Stress Affects: What to Do About It

Everyone experiences stress differently — physically, mentally and emotionally. Some people may experience sleeping problems, headaches, digestive issues or even visual problems as a side effect of stress.

Stress starts in the sympathetic nervous system, the part of your system that sends fight-or-flight signals. It's the body's natural response when it thinks you're in danger and also when you're feeling overwhelmed.

Take screen breaks: Staring at a screen for an extended period of time can lead to headaches, blurry vision and dry eyes, all of which can put extra strain on the eye.

Exercising: Cardiovascular activity isn't only beneficial for your heart health, it's also good for reducing stress, according to Harvard Health. It helps promote blood flow across your body and reduces blood pressure.

Meditation: Meditation can not only reduce your levels of stress, it can also lessen anxiety, insomnia and depression, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

Breath work: Breathing is an involuntary action that's controlled by our autonomic nervous system. In other words, we don't think about it when we're doing it. However, knowing how to use your breath as a stress management tool can be helpful.

Get enough sleep: Getting about eight hours of sleep a night is key to letting your eyes rest and recover from all the work they put in during the day. Not getting enough sleep can also cause dry eyes, which make you more susceptible to infections.