Your Cycle Is All Out Of Whack
This one is more directed toward the ladies, but it can occur in men as well when talking about the thyroid. After talking to Alisa Vitti, the founder of hormone-regulating practice Flo Living and author of WomanCode, Well + Good explains that adrenal fatigue syndrome can affect a persons thyroid and menstrual cycle. It is all due to the endocrine system which contains the adrenal glands. Vitti says the endocrine system of someone with adrenal fatigue syndrome is facing unprecedented exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. To back this claim up, Vitti cites a recent study which showed women put 515 chemicals in their body every day.
Vitti advises treating a hormonal imbalance with lifestyle changes like eating healthier, stress relief tactics, and more sleep. You cant spot-treat your hormones. Were so accustomed to that in Western medicine penicillin for an infection, ibuprofen for a headache. You can change a hormonal balance by re-evaluating your life and taking a closer look at what chemicals youre putting in your body on a daily basis.
How Do I Treat Tired Eyes
Regardless of how well you take care of your eyes, you will, someday or the other, feel an eye strain. Occasional eye fatigue can be managed without having to visit the eye doctor, but if it persists, then you must schedule an appointment with your ophthalmologist.
First aid for eye strain and tired eyes include:
- Closing your eyes for at least five minutes to allow them some rest
- Going off to sleep
- Using artificial tears to lubricate them
- Removing contact lenses
Other Causes Of Eyestrain
- Reading without giving your eyes a break
- Bright light or glare in your place of work, or being exposed to bright light for a long time
- Working or reading in badly or dark areas
- Stress and a lack of sleep
- Driving long distances without stopping to take a break
- Vision problems such as refractive errors
- Chronic dry eyes
- Outdated prescription glasses
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What Causes Your Eyes To Burn
Eyes typically burn when they dry out. The tear film that covers the surface of the eye is comprised of three layers. The bottom, a mucous layer, helps spread tears evenly over the surface of the eye. A thick, watery layer in the middle lies beneath a thin, oily outer layer.
The outer layer provides a barrier to evaporation of the water layer, Dr. Tuten explains. The oils come from the sweat glands in your eyelids that are activated by the mechanical pressure of blinking, which is why if your vision is blurry, sometimes blinking helps make it clearer. Over time, these oil glands can become clogged, and each blink produces less oil to coat the tears and make sure they dont evaporate.
With the evaporation of water comes the stinging, burningsensation in the eyes.
This is a signal for your brain to send more tears, but it can only send more watery tears, he says. Your excessive watery tears will spill over the lid margin and run down your face.
Adrenal Fatigue And Your Skin
Stress is a common denominator for everyone with adrenal fatigue. Its a given that it takes its toll on your emotional wellbeing, but did you also know that it directly affects your physical appearance?
Whenever youre in fight or flight mode, the body produces cortisol which causes increased oil production and outbreaks of pimples. Even people who have never had problems with their skin can suddenly develop acne when faced with prolonged periods of stress.
If your adrenal fatigue is more advanced and your cortisol levels have started to drop too low, this can impact your skin too. When your cortisol level is chronically low, the pituitary gland produces a hormone named corticotropin to stimulate more cortisol production. If your adrenals are very depleted, the pituitary will produce large amounts of corticotropin. The thing is, corticotropin also stimulates melanin production, which darkens your skin pigmentation. So you may see dark patches on your skin if your adrenals and HPA axis are very fatigued.
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How Can We Prevent Eye Fatigue
Eye fatigue in and of itself is uncomfortable, but not dangerous. Still, Im sure none of us wants to have dry, achy eyes, a sore neck, or headaches. Even if youre not currently suffering from these symptoms, its never too early to take steps to protect your vision.
Here are some simple precautions to avoid eye strain especially if your work involves using a laptop or your phone for long hours.
What Causes Dry Eye Syndrome
Several things can cause dry eye syndrome, but it usually develops because you arent producing enough tears or the tears being produced are low quality. To create tears, you have something called a tear film that covers the surface of the eye.
The tear film has three layers made up of oil, water, and mucus. Each layer of the tear film is a crucial component of keeping your tears healthy. If even one layer of the tear film is missing, you can start developing dry eye symptoms.
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Vision Problems & Tired Eyes
While asthenopia can affect anyone, pre-existing problems with vision can significantly increase the chances of developing eye strain. Certain conditions of the eye can make it more likely that the effects of tired eyes become more noticeable and disruptive.
Having these vision problems will make it harder for you to see and focus, so the natural instinct is to try and focus even more. The already compromised eye muscles will be weakened further, which will cause more vision problems, like blurriness, and stress.
People who are prone to headaches, migraines, , and dry eye syndrome will likely already have sensitive eyes. Performing activities that require precise use of the eyes will almost certainly induce asthenopia.
How To Relieve Tired Eyes
While a good nights sleep is key to recharging your eyes, sometimes rest is not enough to relieve eye discomfort or eliminate the symptoms of eye fatigue.
To relieve eye irritation, flush out your eyes with a saline rinse or water. Or, apply a warm washcloth to both eyes. Using eye drops can also help relieve any dryness or itchiness and bring some moisture back to your eyes.
To help prevent tired eyes at work, take breaks from staring at your screen. Look off into the distance periodically to let your eyes rest and refocus, or go for short 20-minute walks throughout the day for a change of scenery.
Also, consider changing the position of your computer screen so that it sits 2026 inches away from your face, and clean your computer screen regularly and reduce glare.
On long drives, stopping briefly can let your eyes rest and readjust, and make sure you dont have any issues with night vision before driving long distances at night.
Page updated in April 2022
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Which Impact Has This On Your Productivity
Developing CVS can impact you significantly during your work and even after, when you should actually spend time relaxing but might have to deal with a serious headache. Tired or burning eyes can also be the cause for your evening headaches, your neck or back pain and your difficulty to focus after extended periods of time. Of course this causes a serious drop in productivity and doesnt allow you to recover from your daily fatigue, making you start your next workday already tired.
So What Exactly Is Causing Digital Eye Strain
Working at a computer is much more visually demanding than many other tasks or standard office work, such as reading or writing printed documents. Just think for a moment about aspects like screen resolution, precision and sharpness of text, contrast, image refresh rates, screen flicker, screen glare, improper viewing distances and angles. All this itself makes viewing more difficult.
Moreover, while working at the computer you need to perform more frequent eye movements: from your notebook to the computer screen, from the keyboard to the screen, or from one side of the screen quickly to the other one so to peek at the notification that just popped on the corner, and all this again and again for hours. And, while doing all these movements, your eyes also have to constantly change focus in order to maintain a clear image.
This huge amount of work for your eyes, if performed for a prolonged time, is normally way beyond the visual abilities that one individual is comfortable to perform.
Another cause for CVS is a decrease in our blink rate as we stare at the computer screen or while reading. We actually blink 66% less while working on the computer. This will cause your eyes to feel dry and to burn.
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Other Underlying Problems Of Tired And Heavy Eyes
There are many other underlying problems, that may cause tied and heavy eyes. Migraine is a medical condition in which headache or pain intensity varies and having the symptoms of sensitivity to light, pain in the eyes, and tiredness and heaviness on the eyes. In most cases, the effects and intensity of tired eyes will usually resolve during rest while migraine symptoms tend to last a long time. Moreover, the signs and symptoms related to migraine headaches cannot be relieved by resting, it required medical treatment.
Tension headache is another problem that causes tired eyes. Tight band pressure around the head the most common symptom of tension headache,on the forehead, sometimes eye strain may lead to tension headaches. A person who has a tension headache, the chances of heaviness and tired eyes are very high This headache can be relieved by analgesics but the eye strain will and tiredness will relive by proper eye rest.
Fatigue is one of the common causes of tired and heavy eyes. Weariness, tiredness, and insomnia will increase the difficulty to focus the eyes on an object/text or a moving target, then naturally you will try even more to focus, and the more you try, you feel heaviness on the eyes. This can be reduced by simple rest and sleep. Frequently closing the eyes and not targeting anything will aid the eye muscles to relieve the stress and restore health.
Make Sure Your Prescription Is Updated
Your tired eyes may be the result of an outdated vision prescription. If its been a while since you had your eyes checked, find an eye doctor near you and book an appointment.
Your vision changes over time. A prescription for glasses or contact lenses that helped you to see clearly two years ago may the source of your eye strain and tired eyes now.
Your tired eyes also may be a sign that you need glasses or contacts now, though you have never needed vision correction before.
We recommend getting a comprehensive eye exam every two years, unless you have an underlying condition that requires more frequent visits.
Your eye doctor make sure your prescription is accurate, and he or she will be able to assess your tired eyes and offer some additional suggestions for relief.
TIRED OF YOUR TIRED EYES? Schedule an appointment with an eye doctor near you. You may just need glasses or contacts or an updated prescription.
Page updated in March 2022
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Why Your Eyes Burn When You Wake In The Wee Hours
Mr. Sandman may bring us dreams. But Mr. Alarm Clock brings us sandpaper.
At least, thats how Shelley Hunter, a frequent late-night worker/early riser, describes that first, frightful sensation shared by many sleep-deprived folks when they wake and crack open their tired bulbs.
It burns and feels like I have sandpaper in my eyelids. I don’t feel it at any other time of day, said Hunter, who lives in Danville, Calif., near San Francisco. It definitely seems that lack of sleep is the cause.
When the alarm rings at 6:30 a.m., my eyes hurt immediately, Hunter added. If I were to go back to sleep, the pain would be less. Sometimes I try to lay in bed for just a minute hoping that it won’t feel so bad, but I rarely get that chance.
Whats delivering that dawn dose of pepper to our peepers? Basically, it’s dryness, say two medical exerts. But why does a lack of Zs dry our eyes? Two theories.
This may be all about the lacrimal gland, located just above the eyelid and just below the outside of the eyebrow. From under the skin, this lumpy-looking gland secretes tears that lubricate the eye surface, keeping it damp, glistening and healthy. Its also wired to the brain via neurological circuitry, said Dr. Sheri Rowen, ophthalmologic surgeon and director of the eye and cosmetic surgery center at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.
So, reduced late-night blinking means the eyes were dry when they closed for the night and they remain dry when the alarm buzzes and the lids rise.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome And Your Eyes
You may not have heard of it, but you may be suffering from it. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is an extreme fatigue that lasts more than six months. It is an intense tiredness and weakness that does not improve quickly with rest. It can also become worse if the sufferer attempts physical activity or mental exertion. Its estimated that millions of people worldwide suffer from CFS, but the exact number is unknown because so many cases go undiagnosed. Another thing you may not know is that CFS can be connected to eye health and vision.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can sometimes be hard to diagnose because the symptoms are common to many illnesses. The eight main symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are extreme fatigue, sore throat, muscle pain, joint pain , headaches, memory or concentration problems, exhaustion lasting more than one day after physical or mental exertion, and enlarged lymph nodes in your neck or armpits.
There are other symptoms that can occur, but they do not present themselves in every person suffering from CFS. These include the inability to think clearly, balance issues , allergies , irritable bowels, chills and night sweats, mood problems , and visual disturbances . CFS is a mysterious disease that affects people differently, and it can also affect their vision in a variety of ways.
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What Causes Eye Fatigue
Tired, burning, red eyes, seems to be a common problem. Especially if you find yourself burning the candle at both ends. But what is the best way to alleviate eye fatigue? Well, Identifying why your eyes are tired is the best way to answer that question. There are many different things that can cause eye fatigue. Our blog article this week will help you identify why your eyes are tired, and then give you some solutions to help fix the problem!
With our society being all about the hustle and the bustle, its easy to find yourself in the rat race. The constant coming and going and just trying to keep up with life can take a toll on a persons body. It is easy for eyes to suffer from fatigue because they go to work the minute we open them. Eye fatigue is a common occurrence and happens for many reasons. Here are some common causes and solutions to the problem of tired eyes.
What Is Eye Strain
Eye strain is eye fatigue that mostly happens due to overexertion. After long periods of reading, working on digital screens or driving far distances without taking a break, you may experience eye strain symptoms such as:
- Eye pain
- Severely dry, or even watery eyes
- Light sensitivity
- Neck, back and shoulder aches
- Eye strain headaches
- Eye twitching
- Red and itchy eyes
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Tired Or Burning Eyes You May Have Eye Strain
Frequent headaches, blurry or double vision, burning eyes, focusing difficulties, eye fatigue, eye irritation, excessive tearing, dry eyes, pain in the eyes and frequently blinking and squinting. Raise your hand if you have ever experienced one of these symptoms or, even worse, more of them together, especially after working long hours in front of your computer.
Actually, those symptoms are clear signs of a real issue called Asthenopia or more commonly known as Eye strain.
What To Expect During Your Visit
Determining the underlying cause of burning eyes is essential. When you visit your doctor for burning eyes, they will diagnose your condition by taking a medical history and asking you about your symptoms.
Your eye doctor will ask:
- When the symptoms started
- What makes the symptoms worse or better
- If you have a history of any other conditions affecting your eyes
Your eye doctor will also review the medications you are taking. Some medicines, like decongestants, can result in burning eyes.
Your doctor will also perform a physical exam of the eyes. They will check the eyes for signs of irregularities, dryness, and damage. They may use microscopes or other equipment to look at the eyes more clearly and closely.
Eye doctors may also use eye drops to enable them to observe the flow of tears and moisture levels in the eyes.
In this article
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Eyes Burning And Headache: 9 Causes And Treatments
If you suffer from burning eyes and headaches, there are several significant problems that can cause these symptoms, including nerve disorders, tumors, and other critical disorders. Head and eye issues should not be ignored, as the root cause of these symptoms can be very serious. Instead, you should see your doctor just as soon as you can. Let your health professional examine you and diagnose what the cause of your problem is.
