Does eye yoga really work?

Two small studies found lower eye fatigue scores after several weeks of eye yoga. It can be a relaxing break, but there's no evidence it improves eyesight.

How often should I do eye yoga?

There's no proven schedule. The studies used regular sessions over several weeks; once or twice a workday is a reasonable start.

Gentle eye yoga is low-risk for most people. Stop if you feel pain, dizziness or double vision, and check with your eye doctor first if you have an eye condition or recent eye surgery.

Eye Yoga: A Guided 2.5-Minute Routine for Screen Workers

How to do it

Sit upright with your shoulders relaxed and your head still.
Side to side, then up and down: 15 seconds each.
Diagonals: top left to bottom right, then bottom left to top right.
Half circles: the arch over the top, then the dip below.
Figure eight, one way and then the other.
Circles, clockwise and then anticlockwise.
Finish with a few slow blinks and a look into the distance. Palming afterwards is a nice way to end.

Why it helps, and what the evidence says

"Eye yoga" usually means a sequence of eye movements like this one, often with palming and blinking. It's the best-studied form of eye-movement exercise, though the studies are still small. 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. Neither describes random assignment of participants.

Eye yoga won't improve the sharpness of your vision or replace glasses: the American Academy of Ophthalmology says there's no proof that eye exercises do that.

Tips

Move only as far as feels easy, keep your head still, and stop if you feel dizzy, get a headache or see double.
Short on time? Do half the set now and half later.
Don't do it while driving or doing anything that needs your full visual attention.