Prepare Yourself for Holiday Stress and Enjoy Celebrating! - Abilities OT & Irlen Diagnostic Center

Light, Sound, Sensory Stress, Depression, & Anxiety

The holiday season is filled with joy and excitement, but it can also be full of environmental stressors such as bright lights, loud sounds and an overload of social, physical, mental and emotional challenges. When targeted measures are implemented to manage those stressors, you and your loved ones can create balance, wellness and enjoyment. If you or your loved ones feel overwhelmed, sad or out of control during the holiday season, Abilities OT Services & Irlen Diagnostic Center May provide valuable assistance with how to remedy and regenerate easily and immediately.

How can you manage sensory stress this holiday?

With the darkness comes a variety of lights that may cause sensory overload. Irlen spectral filters and blue light blocking glasses can minimize glare, visual stress, attention issues, hypersensitivity and migraines/headaches from bright and fluorescent lights, flashing holiday lights and signage, car lights, etc. Wear a brimmed hat even at night to minimize light directly in your eyes and overloading your brain.
Take time to prepare before holiday events. Wear comfortable clothing, listen to calming music, watch comedies and happy holiday-themed shows and movies. Give yourself a treat when you take care of yourself through this challenging time: a massage or spa visit after the holidays, time to read an absorbing novel, create an art project, decorate a room or create a sacred space for meditation and prayer or just quiet time alone.
Eat healthy meals and take supplements to help boost your immune system like odorless garlic, vitamin C, goldenseal, echinacea, resveratrol, etc. Try to get some sunshine and exercise; walking at least 30 minutes daily can help you achieve both at the same time. Breathe deeply from your gut to improve your oxygen levels and circulation.
Call loved ones and just say hello and tell them how much they mean to you and how much you appreciate them. Buy some inexpensive and thoughtful gifts, or better yet, you can make some and give them with unconditional love.️
Plan a vacation break, even if just a day, to have fun with some loved ones.

Get Revenge on Your Migraines

When experiencing a migraine, it’s easy to become debilitated by pain. With 39 million Americans experiencing migraine headaches, preventing and treating them is essential. To prevent a migraine from starting, you should experiment to identify what your triggers are.

Some of the most common triggers include:

Loud noises
Bright and fluorescent lighting
Eating foods known to trigger headaches including chocolate, processed meat, artificial sweeteners and cheese
Weather changes
Strong feelings or intense emotions
Medications
Hormonal fluctuations
Changes to a sleep schedule
Stress
Allergies
Environmental factors (pollution, mold, gas fumes, lighting, colors, patterns)
Technology overuse including video games, bright monitors, TV, etc

If you’re experiencing a migraine and feeling crippled by pain, you should:

Find a calmer environment. Turn off the lights in the room where you are and turn off any computers or televisions.
- Make sure you schedule breaks from a screen every 20 minutes for 20 seconds. Look near and far and near, all directions by rolling your eyes, hydrate with pure water, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Use Chinese Eye Exercises, watch here: https://bit.ly/2CpTBsg or Brain Gym Exercises (Lazy 8, Double Doodle, Owl and Neck Rolls)
Experiment with temperature therapy, like using warm or cold compresses applied to your head, neck or eyes to ward off the pain.
Think about whether or not you’ve had enough water and food over the course of the day and eat or drink if necessary.
Use Irlen spectral filters for immediate, drug-free, profound, lasting relief, watch here: https://bit.ly/2Byr2Hv

Before You Drive At Night

If you’ll be driving after dark this holiday season, you should focus on improving your night vision now.

Here are some tips to help you see better in the dark:

Use eye exercises to strengthen your vision, improve your eye muscles and increase your peripheral vision.
Whenever you are looking at an electronic screen or something close to you for extended periods of time, you should rest your eyes for at least 20 seconds every 20 minutes.
Gently massage your eyes by closing them and applying light pressure using the fleshiest part of your palm.
Lower the brightness of your screen and smartphone, as being around bright lights constantly can reduce your ability to see at night.
Use Irlen overlays or clings, spectral filters worn as RX or no RX glasses, contact lenses or fit over frames.

Vision Technologies that Relieve Computer Eye Strain

Between 50-90% of people who work in front of a computer screen have multiple symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). The symptoms include:

Eye irritation
Double vision
Blurry vision
Eye irritation
Headaches
Neck pain
Back pain
Fatigue
Hyperactivity
Anxiety

Irlen lenses are a powerful solution for CVS by filtering advertise spectral bands of light entering your brain via your visual system. Use dimmers on lights. Use LED or incandescent bulbs and avoid CFLS and fluorescents. Adjust your computer monitor so that it is slightly lower than eye level and 20-28 inches away from your head. Feel free to experiment with font size, background color, brightness and contrast to find the right combination for you.

How a Complex Visual System Affects Your Mind, Body, & Emotions

Our complex visual system takes in information and then our brain interprets and processes what we see. With Irlen Syndrome, the problem is not the eyes “viewing” the scene, but how accurately and efficiently the mind processes that information. While eye strain and fatigue might seem like signs of visual issues, they can also be signs of Irlen Syndrome, a visual sensory processing disorder found in 14% of humans, from mild to severe. Irlen Diagnostic Testing and specially made Irlen spectral filters, are a proven way to immediately provide relief and improve function: calming sensory stress causing headaches, migraines, photosensitivity, computer stress, dyslexia, dysgraphia, anxiety, depression and other symptoms that occur due to sensory overload. Over 35 years of international medical and educational research has proven the short and long-term benefits of identifying Irlen Syndrome and targeting specific accommodations and wearing Irlen spectral filters. You can take this sensory symptom self-test for free.

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