# Can an eye muscle twitch be caused by eye strain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 18, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-eye-muscle-twitch-be-caused-by-eye-strain/304449 "2005-05-18T18:43:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-eye-muscle-twitch-be-caused-by-eye-strain/304449/1 "2005-05-18T18:43:21Z")
I’ve got some eyestrain headaches (appointment to get new glasses: 10 am tomorrow) and I’ve been plagued by an twitchy muscle just above my right eye (just below the eyebrow). I get these around the time I need new glasses and I’m wondering if they could be caused by the eye strain or if they’re just a strange coincidence. What else causes twitchy muscles? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-eye-muscle-twitch-be-caused-by-eye-strain/304449/2 "2005-05-18T18:46:51Z")
I get eye muscle twitches when I drink too much coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-eye-muscle-twitch-be-caused-by-eye-strain/304449/3 "2005-05-18T18:56:02Z")
IANAD/N, but I do work in an ophthalmology department at a hospital. Whenever eye twitches have come up as a topic of conversation at work, the universal reply has been “stress.” I suspect there are other causes, but that’s pretty much the primary cause. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-eye-muscle-twitch-be-caused-by-eye-strain/304449/4 "2005-05-18T19:04:47Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > IANAD/N, but I do work in an ophthalmology department at a hospital. Whenever eye twitches have come up as a topic of conversation at work, the universal reply has been “stress.” I suspect there are other causes, but that’s pretty much the primary cause. Can they be fixed by botox, or must I take a pair of scissors and cut my eyelid? (Yes, they’re THAT annoying). I suppose I could cut down on the stress, but that would mean I’d have quit my job. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-eye-muscle-twitch-be-caused-by-eye-strain/304449/5 "2005-05-19T16:29:06Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > IANAD/N, but I do work in an ophthalmology department at a hospital. Whenever eye twitches have come up as a topic of conversation at work, the universal reply has been “stress.” I suspect there are other causes, but that’s pretty much the primary cause. I get these occasionally. In my case, they’re uncorrelated with stress, but instead are related to lack of sleep (although not necessarily actual sleepiness), which probably produces similar physical effects as stress. Interestingly, the twitches tend to hang around for a day or two even after I pay off the sleep debt. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-eye-muscle-twitch-be-caused-by-eye-strain/304449/6 "2005-05-19T19:55:01Z")
I’ve heard the sleep-deprivation explanation as well. And I find that I get twiches that go away after catching up. ---
**Author:** ![cppguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@cppguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cppguy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-eye-muscle-twitch-be-caused-by-eye-strain/304449/7 "2005-05-20T21:02:29Z")
I’ve also had eye twitches recently, associated with lack of sleep. I’ve found that eye drops help a lot (just artificial tears, not Visine or anything like that). I assumed it might be because of all the computer work (and sometimes games) and not blinking enough.