting straight with your shoulders relaxed. Lift your right hand with the thumb pointing up and use the thumb to trace a figure eight in the air, while following it with your eyes. Ensure you trace the figure eight in both directions before completing the exercise with your other hand.
For tired eyes, palming can be an amazing way to get some relief. For this exercise you want to warm up your palms, either by rubbing them together or heating them up under warm water and then cupping them over your closed eyes. The warmth of the hands will gently heat the eyes and relax the muscles.
While a stretch therapist can’t help you stretch your eyes, by blocking off a dedicated time to stretch, and having someone else do the stretching of other muscles for you, it can give you a chance to focus on relaxing your eyes. Our stretch therapists also provide exercises for homework, which again, can help focus your time on stretching, allowing you to more easily incorporate eye stretches into your daily routine.
Sources:
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/3-eye-stretches-you-can-do-at-your-desk
https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/common_eye_conditions
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/4-ocular-stretches-to-keep-eyes-healthy/
https://yogainternational.com/article/view/4-yoga-exercises-for-eye-strain
https://www.lenspure.com/articles/eye-exercises-alleviate-eye-strain
https://www.healthline.com/health/eye-health/eye-exercises#exercises
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