Eye exercises for computer users: 8 simple routines and an honest look at what they can do

Do eye exercises work? The honest answer first

It depends entirely on what you want them to do.

What eye exercises won't do: improve the sharpness of your vision or replace glasses. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) says there is no irrefutable evidence that eye exercises can improve uncorrected visual acuity. In another article, the AAO says eye exercises are ineffective for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, and won't spare you reading glasses as presbyopia sets in after about age 40. A 2005 systematic review of eye exercises reached a similar conclusion: outside a few specific conditions, there was no clear evidence supporting them, and their use remained controversial.

What they may help with: comfort during long screen sessions. Screen work tends to mean hours of fixed, close focus and fewer, shallower blinks. Exercises that make you look far away, move your eyes and blink fully counter those patterns, and they force a pause.

The evidence for that comfort benefit is real but thin:

A few details on those studies:

• Blinking: In a 2021 study, 41 people with dry eye symptoms did short blinking exercise cycles every 20 minutes for four weeks. Symptom scores improved and the share of incomplete blinks dropped from 54% to 34%, with modest changes in tear film tests. A 2025 study found 15 close-squeeze-open cycles three times a day was the most effective routine it tested. (Its authors created the instructional app used in the study.) A 2024 review of digital eye strain lists blinking exercises among the most studied treatments for the condition.
• Eye yoga: A 2020 study of 32 optometry students found lower eye fatigue scores after six weeks of yoga eye exercises. A 2016 study of 40 nursing students found the same with an eight-step routine that included palming, blinking, side and up-down viewing, rotations, and near-and-far viewing. Both were small, and neither describes random assignment of participants.

So use eye exercises as a comfort and habit tool, not as treatment. If you have ongoing symptoms, the most effective fixes are usually more mundane: breaks, screen position and up-to-date glasses. Our guide to digital eye strain covers those in detail.

Safety notes before you start

These exercises are gentle, but a few rules apply:

• Never press on your eyes. Palming means cupping, not pressing. The AAO advises avoiding rubbing and touching your eyes, since you can scratch them and long-term rubbing can weaken the cornea.
• Keep movements slow and comfortable. Move only as far as feels easy. Don't strain to reach the edges of your vision.
• Keep your head still for the eye-movement exercises, unless a step says otherwise.
• Stop if you feel pain, dizziness, nausea, headache or double vision. Rest, and mention it to an eye doctor if it happens again.
• Check with your eye doctor first if you have a diagnosed eye condition, eye-teaming problem or recent eye surgery. The AAO recommends discussing eye exercises with your ophthalmologist.
• Wash your hands before anything that brings your hands near your eyes.
• Don't do them while driving or doing anything that needs your full visual attention.

8 eye exercises for computer users

Sit upright, feet flat, shoulders relaxed. If you wear glasses for distance, you can keep them on for the focus exercises. Remove them for palming.

1. Palming

A short rest in darkness. Good at the start of a longer break.

1. Rub your palms together for a few seconds to warm them.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Cup your palms over your closed eyes, fingers resting on your forehead and the heels of your hands on your cheekbones. No pressure on the eyes themselves.
4. Adjust until little or no light gets in.
5. Breathe slowly for 30 to 60 seconds. Let your shoulders and jaw relax.
6. Lower your hands and open your eyes slowly.

2. Blink reset

Rebuilds full, complete blinks, which tend to become shallow during screen work. Researchers have linked a high share of incomplete blinks with more screen-related symptoms.

1. Look away from the screen.
2. Close your eyes gently and fully, so the upper and lower lids meet.
3. Pause for about two seconds.
4. Gently squeeze your lids together for about two seconds, without scrunching your whole face.
5. Open your eyes and relax for a moment.
6. Repeat 10 to 15 times.

This close–pause–squeeze–open cycle mirrors the type of routine used in the blinking studies above.

3. Near–far focus shift

Exercises the eyes' focusing system and gives it a chance to relax at distance.

1. Hold a thumb or pen about 10 inches (25 cm) in front of your nose.
2. Focus on it until it's clear, for about 5 seconds.
3. Shift your focus to something at least 20 feet (6 m) away, such as a window or the far end of the room, for about 5 seconds.
4. Repeat 10 times, ending on the far target.

The simplest version of this is the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Studies of breaks like this are small and mixed, but a 2023 study found fewer symptoms while people used 20-20-20 reminders.

4. Side to side

1. Keep your head still and look straight ahead.
2. Slowly move your gaze as far left as is comfortable. Hold for 2 seconds.
3. Slowly move your gaze as far right as is comfortable. Hold for 2 seconds.
4. Repeat 5 to 10 times, then blink a few times and look straight ahead.

5. Up and down

1. Head still, look straight ahead.
2. Slowly look up as far as is comfortable. Hold for 2 seconds.
3. Slowly look down. Hold for 2 seconds.
4. Repeat 5 to 10 times. Finish with a few slow blinks.

6. Diagonals

1. Head still. Look up and to the left, hold 2 seconds.
2. Look down and to the right, hold 2 seconds.
3. Repeat 5 times.
4. Switch: up and to the right, then down and to the left, 5 times.

7. Eye circles

1. Head still. Imagine a large clock face in front of you.
2. Slowly trace the clock edge with your eyes, clockwise, from 12 around to 12. Take 3 to 5 seconds per circle.
3. Do 3 to 5 circles, then blink and rest.
4. Repeat counterclockwise.

If full circles feel uncomfortable, try half circles: trace only the top half of the clock, from 9 through 12 to 3 and back, then the bottom half.

8. Figure eight

1. Pick a spot on a wall or the floor about 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 m) away.
2. Imagine a large figure eight lying on its side (∞) around that spot.
3. Trace it slowly with your eyes for about 30 seconds.
4. Switch direction for another 30 seconds.
5. Blink a few times and look into the distance.

A simple daily eye-break routine

You don't need to do all eight at once. Spread them through the day so they line up with natural breaks.

If your main complaint is dryness, lean on the blink reset. If your eyes feel "stuck" at near focus by late afternoon, emphasize look-away breaks and focus shifts.

Making the routine stick

The research on breaks has one consistent lesson: the habit fades without a cue. In the 2023 20-20-20 study, symptoms improved while reminders ran, but the improvement was gone a week after they stopped.

Some ways to keep it going:

• Tie exercises to existing moments. Blink reset after every meeting, palming before lunch.
• Keep it short. Two minutes you actually do beats a 15-minute routine you skip.
• Use a reminder. A phone timer works. EyeNap, a Mac menu-bar app, offers guided, animated versions of these routines (including focus shift, eye circles, figure eight, blink reset and palming) and holds reminders during calls and full-screen apps. You can see the full list on the features page.

Exercises that belong with an eye doctor

Some eye problems do respond to targeted exercises, but they need a diagnosis first.

• Convergence insufficiency, where the eyes struggle to work together on close objects, can make reading hard. The AAO says eye exercises may help, including "pencil push-ups" and computer-based focusing exercises an ophthalmologist may recommend.
• Vision therapy for focusing and eye-teaming problems is, as the AOA describes it, a structured program prescribed by an eye care professional, with office-based and home sessions.

If close work regularly causes double vision, words that seem to move, or you lose your place easily when reading, get an exam rather than self-treating with general exercises.

Common myths about eye exercises

• "Eye exercises can replace glasses." They can't. The AAO says they don't fix refractive errors.
• "An app can get rid of my reading glasses." An ophthalmologist quoted by the AAO says no eye exercise program will reduce or eliminate the need for reading glasses.
• "If my eyes feel better, my vision is fine." Comfort and eye health are different things. The AAO notes that diseases such as glaucoma can have few or no symptoms, which is why regular exams matter.
• "More is better." Straining your eyes to their limits for long sessions isn't the goal. Gentle and frequent works better than hard and rare.

When to see an eye doctor

Exercises are for comfort. They aren't a way to treat symptoms that point to something else.

Book an eye exam if:

• Eye strain continues after you've adjusted your workspace and habits. The AAO says an ophthalmologist can check for dry eye, eye muscle problems or the need for a new prescription.
• Your eyes are consistently red, blurry or watery, or become sensitive to light or painful (AAO).
• Exercises cause double vision, headaches or dizziness.
• You haven't had an eye exam in over a year. The AOA suggests yearly exams for computer users.

See an ophthalmologist right away for any of the AAO's urgent warning signs, including:

• Decreased vision, even if temporary
• Double vision
• Eye pain
• A dark curtain or veil over your vision, or loss of side vision
• A lot of new floaters or flashes, or a shadow in your side vision

No exercise routine is the right response to those.