Caution:
What I have written below is my personal experience. It does not constitute
scientific evidence. It is not a result of the gold standard method in
obtaining such evidence – controlled trials, double blind tests, objective
measurements of tear breakup time (TBUT) and tear meniscus height (TMH) that
are done to assess tear volume to determine the severity of dry eye disease
(DED), and such. It is not a substitute for ophthalmological care. If you do
suffer from DED, consult an ophthalmologist. DED also makes you prone to eye
infections and hence it should not be ignored. What you read below is to be considered
over and above the necessary precautions to protect your eyes.
I
have chronic dry eyes for years thanks in part to high screen time. As expected, it is getting
worse over the years. I periodically consult my ophthalmologist and take care
of my eyes. What follows is my experience in handling the condition.
Conferences
make dry eyes worse. The dry, air-conditioned air, constant staring at bright
PowerPoint presentations in darkened halls make me dread conferences.
Once,
I attended a conference at a hotel in the city.
The large hall was nearly full by the time I entered and I had to sit at
the back which made looking at the screen hard. It so happened that I really
did not belong in the conference because the subject was not one of my fields
of interest and I was there because of other compulsions. I was prepared for
the worst.
I
was surprised that my eyes felt perfectly fine at the end of the day! I
wondered how. Looking back over the day, I realised that I had been yawning
often during especially boring or uninteresting presentations. I guessed that
and that that the small amount of tears produced while yawning had kept my eyes
well lubricated! Normally I do not yawn much at all - not even close to
bedtime. So, I decided to try yawning several times during the day to help lubricate
eyes. But, being busy at work, I could never practice it and continued to
suffer.
(As
I type these words I am yawning a lot as the thought of yawning makes me yawn!
Are you yawning too as you read? If you are, it is no surprise. Contagious
yawning is considered to be a form of social mirroring and non-verbal
communication. It is driven by mirror neurons and seeing, hearing, or even reading
about someone yawning can trigger the involuntary reflex.)
Recently,
however, I started practicing progressive relaxation first thing in the
morning. It involves focussing your attention on different parts of your body,
becoming aware of how they feel and then tensing or flexing them to relax them.
You can read about the method here.
There are a number of resources online for you to learn from. I found that this
practice makes me yawn repeatedly while supine and tears flow down my temples
copiously. Over time, I realised that that one session in the morning keeps my
eye in good order through the day and I do not suffer much from dry eyes
anymore.
I
have read that, as one ages, the lacrimal glands produce less tears than when
one is young and the quality of the tears also goes down. One of the components
of tears is lipids and their proportion in the tears reduce as one ages. In
spite of it, I seem to be benefitting from reactivating the lacrimal glands by the
yawns induced by progressive relaxation.
Now,
I am trying to yawn a few times a day and it is really helping my eyes. Since I
find it hard to yawn at will, I searched with the key word “yawn” on YouTube
and found many videos. Looking at their titles, let alone watching the videos
makes me yawn and my eyes are well lubricated.
Whenever
I woke up during the night my eyes would be completely dry. I would be forced
to use eye drops (artificial tears.) to fall asleep again. That need is also
gone now and I have stopped using it.
So,
here is something you could try if you suffer from dry eyes. Yawn!
Start
the day with ten minutes of progressive relaxation. Not only does it relax you but
also helps with dry eyes. At least a couple of times a day remember to yawn.
Try watching videos of yawning. If you can, practice progressive relaxation
once in the evening as well. Other practices such as transcendental meditation
and body mapping may also work. Find what suits you best.
That
said, we have to go back to the basics. The importance of a good diet,
hydration, sleep, reducing screen time, taking breaks from the screen regularly
and all such practices recommended by doctors and ophthalmologists, vitamin
supplements as prescribed by a doctor, etc. cannot be emphasised enough.
Good
luck. Let me know if it worked for you.
