6. Always Wear Sunglasses
If your dry eyes are caused by your environment – say you live in a hot, dry climate – sunglasses can dramatically improve your condition. And if you’re going to wear them anyways, pick a pair sunglasses that blocks 100 percent of the sun’s UV rays.
The National Eye Institute says that dark sunglasses with side shields are particularly good at helping to slow tear evaporation from the eye surfaces (7).
Consider investing in special sunglasses if you live with chronic dry eye syndrome. If not just using ordinary wrap around shades whenever you go outside will protect your eyes from wind, dust, and other irritants.
7. Blink Your Way Back To Health
Not blinking enough is one of the main causes of dry eyes. And, because of our exposure to screens, most of us aren’t blinking as much as we should be. Blinking maintains the right amount of moisture in the eye surface, while also cleaning and moisturizes all the parts of the eye.
The brilliant blog All About Dry Eye claims that under normal circumstances, your blinking rate is an average 4 seconds, about 15 times a minute. When staring at a bright screen our blinking rate decreases by up to 70% (8)!
How to do it:
- Close both of your eyes, pause for 2 seconds, then open them.
- Close your eyes again, pause 2 seconds and then squeeze them tightly together for 2 seconds. Open them again.
- Repeat every 20 minutes several times a day until your symptoms improve.
8. Introduce More Omega-3 Into Your Diet
If you’re not getting enough essential fatty acids in your diet, especially omega-3 fatty acids, this could be a leading contribution to your dry eye syndrome. A study conducted in 2013 and published in the International Journal of Ophthalmology concluded that omega-3 fatty acids have an effect on dry eye syndrome (8).
What omega-3s do is help stimulate tear production and produce higher quality tears. The fatty acids such as those found in fish oil are excellent for dry eyes.
To cure your eyes, include foods high in omega 3 fatty acids into your diet. Good sources include fish oils, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, and walnuts. You can also take omega-3 supplements.