Common causes of an eye twitch
I have an eye twitch—have had for three days now. The lower lid on my right eye twitches for a couple of seconds every few minutes. It’s pretty much driving me crazy, so I did what any normal person would do—I Googled “common causes of an eye twitch.” Because, you know, Googling an ailment is almost the same as going to the doctor.
Anyway, here’s what I learned about the most common causes of an eye twitch:
- Stress. Yep, that’s me. Meditation and deep breathing are no match for the kind of week I’ve had. And the eye twitch isn’t helping matters any.
- Lack of sleep. I aim for seven hours a night, and I do pretty well at lying there with my eyes closed for seven hours, but that delicious deep sleep of my youth is often elusive.
- Too much caffeine. I panicked when I read this—you do not mess with my coffee—but I’m pleased to report that I’m coming in under the 400 mgs per day that is generally considered healthy. My Keurig k-cup in the morning, venti latte at work, the occasional Diet Coke with lunch, and evening decaf Keurig k-cup equal roughly 350 mgs.
- Eye strain, usually from too much screen time. Let’s see…I work at a computer most of the day. When I’m not on my computer, I’m checking my iPhone. On a typical workday evening, I spend 2–3 hours in front of the television or once again on the computer or iPhone (sometimes all three at once).
Yeah, I guess I better make peace with the eye twitch. Looks like we might be close companions for a while.
[Update: as of the publication of this blog post, I’ve either gotten used to the twitching and don’t notice it as much, or it has calmed down considerably. And to think I almost cut back on my screen time!]
Have you ever had an ongoing eye twitch? How long did it last? What did you do about it?
What is your go-to stress reliever?
What time do you usually go to bed on a week night? What time do you get up?
Any guesses at how much screen time you get on a typical day?
Sublinglal b12 is either a psychosomatic soother, or actually effective. I get it on my upper eyelid when things get nuts at work or I’m jet lagged. B12 seems to stop it pretty reliably. 🙂 good luck!
It seems to have resolved itself, but B12 sounds like something I should have on hand for the next go-round. Thanks Anneliese!
Luckily I haven’t had an eye twitch. But I have Crohn’s. Early on I had to learn to leave work at work and home at home. This separation was needed for the stress. Stress will make the Crohn’s worse.
Deep breathing to bring stress levels down. Taking a walk or sitting on my porch looking out at the fields helps relax me.
I’m on the computer for 8 hours each day at work. Had to get readers just recently. Headaches- not twitches!
Thanks Debra. There is something about being outside that automatically relaxes–and if you can see fields from your porch, all the better!
I’m not a coffee drinker but diet Dr Pepper and/or diet Mt Dew are my caffeine addictions. I have not had an ongoing eye twitch but have had them that last for a few minutes. My most used go-to stress reliever would probably be going to a quiet room and playing a crossword puzzle on my iPhone. I’m having difficulty setting a proper bedtime, I honestly prefer staying up at night and sleeping during the day 🙂 My guesstimate on my daily screen time is about 8-12 hours – YIKES! Good to hear that you’ve gotten used to the twitching or that it has calmed down. Thank you Christie for attending the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty. I shared your post.
Thanks Dee! I’m not a big morning person either, but because my job requires it, I must go to bed early. I’ve always required a lot of sleep, even when I was younger. I’m scared to even calculate my screen time. Thanks for responding to my questions and for hosting #WednesdayAIMLinkParty.