When you're feeling stressed, you might find your eyes getting tired, strained and generally just in need of a good bit of TLC.
If you're currently suffering with dry eyes, then an expert has shared some advice for how to deal with the problem in the short and long term.
Nimmi Mistry, professional services optician at Vision Direct told The Mirror how this dryness is often caused by a change in blinking patterns. When you're stressed and highly focused on something, your blinking rate decreases.
"This happens because your cognitive ability is focused on the task at hand, ignoring other concerns, and can result in you blinking as little as just four times per minute. A lack of blinking can therefore lead to dry, uncomfortable eyes," she said.
Her top tip for dealing with the problem in the short-term is to use what she calls, 'artificial tears'.
"A short-term solution is to use artificial tears - also known as dry eye drops - especially if you are a contact lens wearer," the pro explained.
"This type of eye drop is not prescription dependent and can be purchased off the shelf in high street pharmacies, supermarkets, and online at a reasonable price.
"Be sure to pay attention to the instructions and note when you open them as they'll have an expiration date (such as four weeks).
"Most eye drops contain preservatives to prevent the growth of bacteria, but these preservatives begin to degrade usually after 28 days of opening the bottle, so it’s important not to use them after this point to avoid transferring any bacteria to your eyes."
Nimmi went on to discuss a longer-term solution to help prevent future dryness, advising staying hydrated and drinking less diuretics.
"To prevent long-term dryness, it's vital to stay hydrated to help eye moisture and adults should be drinking at least 2 litres (or 6-8 glasses) of water per day.
"It's also important to mention that coffee, tea, fizzy drinks, and alcohol are diuretics which means they remove water from the body. Although most are mild diuretics, it's best to ensure you're consuming the recommended amount of water per day in addition to these other beverages."
She added that contact lens wearers who are struggling should also consider switching to silicone hydrogel lenses or daily disposable ones to improve their comfort.
This comes after the expert urged everyone to follow the 20-20-20 rule for the sake of their eye health.
"The 20-20-20 rule involves taking screen breaks every 20 minutes to focus on a fixed point 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This exercise will relieve the stress on your eyes and can be easily integrated into your daily routine," she said.
If you're someone who might forget to take these crucial breaks, Nimmi has some tips to help with this too.
She continued to say: "There are also browser extensions and apps that can be used to send reminders to take screen breaks.
"Although it may not be a convenient long-term habit you can adopt, during periods of high stress and eye fatigue it’s something that can remind you of the importance of breaks."
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