Yogic Eye Exercises for Computer Vision Syndrome in Female Design Students

Computer vision syndrome (CVS) is a cluster of eye and musculoskeletal complaints - dryness, redness, blurred vision, foreign body sensation, excessive tearing, and neck, shoulder or back pain - that arises from prolonged work at a digital display. It is common among university students, and optical, pharmacological and nutritional treatments have given inconsistent results. Yoga-based eye exercises have been proposed as a brief, inexpensive alternative that requires no equipment. This study tested whether a short, structured programme of yogic eye exercises reduces self-reported CVS symptoms in female undergraduates in a graphic design and digital media programme, a group whose coursework demands sustained, colour-critical near work at a screen. All 36 female students enrolled in the programme took part. Each attended one supervised training session and then performed a 13-minute sequence of relaxation exercises (slow blinking, gazing at a distant target, acupressure around the eyes) and strengthening exercises (eye rolling, nose-tip gazing) three days a week for four weeks, a total of 12 sessions, reporting completion of each session on the same day. Nine symptoms - five ocular and four musculoskeletal - were rated on a four-point scale (never, rarely, sometimes, always) at the start and again at the end of week 4. The main question was whether the average of all nine ratings fell over the four weeks. Every participant served as her own comparison; there was no control group and no masking.