Can stress affect your eyesight? Optical Express explains

From high blood pressure to heart disease, you might already know that stress is bad for us and has been linked to a series of health problems.

Stress stimulates a 'fight or flight’ reflex which helps us determine a response to threats which can be harmful to our health and well-being if we experience it too much in the long term.

However, you might have not know that stress can lead to a range of 'unexpected' problems with our eyes and our eyesight.

Optical Express has explained what eyesight problems can be caused be stressed and how to ease them. ( Getty Images) (Image: Getty Images)

Can stress cause vision problems?

Optical Express has broken down how stress affects our eyesight, the problems to look for and the steps you can to reduce the strain stress is causing your eyes.

When we experience a moment of stress, the pupils of our eyes dilate to enhance our vision. 

When we’re continually stressed and experience stressed eyes, our pupils commonly stay dilated, which can lead to a number of problems, according to the experts.

If you are suffering from any of these stress-related symptoms over a long period of time, you can visit your local Optical Express for an eye test.

Eye strain

Eye strain causing visual fatigue is a common side-effect of looking at a computer screen too long, but it can also be triggered by stress. 

Blurred vision

Long-term stress or highly stressful situations can lead to raised levels of adrenaline in the body, which in turn may lead to blurred vision caused by stress. 

Dry or watery eyes

Stress can lead to dry or watery eyes, with either symptom brought around by worry or anxiety. However, which symptom you experience depends on how your body handles stress specifically.

Eye twitching

After prolonged periods of stress, it is possible to develop involuntary spasms in one or both eyes. 

Blurred vision, eye strain and light sensitivity are all eyesight problems linked to stress. ( Getty Images) (Image: Getty Images)

Light sensitivity

People who are experiencing stress may begin to find it difficult to see in bright lighting or find that bright lights cause their eyes to hurt. 

Eye floaters

A sign of prolonged stress, or a highly stressful situation, could be tiny spots swimming across your vision.

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Stephen Hannan, Clinical Services Director at Optical Express, said: “Stress can impact us all in different ways. One person could feel all of these symptoms, while the next only feels one or two. 

“Whether you experience these issues or not, stress will cause the muscles that surround the eyes to become tense, which could lead to soreness or migraines.

“If you’ve noticed any of these symptoms, there are a few techniques you can use to help de-stress.

"Exercising and deep breathing both help relieve tension by relaxing the body and calming the nervous system which controls the ‘fight or flight’ response.”