Headaches and eye strain: possible causes and what to do

Questions about Headaches and eye strain

Each answer below is the short version; the question links to the page that carries it in full, with sources.

• Why do my eyes feel tired and strained?

  Eye strain usually comes from sustained effort at a close task, often with an uncorrected or changed prescription, an unstable tear film, or prolonged focus without breaks. It is uncomfortable rather than damaging.

• Can computers cause eye strain?

  Yes. Digital eye strain is a recognised pattern of symptoms including aching eyes, headache, dry or gritty eyes and blurred vision after prolonged screen work.

• How can I reduce digital eye strain?

  The measures that help most are taking regular breaks that involve looking at something distant, positioning the screen slightly below eye level at roughly arm’s length, increasing the text size so you are not straining, and treating any underlying dryness.

• Why does my child complain of headaches after reading?

  Headaches with close work in a child often occur with an uncorrected refractive error or with a focusing or alignment problem, since the eyes are working harder than they should.

• Can phones cause blurry vision?

  Phone use can cause temporary blur, largely from dryness and from sustained near focus, and it does not cause permanent refractive error in adults on its own.

• Can long sightedness cause headaches or eye strain?

  It can, because the eye is doing continuous work to compensate. The usual pattern is discomfort after sustained near tasks, such as reading or screen work, rather than a headache on waking. Blur is not always present, which is what makes this easy to attribute to something else.

• Can astigmatism cause headaches?

  Uncorrected astigmatism can cause eye strain and headaches, particularly after sustained reading or screen work, because the eye works harder to find a clear image. The symptom is not specific to astigmatism, so an examination is what distinguishes it from an uncorrected prescription or dry eye.