Six strategies to help you read some more without straining your eyes

Last week, I finally received the book set from my college friend who works as a nurse in Brooklyn, New York. She reads over 30 books in a year but struggles looking for space in her place to stack them up. A few years ago, she messaged me to ask if I wanted her ‘pre-loved’ books and I was enthusiastic about it! Since then, every year, she’d send me photos of her ‘pre-loved’ books and ship the ones I choose to my place here in the Philippines!

Among the books in the set she sent this year, it is The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien that keeps me most enthralled. The problem is, recently, my readings have largely been for graduate school—journal articles and our reference books written by Prof. Ken Hyland and the linguists, Halliday and Everett, which I admit are also fascinating. (Not to mention the stories I edit and give feedback on.) Those aren’t for leisure reading, though. This year started rough timewise, and I’ve been longing to spend more reading time with the letters of Tolkien and all other books I began reading last year.

Such a long reading list makes my eyes really tired in the middle of the day, especially at night. I am very prone to migraine attacks, and I know it’s already there once a muscle in my eye starts throbbing. In my desire to relieve my eyes of stress and do more readings, I discovered the following strategies that currently help me big time:

Look to a distant, green-colored object. I’ve actually known this strategy since college (I studied Nursing). Our pupils constrict when we read or look at any object at a close distance. When our pupils are constricted, its blood vessels are too. Looking afar dilates the pupils, and hence the blood vessels, which allows for more blood circulation. They say nature’s green color relaxes the eyes, but I’m not sure if it has the same effect on any other green objects. This is why I positioned my writing desk near the windows.

Massage the muscles around the eyes. It’s Papa who taught me this technique; he is not just a nurse but also a sports therapist. When doing massages, he said the ideal is to follow the shape and direction of the muscle. The muscle around the eyes (below the eyebrows) is circular, but that’s because it ‘surrounds’ the hollow, so instead of doing a circular motion, you can do a linear motion going out at all sides.

Massage the head. The muscles in our head are connected to the ones in our eyes, so they also get tensed when the eyes are strained. Whenever Papa massages my head, he uses a thumb and draws a line at the center of my head starting from the tip of my forehead going to the back of my head. Then he uses his fingertips to massage both sides of my head in an up-and-down motion—much like when you’re putting shampoo on your hair.

Do a 15-minute power nap. Believe me, this is very short. If you’re a workaholic like me, it’s hard to set aside even just a few minutes of rest per day (when you’re on a roll) and make it part of your system. I still struggle with this, but by now I already know that a 15-minute power nap can go a long way. It helps me relax not just my eyes but also my brain.

Take a warm shower. Warm water dilates blood vessels, so it aids an increased blood circulation throughout the body. It’s the reason why spas have a jacuzzi, steam, and sauna. Warmth has a relaxing effect, though too much of it is potentially dangerous—so, I make sure to not spend more than 15 minutes with it.

Drink warm tea. If you’re a coffee lover, you can substitute tea with coffee. I find warm tea more relaxing, though—not the powdered one, but loose tea leaves. The first sip always feels like sunshine. I feel like it instantly improves my vision and relaxes the stressed muscles in my head, so I make sure to have a cup in the morning and, sometimes, in the afternoon too.

In a nutshell, the main goal is to improve blood circulation in the eyes and throughout the body. I’m sure there are other strategies out there, and if you happen to know any of them, please share it with me. I realized I’ll do anything just to read some more, as much as I can, because I need to—and I want to!