Does this sound familiar?

You start the day fine. By mid-afternoon your eyes feel heavy, dry or gritty. Text blurs for a moment and comes back. You lean closer to the screen, rub your eyes, or feel tension across your forehead and temples. By the evening you just want to close them.

If that is most days, you are not imagining it, and it is rarely just "too much screen time".

Section: Why it happens

Several things tend to add up:

• You blink less. Concentrating on a screen can cut how often, and how fully, you blink, so the tear film dries out.
• Your focusing muscles never rest. Hours at one close distance keep your eyes working hard, especially if your glasses are not set up for your screen distance.
• The office air works against you. Air conditioning, fans and heating dry the eye surface.
• The oil glands in your eyelids can struggle. These glands (meibomian glands) keep tears from evaporating. When they are blocked, eyes feel dry even when they water.
• Your prescription may not match your day. Glasses made for distance or reading are often wrong for a monitor at arm's length.

How I help

I'm Archana Somani, an optometrist with 30 years' experience. I see every client myself, one at a time, in a private consulting room on Level 18.

I start by finding out which of those causes apply to you. Depending on what I find, I recommend one of two appointments:

• The Visual Reset (£450, 60 minutes), if your eyes feel dry, gritty or tired. It includes a dry eye and eyelid assessment, gland imaging where appropriate, one session of LM™ Low-Level Light Therapy where suitable, gland expression, gentle periorbital techniques, guided breathing and a take-home care kit.
• The Signature Eye Test (£165, 60 minutes), if the problem is more about focus, blur or glasses that don't suit your screens. That includes a full prescription check and how your eyes work together at screen distance.

Not sure which? Book the one that sounds closest and I will advise you.

A client's story

Coming Soon...

Questions clients ask

Is this the same as a normal eye test? No. A standard eye test checks your prescription and eye health. Screen-tired eyes usually need a closer look at your tear film, eyelids and how your eyes cope at screen distance, which is what the Visual Reset is designed for.

Will blue light glasses help? The evidence that blue light filters reduce eye strain is weak. Lenses set up for your actual screen distance, and treating dryness, usually make more difference.

Can I fit it into my working day? Yes. Appointments are an hour, on Level 18 at 40 Bank Street, so most clients come in over an extended lunch break.

Can my employer pay? I provide itemised invoices for employer wellbeing schemes, health insurance claims and DSE requirements.