Dry eyes while studying for exams

Studying for exams means long hours of focused reading and screen work, often in dry, heated buildings and late into the night, and all of it slows blinking. Spacing study blocks with short breaks, keeping a laptop at a sensible height and using lubricating drops as directed, Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye, all help. Buyers here must be 18 or older.

Why exam season is hard on your eyes

Exam prep stacks several things that dry the eyes at once. You’re reading dense material that demands concentration, switching between a laptop, a textbook and handwritten notes, and doing it for many more hours a day than usual. Libraries and dorms in late fall run their heat high, and the stretch before finals is also when sleep tends to get cut short.

Structure the study session

Breaking work into blocks helps your memory and your eyes at the same time. One pattern many students use:

• Study for 25 to 50 minutes on one topic.
• Stop for five to ten minutes. Stand up, look out a window or down a long hallway, and blink slowly a few times.
• After three or four blocks, take a longer break away from screens and paper altogether: a walk, a meal, a conversation.
• Switch subjects or formats between blocks, from reading to practice problems or from screen to flashcards, so your eyes aren’t doing exactly the same task for hours.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s eye strain guidance suggests looking at something at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds every 20 minutes. A library reading room, with its long sightlines, makes that easy.

Laptops, libraries and dorm rooms

• Laptop height: a stack of textbooks under the laptop and a cheap external keyboard bring the screen to a better height, with your eyes looking slightly downward.
• Library seats: carrels near heating vents or under air returns are warmer and drier. If your eyes bother you, try a different floor or a seat away from the vents.
• Dorm rooms: radiators and forced-air heat in older residence halls can make a small room very dry by midwinter. Keep your desk out of the direct airflow and keep the bottle off the radiator.
• Study lamps: light the page or keyboard, not your face, and avoid working on a bright screen in an otherwise dark room.

Late nights and early exams

Studying until the small hours adds waking hours, and every extra hour with your eyes open is another hour of evaporation, usually in front of a screen. If you’re going to run late, close the laptop for the last half hour and review from paper notes or flashcards, then give your eyes a rest. Your exam the next morning will also go better on some sleep. Dry eyes from lack of sleep goes further into tired eyes.

Where lubricating drops fit in a study day

Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Three drops a day can line up with a study schedule: one when you start in the morning, one at the midpoint, and one before your longest evening session. Don’t add extra drops before an exam because the day feels important; the label doesn’t allow for that, and can I use more than three drops a day? explains what to do instead.

In a shared study space or a library, wash your hands first, then follow the label: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. Don’t share a bottle with a roommate or study partner, however friendly the offer. Quell may blur your vision for a moment, so use it before you sit down to read, not in the middle of a timed practice test.

Bringing drops to campus

A bottle fits in a backpack pocket. Keep it away from the laptop charger brick and out of a car parked in the sun; the label says Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Quell ships to US addresses, including campus mailing addresses, from Brentwood, Tennessee, with no delivery date promised, so order well before finals week. Check your school’s rules on mail and package pickup.

Students under 18

You have to be 18 to order from this site, so high school students and younger college students can’t buy here themselves. If you’re under 18 and your eyes feel dry while studying, talk to a parent or guardian, and have them talk to your doctor before you use any eye drops. Quell’s label doesn’t give directions for children, and eye drops and children explains what it does and doesn’t say. Parents ordering for a college student can read do you have to be 18 to order? for the rules.

When to get your eyes checked

If you’re squinting at slides from the back of a lecture hall, getting headaches while reading, or still feeling discomfort on days off, book an eye exam; many campuses have a student health center that can point you to one. The label lists when to stop: Stop use and ask a doctor if you feel eye pain or changes in your vision, if irritation or redness continues, or if the condition worsens or persists for 72 hours.