Your boss will hate me after reading this.

Unless if you’re an workaholic, going back to work on Monday isn’t really a pleasant thought.

If you are anything like I was in school, Sunday feels more like a weekday than a weekend because you constantly remember you have to go back tomorrow

Work isn’t bad, but The worst part is when there is a-lot of work! Being forced to do an excess amount of work; Cramming a week’s worth of stuff into a handful of days because the boss wants you to meet a deadline or because you procrastinated (we’ve all been there, no shame).

And cramming sucks!

It sucks to force yourself to sit down and work on something for a while: just so it actually gets done. Telling yourself, “No, you are going to sit down in this chair and not get up until it’s done.”

Every normal person crams on the regular or puts in long-continuous work times. The only thing wrong with this is that its badddd for you. Not just mentally because of all the stress but also physically.

It would be wonderful if you could have a robot do the work for us and still get paid. But sadly, things just don’t work that way. Work today still usually involves sitting behind a computer; almost everyone needs to know how to use a computer in the job force. This takes physical tolls on you.

It literally a pain in the butt having to sit in one spot, and staring at the screen nonstop. And chances are when you do work on a screen, you do it indoors, so you don’t have much sunlight coming through. Sitting too long has along been associated with many cardiovascular diseases.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that heavy screen time like this isn’t good for you. Am I saying quit your job? Definitely not, but can optimize your screen time and get work done without having to sacrifice your body.

Eye strain

The worst part of heavy computer work is the eye strain. Eye strain brings along the whole party, ranging from headaches, dry eyes, worsened vision, burning eyes, and etc… It’s especially worse when you shut off all the distractions to stay “focused” during those cramming times.

Eye strain happens in the front of the eye. It is when the eye’s focusing muscle, ciliary muscle, becomes tense from having to be stuck in one spot. Also when it has to strain to see, like in bad lighting situations or when you are just tired and are forcing yourself to work. Usually any type of tension you put on your eyes, having them work harder than they usually do, results in eye strain.

It isn’t a disease, but if your eyes hurt there is a simple cure. Not a trick question. You close them, rest them, take a nap or whatever. There isn’t a pill for to solve eye strain, but there are simple solutions. Eye strain itself does not harm your vision in the long-run. It does worsen vision temporarily, but there is no permanent damage. That being said, it's still not wise to work until your eyes are dry and red. This can indirectly have other severe consequences that many actually cause damage to your eye.

Bates method

The bates method was a group of exercises created by a doctor named William Bates. He, unlike other ophthalmologists, believed that eye strain was the cause of refractive errors such as myopia.

Although his theories were bologna, the bates method isn’t true, his exercises and theories are still useful in reducing eye strain. The bates method is an excellent resource. It was created with the intentions of reducing eye strain, and relaxation.

One particularly well-working exercise is palming.

You’ll really want to check out our bates method blog to learn more about palming and the bates. (link)

Your body is your responsibility

No one really wants to hear that they should’ve work ahead of time.

But that is one way to prevent eye strain. Other ways include:

1) Moving around

You need to get the blood flowing, sitting in one spot will not only increase your chances of eye strain, but is also bad for your body in general. Sitting in one place for long periods will also increase your chances of many diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and more. Not to mention, it tends to reverse the effects of going to the gym. We were never meant to be sitting creatures. As a matter of fact, did you know humans are one of the best runners in the animal kingdom? Just taking a small walk around the office is better than stay put for the entire time.

2) Stretching

Try stretching once in a while. Get up, try to touch your toes, crack your back or anything. It helps you feel refreshed and also take your eyes off the screen.

3) Posture

A bad posture will definitely increase your chances of eye strain. You don’t want to slouch over in your chair. A bad posture while sitting down can also transfer over to your posture while work, standing or translate to back problems. Consider buying a back brace to sit up straight, or stretch once in a while to loosen yourself up.

4) Take Breaks

Working on something for a long time without breaks is not that amazing for your brain. Take a break: go for a short walk, stretch, relax your eyes. There are many programs that you can download for free on Mac, Windows, and Linux that will remind you to take a break every interval. I personally use Stretchly and it works great!

Another problem with not taking breaks is you start to provide the stimulus for myopia development: your eyes will worsen. One tip for be to follow the 20/20/20 rule. This is where you take a break every 20 mins, for 20 secs, and stare at something at least 20 feet away. This will free your eyes a little bit, instead of having them locked in near work mode (read more about pseudo myopia link).