Solutions for Everyday Overindulging

Your Overindulgence: Computer Time

What you did: Spent hours glued to your screen trying to finish a report. Your eyes are bleary and dry.

Now what? Your weary eyes need some serious R & R. If possible, stay away from your computer for an hour or so and try the following:

• Look out the window. "Converting from up-close to at-a-distance viewing will diminish eyestrain by helping tight eye muscles relax," says Marguerite McDonald, a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the Tulane University School of Medicine, in New Orleans. It’s sort of like stretching the eye muscles after overusing them, as you would your hamstrings after a hard run.
   
• Relieve dryness with lubricating eyedrops. A good type to try is Refresh, a brand of artificial tears that won’t gum up your eyes.
   
• Switching to glasses may be more comfortable for contact-lens wearers.
   
• Close your aching eyes and treat them to a cool compress (a wet washcloth will do).