By spending all your time in front of screens, your eyes are put to the test: dry eyes, itching, stinging, blurred vision… So many signs that should alert you to the health of your precious eyeballs and prompt you to take care of them. So, how do you soothe tired eyes?
We’re sharing our remedies straight from grandma's old grimoire to soothe tired eyes and restore your visual comfort.
But why do eyes get tired?
Let’s start at the beginning: what is eye strain?
🖥 The role of screens and modern lighting
If you also spend long hours sitting in front of a screen, your eyes might be as red and irritated as a rabbit suffering from myxomatosis by the end of the day.
The reason is simple: exposure to blue light from your computer screen, smartphone, and even the LED lighting in our homes requires a lot of effort from our eyes, naturally resulting in plenty of consequences for our visual comfort.
Computer Vision Syndrome, or digital eye strain, is a collection of symptoms caused by prolonged exposure to screens:
- Headaches,
- Dry eyes,
- Blurred or double vision,
- Red eyes,
- Stinging eyes,
- Itching,
- Eye twitching,
- Neck and shoulder pain,
- Dizziness
💡 Good to know: You may experience several of these signs simultaneously or one after the other, with varying intensity depending on your sensitivity and level of exposure.
🍃 Environmental aggressors
Too much sun, too much wind, working in dusty conditions... These are all things that strain our eyes to the max. The eye gets tired from this overexertion.
We don't necessarily feel it during the day, but the effects accumulate and we don't even remember that we've been squinting for 3 hours trying to see the horizon.
😭 Bad habits
One of the factors that is quite easy to correct is diet and hydration.
Our eyes are quite sensitive and need essential nutrients, and they also need to stay hydrated! Otherwise, it’s an "engine overheat" and guaranteed fatigue; perhaps your eyes will even start to sting, water, or twitch.
So, how do we relieve eye strain? That’s where grandma comes in: she sent us a fax with her best advice.
Grandma’s remedies for tired eyes
And grandma has plenty of tips in her grimoire! Starting with…
🧊 Cold compresses
Cold compresses are a commonly used grandma's remedy to soothe tired eyes.
The concept is simple:
- cold has a constricting effect on the blood vessels and capillaries around the eye (grandma knows her biology): by tightening, they limit swelling around your eyes.
- cold compresses also have an immediate (but temporary) pain-relieving effect because they slightly numb the nerve endings.
- using cold on the eye muscles can also help them relax after a prolonged effort of concentration.
- we mustn't forget the hydrating effects of damp compresses: a tired eye is often a dry eye!
For greater effectiveness, you can use cornflower water, known for its soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. Be sure to keep the compresses or soaked cotton pads on your closed eyes for 10 to 15 minutes for optimal action.
A little bonus of cold compresses: they are also useful for fighting under-eye bags, a practical and inexpensive concealer!
🥒 Cucumber slices
Careful, we're not talking about a salad here, but rather a treatment for your precious peepers!
Cucumber slices (grandma is a confirmed botanist) work on the same principle as cold compresses: their high water content provides relief and a refreshing sensation that is ultra-beneficial for tired eyes. They relax muscles, reduce bags and swelling, and can even soothe itchy eyes!
However, we recommend throwing them away or composting them after letting them sit on your eyes for a good quarter of an hour. The rest of the cucumber will be great in your poke bowl.
🍵 Herbal infusions
Did you know? Herbal infusions are the ultimate natural remedy, and some are recommended to prevent and soothe eye irritation. We even wrote a complete guide featuring the 5 best herbal teas for eyes; don't hesitate to check it out to discover what a talented herbalist your grandmother is.
If we had to recommend just one, it would undoubtedly be Roman chamomile infusion: soothing, anti-inflammatory, and decongestant, it’s a great classic.
We advise you to let your chamomile flower blend steep for a few minutes before drinking it, or to use it as a compress once it has cooled down. Plus, you can enjoy it at any time of the day because chamomile does not contain theine.
👀 Eye massages
We don’t think about it often, but eye massage is a real health gesture for tired eyes. It’s not very complicated, it only takes a few minutes, and the effect is immediate. Grandma, master of the art of physiotherapy, knows this well.
By massaging the eye contour, you activate blood and lymphatic circulation for better oxygenation and to promote the elimination of toxins.
But that’s not all! Eye massage can also relieve headaches and migraines, reduce bags and dark circles, prevent wrinkles, and of course, relieve eye strain.
So, how do you massage your eyeball? (that’s a question we ask ourselves every day, right?)
There are several eye massages that are easy to do in a few minutes:
- the 3-point massage: place your thumb and middle finger on the bridge of your nose, on each side, and your index finger just above, between the eyebrows, and make circular motions.
- the simple eye massage: place your index, middle, and ring fingers on your closed eyelids and make circular motions with your fingertips, applying light pressure.
- the under-brow massage: place your thumbs in the small hollow between your eyebrow arch and the side of your nose, on the inner side of the eye. Apply progressive pressure for 10 seconds while making circles with your thumbs. It’s not the most pleasant massage, but it is super effective for relieving eye tension.
If you don’t like touching your eyes, you can also place your palms on your closed eyelids: the warmth of your hands combined with light pressure will soothe the discomfort of your tired eyes.
⚔️ Other tips to prevent eye strain
Grandma is full of great tips to heal your tired little eyes. But did you know: prevention is better than cure! So here are a few tips that will save you from having to raid grandma’s vegetable patch at midnight in search of a fresh cucumber.
🦆 Disconnect!
It’s very simple: if screens cause eye strain, less screen time will mean less tired eyes.
Controlling your screen time is therefore the best solution to prevent digital eye strain. Put down your phone and go outside to listen to the birds singing!
Of course, it’s not always easy, if only because your boss starts brandishing his whip the second you look away from the screen. And that’s where our next two tips will be useful.
🥼 The 20/20/20 method
A method guaranteed 100% compatible even with the most irritable of bosses!
If you have to spend a lot of time on a screen, the 20/20/20 method is very effective for fighting eye strain.
It’s a simple and effective technique: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at a distance of 20 feet (6 meters for those who are on good terms with the metric system).
This method, which is super easy to remember, allows you to look away from screens and rest your eye muscles that are tired of focusing on a short distance, while letting you get back to work before the first crack of the whip.
A significant little bonus: you can take the opportunity to stretch, change your posture, or even get some fresh air by taking a few steps (we said at least 20 seconds, but it can be longer).
So remember to set a timer in 20 minutes when you're done reading this article!
🥸 Blue light blocking glasses
Finally, since blue light is guilty, super guilty of eye strain, what better way to not tire your little eyes than by filtering it?
Blue light blocking lenses are specially designed to filter out harmful wavelengths of blue light without affecting the beneficial ones.
You can find two types: with clear lenses, to use in all circumstances without attracting the boss's hostility, and with tinted lenses, even more effective for long screen sessions, whether at work or in front of the console.
The final word: grandma's remedy for tired eyes
- ⛄ To fight against dry and irritated eyes, you can apply cold cornflower water compresses on your closed eyelids for 10 to 15 minutes. You can also test cucumber slices on the same principle.
- 🫖 We also recommend Roman chamomile infusion to prevent but also cure eye strain.
- 👁️🗨️ Eye massages are very effective and easy to do yourself to soothe eye irritation.
- 👓 Think about other techniques like the 20/20/20 rule, blue light blocking glasses, and eye drops.
And if, despite all of grandma Solo’s efforts, the symptoms persist, then we can only advise you to consult a specialist who will be able to make a diagnosis and prescribe an appropriate treatment.
