We hope you are finding Dry Eye January useful. This blog is challenging you to discover and potentially improve your blink-power.
Why do this?
Blinking is a free, natural remedy to help relieve dry eye symptoms. Afterall, the mighty blink is there to help promote your natural tear production and spread this moisturising fluid evenly over the eye. Blinking is a natural reflex and every blink helps to refresh your tears, cleanse the eyes’ surface and stabilise your vision - it is one of the ingenious ways that your body maintains ocular surface health. There are plenty of clinical studies out there which confirm the link to poor blinking and an increased risk of developing dry eye.
What happens to your blinking if you have dry eye?
Researchers have looked into the impact of having dry eye on the rate at which you blink. In one study of almost 5,000 subjects it was shown that dry eye sufferers blinked at over twice the rate of non-sufferers (29 versus 13 per minute). The most striking finding was that the number of long blinks (superextended) was x10 higher in the dry eye group. The result was dry eye sufferers were spending more time with their eyes closed – could this be part of our natural defence against tear loss? Certainly, if your tears are compromised your blink reflex gets working harder to try and ease the situation.
Is there such a thing as a normal blink?
The ‘normal’ range of blink frequency that an eye care professional would expect to see is typically around 10-15 blinks per minute. However, it is not just about frequency experts will consider the quality of your blinking too. If you are not fully closing your eyes then your tears will not be completely spread, also a constantly open eye, even partially, will lose more moisture through evaporation. It is not difficult to envisage why this could be a problem.
How good are your blinks?
It’s tricky to measure and usually requires specialist equipment such as high-speed digital cameras and digital recording equipment. There is also innovative software available that can detect blinking. To get a full understanding you need to understand both the quantity and quality of blinking. However, here is a fun test to try yourself. It is very hard to count your own blinks, instead ask a friend. Simply look into out a window to a distant spot and relax. Count the blinks for a minute (for greater accuracy repeat x3 and take an average). You could repeat this while watching a video and see how they compare.
Why are long periods of screen work a concern?
This is because when you become engaged with, or focused on, a visual image your blink rate naturally starts to fall – nature does not want you to miss anything important! If this is only occasionally it will have minimal impact but for longer periods of time you will end up with dry, sore and tired feeling eyes.
Although, taking regular breaks can help reduce the impact of screen use and a study showed maintaining a distance of 60cm from the screen and ensuring good light will also help. There is also the tried and tested 20-20-20 rule.
How can I improve my dry eye with blinking?
Blinking exercises have been demonstrated to help improve the situation. A study showed that regular blinking exercises throughout the day will improve tear stability and reduce dry eye symptoms. There are lots of examples of blinking exercises online but here is a simple routine from Dry Eye Zone:
1. Slowly close your eyes and hold for 2 seconds
2. Slowly open your eyes and close them again, this time squeeze them tight for 2 seconds (use the eye lid muscles and avoid simply ‘screwing’ your eye up
3. Release the squeeze for 3 seconds and then open your eyes.
4. Repeat steps 1 -3 five times.
5. You can do these exercises regularly throughout the day. This is especially useful when you are working at a screen.
You can find more easy eye exercises at DRY EYE ZONE.
What action should I take?
That bit is easy. If you are experiencing dry eye symptoms then contact your eye care professional and book an eye examination today to help keep you and your eyes healthy.
You can learn more about the causes of dry eye and how your eye care professional can help you at DRY EYE ZONE. If you do not have an eye care professional to can contact the
DRY EYE ZONE and we will let you know of an independent practitioner with a specialist interest in dry eye in your area.
Don’t forget to visit DRY EYE ZONE and subscribe to the regular free information and research updates.
If you are experiencing dry eye symptoms then you should ask the advice of your eye care professional. Why not book your next eye examination with an independent optician today.
Sources:
Ranti, C., Jones, W., Klin, A. et al. Blink Rate Patterns Provide a Reliable Measure of Individual Engagement with Scene Content. Sci Rep 10, 8267 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64999-x
N. T. Tsai et al., "Development of a Non-Invasive Blink Reflexometer," in IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine, vol. 5, pp. 1-4, 2017, Art no. 3800204, doi: 10.1109/JTEHM.2017.2782669.
Nosch DS, Foppa C, Tóth M, Joos RE. Blink Animation Software to Improve Blinking and Dry Eye Symptoms. Optom Vis Sci. 2015 Sep;92(9):e310-5. doi: 10.1097/OPX.0000000000000654. PMID: 26164310.
Ousler GW 3rd, Abelson MB, Johnston PR, Rodriguez J, Lane K, Smith LM. Blink patterns and lid-contact times in dry-eye and normal subjects. Clin Ophthalmol. 2014 May 5;8:869-74. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S56783. PMID: 24833893; PMCID: PMC4015796.
Zhiming Tu; Yi Pang. The Effect of Blink Rate and Visual Setting on the Symptoms of Digital Eye Strain. ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract. June 2023.
Oganov A, Yazdanpanah G, Jabbehdari S, Belamkar A, Pflugfelder S. Dry eye disease and blinking behaviors: A narrative review of methodologies for measuring blink dynamics and inducing blink response. Ocul Surf. 2023 Jul;29:166-174. doi: 10.1016/j.jtos.2023.05.011. Epub 2023 May 29. PMID: 37257694.
A.D. Kim, A. Muntz, J. Lee, M.T.M. Wang, J.P. Craig, Therapeutic benefits of blinking exercises in dry eye disease, Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, Volume 44, Issue 3, 2021, 101329, ISSN 1367-0484, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clae.2020.04.014.
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