BLINKING EXERCISES

Partial blinking is quite common in people with dry eyes. If you have been diagnosed as a partial blinker, your doctor feels blinking exercises are beneficial for you.

1. New habits like blinking exercises require repetition to establish. They should ideally be done every 15 minutes or so for 30 days to be effective. Sometimes, using an audible signal such as an egg timer, cell phone alert or computer to remind you can help, especially during tasks requiring sustained focus.
2. Close both eyes normally, pause 2 seconds and open. Repeat every 15 minutes.
3. Blinking is very task-dependent, and the blink rate decreases with sustained visual activity. For example, if you spend a lot of time on the computer, you are blinking much less frequently than you should. 
4. If you are having difficulty incorporating the blinking exercises into your schedule (i.e., five times/hour), choose an activity you do routinely i.e., checking email, text messages and practice doing the blinking exercises every time you perform this activity. This will help to establish complete blinking habits over time. It is critical for the health of your eyes.