Visions of Sugarplums: Your Eyes and Holiday Stress

ps Natural Vision Improvement markets itself as a lifestyle method of improving eyesight by wholistic means

photo credit: bensonkua

Let’s face it: the holidays can be stressful. Whether you’re elbowing department store crowds, wrestling strings of lights onto a tree that seems to grow an inch every second, or traveling over the river and through the woods on a cramped, airless seat in coach to get to Grandma’s house, you may find your holiday cheer fast disappearing.

This time of year, newspapers and magazines are filled with tips on how to get through the holiday season, but very few deal with that most crucial part of the body: the eyes. Our eyes are interconnected with almost every part of our being. Properly caring for our eyes can have a positive effect on various aspects of our body, mind, and emotions. The reverse is also true-how we care for our body, mind, and emotions can affect our eyes.

Here, then, are seven tips for relieving eye stress-which, in turn, will help you feel good all over-guaranteeing, if not visions of sugarplums, then at least holidays without vision problems.

1. Winterize your eyes

Every skier and snowboarder knows that your eyes need protection in the winter, too. Don’t file away those sunglasses in a drawer: In the winter months, the sun sits lower in the sky and at a different angle, which may expose you to more ultraviolet light and glare. The risk can be just as significant on gray, overcast days as on clear, sunny ones.

2. Don’t shop til you drop

If  you’ve ever come home from a day of shopping exhausted and irritable, you are not alone. It’s not just the crowds that wear you out; all that artificial lighting can also make you feel fatigued and cranky. Plus, some folks are just sensitive to too much visual stimulation-between your fellow shoppers and the loads of merchandise, your eyes don’t get to rest. If you must shop all day, then at least take some breaks at the Food Court to close and/or exercise your poor peeps.

3. Surf’s up! but shop safely

While online stores now provide a convenient holiday shopping alternative, they also make it easy to surf for far longer than is healthy for you. If you’ve ever experienced eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, and neck or shoulder pain at the computer, then you know the damage staring at a screen can do.

As our long-term Rebuild Your Vision members know, to fight the symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome, make sure you look up from the monitor, preferably out a window or across a room, about every 10 minutes.

Remember the 10-10-10 rule…Next Post) It is also important to have a correctly structured and lighted work station. Your monitor should be about 10-20 degrees below your eye level and tilted slightly away from you at the top, the way you would hold a book. You should adjust the screen contrast to be comfortable, and the room lighting shouldn’t be too bright.

4. Remember to blink

One of the reasons computers strain our eyes is that we blink less while using them. The following simple exercise can be used anytime, not just at your desk, for a renewing mini-break: Blink lightly and quickly as fast as you can 10 times. End with a relaxing temple massage.

5. Treat yourself

Give your eyes a gift this season: many companies sell soothing eye masks with yummy anti-stress ingredients like aloe vera and cucumber. These not only relax you, they also hydrate the eye area and reduce puffiness. Eye pillows filled with natural flaxseed conform to the contours of your eyes and nose, and provide gentle acupressure to points around the eyes to relieve stress and tension. As a bonus, they are usually scented with lavender or other essential oils that smell great too!

6. Travel lightly-and liquidly

Lines, delays, cancellations…adding to these stresses of air travel is that awful, artificial, recirculated airplane air. Wonder why your eyes feel so dry and scratchy mid-flight? In-flight air is actually drier than any of the world’s deserts. Staying properly hydrated will do wonders for your trip. Air Travel Health News advises drinking at least eight ounces of water every hour en route and carrying your own bottle of drinking water when you fly, to sip on when service is not available. They also recommend spritzing your face with water and, after landing, soaking in water as soon as possible. A comfy eye pillow (see #5) can’t hurt, either.

7. Shake your groove

We’re speaking to the proverbial choir here, but exercise is not just for your body. You already know eye exercises can improve your vision, but did you know they can relax you too? Try this eye stretch, and your cares will melt away…

*Close your eyes. Imagine a giant clock directly in front of you with your nose at the center.

*Move eyes slowly and smoothly up, down, side to side, and diagonally. Repeat this twice.

* Move eyes clockwise (12,1,2,…) then counter-clockwise (12, 11, 10…) slowly and smoothly in a complete circle.

If it’s gift-giving stress you’re facing, you can’t go wrong with the gift of sight. Visit  Rebuild Your Vision Program to the one you love-it’s fast, easy, and lasts forever. And what could be better than that? , Happy Holidays, And Merry Christmas!

photo credit: *Vintage Fairytale*

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