Palming, the instant technique to rest your eyes from screens

An “eye yoga”

Created by American ophthalmologist William Bates at the beginning of the 20th century, palming is an exercise that aims not only to relieve eye strain, but also to improve visual function. The objective of the method? Rest and regenerate the eyes, but also the mind, to promote concentration and soothe the nervous system. It’s a bit like rediscovering the feeling of comfort you feel at night, when your closed eyes are resting, but during the day. To do this, just place your hands on your eyes, but not just anyhow. We show you.

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How do we do it?

First, choose the position in which you feel most comfortable. If you are at home in the evening or working from home, you can, for example, lie down with your head on the pillow and your elbows on your chest. If you’re at the office or at the bus stop, you can do it sitting down. The important thing is that your back and your head stay straight. It is even possible to practice standing palming! Finally, the exercise is suitable for all ages and all levels of vision.

Concretely, a session lasts only two to three minutes, even if it can last much longer. Simply warm the palms of your hands by rubbing them against each other and then place one hand on each eye. Make sure that your two hands form the letter A together, so as to prevent any light from entering. We start with our eyes open to make sure that both eyes are in the dark, then we close them. To further enhance the effect of darkness, it is best to visualize something black. During this time, do not press your eyes or your nose, do not make any noise and also avoid noisy places. The goal is to have a relaxing time. You can even take the opportunity to perform a meditation or breathing exercise to relax.

You can perform this exercise several times a day, especially when your eyes feel tired or tingly. When you’ve spent several hours behind a screen, driven for a long time, or experienced poor lighting. Last tip: adjust the brightness of your screens and the rooms in which you live and work.

For what benefits?

By performing the palming, the warmth of the palms of your hands will promote blood circulation, relax muscle tension inside and around the eye and help in the production of tears. Results ? Better tear film quality. Then, the darkness will allow you to fight against the accumulated tensions and allow you to relax by creating an insulating bubble around you. Moreover, you will be able to observe that the small white dots and other luminous shapes perceived at the start in the dark and which reflect the state of excitement of your nervous system in the face of light will gradually disappear. This is a sign that the body is relaxing.

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