Can Relaxation Increase Eye Pressure?

 

Someone made the following comment in regard to my statement that stress increases my eye pressure.

"I have to say I've had my pressures checked at the doctor's when I was extremely stressed out, only to get a low reading, and had the pressure checked when I was relaxed and gotten a high reading. Other times I've been tense and gotten a high reading and relaxed and gotten a low reading. But based on my experiences of having pressure checked in the doctor's office, I can't say for sure whether or not stress affects my IOP - not that reducing stress isn't a bad idea."

I believe this statement is accurate. In fact, I have had similar experiences.  In my case I've gotten a bit of clarity on this apparent paradox through my personal "eye pressure research project" - which is what I describe in this blog.

Here is how it works for me. Stress always raises my intraocular pressure. Some types of stress raise my eye pressure immediately and rapidly; other types of stress cause my eye pressure to slowly increase.

However, relaxation does not always lower my intraocular pressure.

• Certain relaxing activities will always lower my intraocular pressure.
• Other relaxing activities always raise my intraocular pressure.

However, the effects are not random. The effect of any specific activity is very consistent and repeatable. I get the same results from the same activities just about every single time. I'll list some specific activities as examples. However, the intraocular pressure effect is not due solely to the activity - it is due largely to one's perception of the activity. Something that creates a sympathetic:parasympathetic imbalance for me may not do the same for you. Therefore, the list of activities that affect your eye pressure will probably be different from from my list. Also, not everyone experiences eye pressure fluctuations to the same extent that I do.

Here are some activities that raise my eye pressure:

• Watching my favorite sporting events, especially if the competition is close or the outcome is significant. My intraocular pressure is directly correlated with the "excitement" level of the event.
• Confrontations or arguments. This is an example of something that can cause my eye pressure to increase rapidly by a great amount.
• Taking large financial risks.
• Tough business negotiations.
• Dealing with difficult deadlines.
• Having difficult conversations.
• Going to my doctor.
• Trying to solve problems that don't respond to solution attempts (i.e., frustrating situations). This last one is an example of something that slowly increases my eye pressure by a small amount.

Here are some activities that always lower my eye pressure immediately:

• Weight lifting (even 5 or 10 minutes). This is an example of something that can dramatically reduce my intraocular pressure very quickly. Weight lifting usually takes my intraocular pressure to a very low value. However, I have a very specific style of gentle weight lifting and I breath freely at all times during my training. I have learned that many people, especially those who believe in "no pain, no gain" or those who do not know good lifting and breathing techniques, will not get the beneficial results I get.
• Playing Frisbee with my dog outside for 5 minutes or more. This is another activity that almost always takes my intraocular pressure as low as it will go.
• Taking a long, relaxing shower.
• A certain regime of tooth care.
• Light physical activity of any kind, including housework and yard work.
• Turning off my thoughts temporarily (sometimes this is hard to do, however).
• Serene Impulse practice (using a specific technique).

Here are some activities that usually allow me to maintain a low eye pressure. My eye pressure may sometimes decrease during these activities:

• Solving problems that do respond to solution attempts (including computer work where I spend long hours at the computer).
• Using the computer for creative productive work.
• Reading.
• Aerobic exercise - as long as I'm not watching TV while doing it.
• Cooking.

Here are some relaxing activities that usually raise my intraocular pressure:

• Watching TV.
• Going to movies in the theater.
• Meditating.
• Pranayama.
• Being a couch potato. (Don't take this one too seriously because I don't have good data on it.)
• And many others.

Here's a quote I love from a FitEyes reader:

I just got back from watching the movie Avatar. I checked my IOP as soon as I got home and my right eye was 31 and my left eye was 40! Thats a new record for me while on glaucoma eye drops.

I think that's about double his/her normal IOP. Wow! Watching an entertaining movie, something we all do for fun and relaxation, can raise IOP to these extreme levels. And I promise you that this is not an isolated case. Virtually every glaucoma patient I know who can perform self-tonometry has reported something just as surprising and unexpected as this to me. (If you are a glaucoma patient and you aren't doing self-tonometry, you are in the dark about your own IOP.) The relationship between activities (or more correctly, our state of mind/emotions) and our intraocular pressure is fascinating. This relationship has been the sole focus of my research for a number of years now, and I feel like I understand it very well.

But notice how complex the correlations can be. A casual observer can easily be thrown off the trail. For example, aerobic exercise which involves deeper than normal breathing lowers my eye pressure. However, pranayama, which is just a breathing technique, raises my eye pressure. (UPDATE: these results hold for most glaucoma patients too.)

Also, meditating is always very relaxing and watching TV at the end of a hard day is often relaxing in a different way. However, both usually increase my eye pressure. (Mantra meditation has always increased my intraocular pressure in every test to date, and I have now confirmed this in a wide variety of other glaucoma patients.) In another subtle comparison, Serene Impulse lowers my intraocular pressure, while meditation raises it. Yet a casual outside observer would not be able to tell the difference between the two activities. Serene Impulse creates a type of inner peace, but it is a different experience from meditation - and it has a different effect on my eye pressure. Without careful measurement, these things would not be obvious.

There is one more really interesting possibility I'm just starting to investigate. Postural changes such as sitting and then standing can affect my intraocular pressure. I'm not alone in this, as many recent scientific articles show. However, what I have noticed is that my state of relaxation affects the magnitude of the intraocular pressure increase on the posture change. When I am sitting really relaxed, my heart rate is lower.

Here is my current hypothesis: the greatest changes in eye pressure associated with postural changes occur when my heart rate is lowest and/or when I am extremely relaxed.

• If I am sitting normally and then I stand up and walk into my doctor's exam room, there may be a slight intraocular pressure increase associated with the postural change.
• If I am sitting for a brief time after vigorous walking, for example, there will not be an intraocular pressure increase associated with standing (my heart rate while sitting is still elevated).
• However, if I am sitting for a whle and I get very, very relaxed (such as when practicing a relaxation technique), when I stand up and walk to the chair with the tonometer, my intraocular pressure can shoot way up. There may be a larger change in heart rate or blood pressure associated with this postural change.

This subject is something I'm currently investigating and I'll discuss it more on my blog when I learn more.

EDIT: these orthostatic effects have largely disappeared now. So my current theory is that they were due to adrenal fatigue back at the time I was living a more stressful lifestyle.

I feel that stress and relaxation can greatly affect my eye pressure in predictable ways. It has taken me a lot of careful measurement to start making some sense of how it works. That's my experience. This relationship cannot be written off just because it seems inconsistent when taking only a few measurements. I wouldn't be surprised if a similar pattern appears for many glaucoma patients with careful observation.

EDIT: Yes, now that I have spent the last few years speaking to glaucoma patients all over the world on a daily basis, I can say that virtually every glaucoma patient exhibits the exact same patterns. The individual details are often a bit different, but the basic patterns are exactly the same.

Stress raises intraocular pressure. But the things we often do for relaxation can raise intraocular pressure too. So what's the solution?

One, change the types of activities we do for relaxation (for example, most TV shows and movies are not really relaxing - they are entertaining in a way that often creates inner tension). The best ways to relax are things like quiet walks in nature, gardening, playing with your dog (if you love dogs), and an infinite variety of other things -- make your own list based on what you learn from self-tonometry. Respect your tonometer. If it shows you that something is raising your IOP, just stop doing that thing. That's the most basic and first step. (You may be able to resume that activity later, once you have mastered the next two steps.)

Two, change the way our nervous systems respond to stress by using technologies of consciousness such as Serene Impulse. Because I'm a Serene Impulse teacher, I make a conscious effort to point out that Serene Impulse is probably not the only technique that will work. So if you find another technology of consciousness or an energy psychology technique that works for you, please let me know and I will mention that too. But the point is that we need to restructure our nervous systems at the physical level. It works just like lifting weights. Lifting weights changes the muscles, bones and tendons. Doing your daily Serene Impulse practice changes your brain and nervous system in ways that have very positive long term benefits and you learn to deal with stress in a different (and healthier) way.

Three, change our beliefs (see Byron Katie, for example). For those of us with elevated intraocular pressure, it is a safe bet that we have beliefs that are not serving us well. Let go of your beliefs and there is nothing you cannot accomplish.