Contributed by – Healthians Team

Every day you spend copious amounts of time in front of a screen, whether it’s a laptop, a mobile phone or a TV. While you can’t get away from these screens, it is, however, essential that you allow some relaxation for your eyes to ensure that they stay healthy in the long run. So, relax instantly with these 5 eye exercises that can be done anywhere, even your office!

Palm your eyes - Healthians

Palm your eyes

Palming your eyes is the easiest form of exercise that you can do anytime and every time your eyes feel tired. You’ll feel relaxed within a couple of seconds of performing this exercise. All you’ve got to do is:

  • Sit on a chair in a relaxed and comfortable position.
  • Rub both of your hands together until they feel warm.
  • Now close your eyes and cover them with cupped palms.
  • Inhale and exhale calmly and simply relax.
  • Hold this position for 30 seconds and do 4 repeats of it.
  • While you do so, make sure that you don’t cover your nose and there is no light entering through the gaps between your fingers or palms. Also, do not put pressure on your eyeballs.

Eye rolls - Healthians

Eye roll

While rolling your eyes as a reaction to someone’s stupidity might come naturally.  But rolling your eyes voluntarily can help strengthen your eye muscles. This is how you can do eye rolls to benefit from it:

  • Sit or stand in a relaxed position and look ahead.
  • Without moving your head look towards the extreme right and focus on what you see.
  • From there slowly roll your eyes toward the ceiling and focus on it again.
  • Now gradually roll your eyes towards the extreme left and focus.
  • From the left, roll your eyes slowly towards the floor and again focus.
  • Here, in simple terms, you are just rolling your eyes in all the directions and focusing on what you are seeing.
  • Repeat this motion in both clockwise and anticlockwise direction.
  • You can do 2 sets of 10 repeats each.

Focusing exercise - Healthians

Practice focusing

This exercise is good for those who are having difficulty focusing on objects at different distances. Doctors often recommend this exercise to the patients of weak eye muscles. Here is how to do it correctly:

  • Sit in a straight, upright yet comfortable position.
  • Stretch your arm out in front of you in a thumbs-up action. Alternatively, you can hold a pencil.
  • Focus on the thumb or the tip of the pencil.
  • While maintaining the focus bring the thumb or pencil closer to you, about 3 inches in front of your face.
  • Now extend your arm fully again and don’t lose the focus when you do so.
  • Continue bringing in and out the thumb or pencil for about 2 minutes.

 

Trace 8 with your eyes - Healthians

Trace an 8 with your eyes

This is a great way to control the movement of your eyes. All you need is a blank wall or a ceiling. This is what you are required to do:

  • Imagine a giant lateral number ‘8’ about 10 feet in front of you on the blank wall or ceiling.
  • Now follow its shape with your eyes without moving the head.
  • Switch directions after each time.
  • 4 sets of 5 repeats each would be enough.

 

Hot and cold compresses

This is another way to relax your eyes after a long day of work. You need two bowls, one with hot water and the other with cold water. Take a clean towel and first dip it in hot water. Then place it on your eyes and eyebrows. Feel it for about 5 seconds. Next, do the same thing with cold water. Repeat this for at least 5 times. These compresses will instantly make your eyes relax and all the strain will go away within seconds.

Our eyes are our windows to the world around us which helps us connect with people and the beauty that nature holds. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to take good care of them to enjoy life to the fullest.  If you are diabetic, here is how you can protect your eyes. Also, while you take care of your eyes, do not forget your overall well being. Learn about your health status and take preventive steps now!