7 Possible Causes of Ocular Tics

The causes of ocular tics are numerous. If despite changing your habits and reducing your stress, you keep experiencing ocular tics, see a specialist.
7 Possible Causes of Ocular Tics
Diego Pereira

Reviewed and approved by the doctor Diego Pereira.

Written by Editorial Team

Last update: 22 November, 2022

If you don’t know why you have ocular tics, pay attention. There are 7 possible things and causes of ocular tics that could make you suffer from this problem from time to time. 

Even though we associate it with tiredness, there could be a different underlying problem. This is because specialists agree that sometimes eye tics can indicate more serious problems in your body.

7 Causes of ocular tics

Characteristics of nervous tics

irritation

 

Nervous tics, such as eye movement tics, are involuntary and repetitive spasms.

This happens to your eyelid muscle. It can happen from a few seconds to one or two minutes or intermittently over days.

The majority of times, it’s a kind of tic that only involves your lower eyelid.

Sometimes, your upper eyelid can also contract. This includes all of the discomforts that come with it.

Remember that a nervous tic can be caused by many different things. In this article, we’re going to talk about the most common ones.

However, if you see them happening for a prolonged period of time, we recommend that you see an optometrist.

1. Stress

Stress is one of the main causes of this kind of ocular tic. Because of this, fighting it is fundamental to getting the bothersome ticks to disappear.

What should you do?

To try to avoid it as much as possible, it’s necessary to relax and sleep well. Learn to manage your stress, and this will help prevent many different problems.

2. Lack of sleep

lack-of-sleep-possible-causes-of-ocular-tics

A lack of sleep is just as dangerous as stress. Plus, this is equally true when talking about ocular tics.

It can appear to be a slightly inoffensive act. However, lack of sleep is also enough to cause this twitching in your eyelids.

What should you do?

The solution, in this case, is rather easy. It includes keeping some hours for resting and getting a full night’s sleep on a daily basis to solve this problem.

It’s recommendable to get 8 hours without interruptions.

3. Dry eyes

Many times, the appearance of ocular tics is caused by ocular dryness. This is one of the most common causes of ocular tics for people who spend a lot of time in front of computers or wear contact lenses.

What should you do?

There’s a solution if you notice that you have this tic and dry eyes. You need to use hydrating drops or artificial tears to relieve the problem.

Read also: 3 Face Masks to Relax your Eyes and Eliminate Bags Under the Eyes

4. Tired eyes

If you believe that your eyes are tired, you might need to change glasses. The truth is that even the most minute vision-related problems have consequences. They can make your eyes work more and present problems.

All of this starts causing the annoying eyelid twitching.

What should you do?

If you think that this is your problem, the first thing you need to do is get your eyes looked at.

Also, excessive use of electronic devices can also cause the problem of eye strain.

Try to follow the rule of 20 minutes when you’re going to use your electronic devices. This way, every 20 minutes, look away from your screen and let your eyes rest.

5. Too much caffeine

Getting too much caffeine can also cause problems related to eye tics.

What should you do?

A good way to avoid them is to reduce the amount of coffee you drink for a week or two. See if your eye tics disappear.

In any case, remember that you should drink caffeine in moderation.

6. Alcohol

drinking-alcohol

Just like what happens with coffee, too much alcohol can also cause very annoying eye tics.

What should you do?

For this, the best thing to do is to stop drinking alcoholic beverages for a period of time.

As we said, alcohol can also cause eyelid twitches. If you remove it from your diet, you’ll see a difference.

7. Bad diet

You already know that you are what you eat. Because of this, a bad diet can start causing problems related to eye tics.

What should you do?

Remember that being deficient in certain nutrients (like magnesium) causes the appearance of eye tics.

As a result, it’s important to have a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. This way, you’ll make sure that your organs function correctly.

Pay attention to the signs your body is giving you. Some, like eyelid twitches, can be one of the causes of ocular tics.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.



This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.