After using a computer or smartphone for a long time,
“there’s a dull, heavy feeling behind my eyes,”
“I want to press on the backs of my eyes,”
“even with my eyes closed, the fatigue lingers,”
have you ever felt this way?
We often say “the backs of my eyes are tired,” but in fact it isn’t just one spot behind the eyeball that is tired.
So where does that distinctive feeling of fatigue come from?
“Tiredness Behind the Eyes” Doesn’t Come from Just One Place
When we use our eyes, several mechanisms are working at the same time inside and around the eyeball.
First, when we look at something close up, the “ciliary muscle” plays an important role.
The ciliary muscle sits inside the eyeball and is involved in adjusting focus by changing the shape of the lens.
With smartphones and computers, we keep looking at things at close range for long periods, so our eyes tend to stay in a constant state of focusing.
In addition, around the eyeball there are six muscles known as the “extraocular muscles.”
They work to move the eyeballs up, down, left and right, and to keep both eyes pointing in the same direction.
In other words, even while we keep looking at a screen, many mechanisms are at work inside and around our eyes.
“Dry Eyes” Add to the Feeling of Fatigue, Too
Another important factor is dryness on the surface of the eye.
Several studies have reported that we blink less often when we concentrate on a digital screen.
Blinking spreads tears over the surface of the eye, so when we blink less, the eyes dry out more easily, leading to tired eyes, a gritty feeling and blurred vision.
These symptoms, which come with long hours of using digital devices, are also known as “digital eye strain.”
The sensation of “tiredness behind the eyes” may involve
• the work of adjusting focus
• the work of moving the eyeballs
• dryness on the surface of the eye
• tension around the eyes
and several other factors combined.
How Common Is Digital Eye Strain?
These days, digital eye strain is by no means unusual.
A systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2023, which pooled studies from around the world, estimated the prevalence of digital eye strain at about 66%.
In other words, although results vary with study conditions and participants, it is clearly a very familiar problem for people who use digital devices.
And the Strain Spreads to Your “Neck and Shoulders”
This is where the connection with the neck and shoulders finally comes in.
When you look at a computer or smartphone for a long time, you don’t just keep using your eyes; your posture also tends to become fixed.
In particular, a posture in which your head juts forward as if peering into the screen puts strain on the muscles of the neck and shoulders.
That’s why, with digital eye strain, symptoms such as headaches and neck and shoulder pain have been reported in addition to dry eyes and blurred vision.
It isn’t a simple relationship in which “tired eyes always lead to a stiff neck and shoulders.”
Still, it’s quite possible for the same “long hours of digital work” to put strain on both your eyes and your neck and shoulders.
Rest Not Just Your Eyes, but the Body That Keeps Working
When you look at a screen for long periods, it’s important not to focus only on your eyes but to let your whole body rest.
Try building in small breaks: look into the distance now and then, blink consciously, check the distance between you and the screen, and get up from your seat regularly.
Also, if strong eye pain, changes in your vision or symptoms in only one eye persist, it’s important not to self-diagnose them as “tired eyes,” but to consult an eye doctor.
For Those in Shinjuku Feeling Tired in the Eyes, Head, Neck and Shoulders
At La HEAD, many guests who tell us their “eyes feel tired deep inside” also feel tension in their head, neck and shoulders.
That’s why, instead of treating only the head, we care for the neck, shoulders and arms as one connected whole.
You sit at a computer all day, and by the time work is over, the backs of your eyes feel heavy.
Before you know it, your head, neck and shoulders are tired, too.
If this sounds like you, why not make time to rest not only your eyes but also the head and body that have been working for so many hours?
In a calm, fully private room, we look forward to welcoming you.