I Can See Clearly Now

by Fern Shaw | Sep 28, 2026 | water cooler, Water Coolers

How many hours are spent looking at a screen during the average day?

Between computers, phones, tablets and the other screens that have become part of everyday life, our eyes get very little time off. By the end of a busy day, tired, dry or irritated eyes can be a familiar feeling.

With World Sight Day taking place in October, it’s a good opportunity to look at something we don’t always associate with eye health: hydration.

Our Eyes Need Water Too

Our eyes rely on a thin layer of tears to stay lubricated and comfortable. Tears do more than simply keep the surface of the eye wet. They also help protect the eyes and provide a smooth surface for clear vision.

Drinking enough water supports the body’s normal fluid balance, including the fluids involved in keeping the eyes comfortable. When we’re not drinking enough, we may notice signs of dehydration elsewhere too, such as tiredness, headaches or a dry mouth.

And then there’s screen time.

Eyes and Screens

When we’re concentrating on a computer screen or phone, we tend to blink less frequently. That can mean the tear film on the surface of the eye evaporates more quickly, leaving eyes feeling dry, tired or irritated.

It’s not necessarily the screen itself that’s the problem. It’s often the way we use it.

Taking regular breaks, remembering to blink and adjusting screen position and lighting can all help reduce the strain that comes with prolonged screen use. And, of course, keeping a glass or bottled water within easy reach is a useful reminder to drink regularly too.

Don’t Forget the Water

It’s surprisingly easy to become absorbed in a busy working day and realise several hours have passed without a proper drink.

Having drinking water readily available makes regular hydration easier to maintain. A water cooler in a communal area, for example, provides an obvious opportunity to pause, refill and step away from the screen for a moment.

That short break can do more than top up your water. Looking away from the screen gives your eyes a chance to rest too.

As we explored in our Brain Health feature, hydration can support concentration and mental alertness as well. So, a quick water break can be a useful reset for more than just your eyes.

A few habits that can make a difference:

• Having water readily available makes it easier to drink throughout the day.

• If you’re working at a screen for prolonged periods, give your eyes regular breaks. The 20-20-20 approach – looking at something around 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes – is one commonly recommended way to do this.

• It sounds obvious, but concentrated screen use can reduce how often we blink. Making a conscious effort to blink regularly can help keep the eyes lubricated.

• Regular eye examinations can identify changes in vision and other eye problems, sometimes before you notice any symptoms yourself.

Our eyes work hard from morning to night, particularly when much of the day is spent reading, concentrating and looking at screens.

Staying hydrated won’t solve every cause of tired or dry eyes, but it’s a pretty simple part of looking after your general health and supporting your body’s normal functions.

And sometimes, stepping away from the screen for a glass of water is exactly the break your eyes – and the rest of you – needs.

The (Red) Tractor at the Water Cooler – What’s That About?

by Fern Shaw | Sep 9, 2026 | water cooler, Water Coolers

What do a water cooler, a tractor and a wheatsheaf have in common? More than you might think.

We all know that staying hydrated during the working day is important, whether you’re refilling a glass at the water cooler between meetings or simply keeping a bottle of water to drink on your desk. But while we’re taking a sip, it’s worth thinking about where another everyday essential comes from: our food.

That’s where Back British Farming Day comes in.

From field to fork

It’s an opportunity to recognise the farmers and growers who produce the food we rely on every day and the enormous amount of work that goes into getting it from the field to our plates.

British farming is about much more than growing crops and raising livestock. Farmers also play a major role in looking after the countryside, with agriculture managing around 71% of the UK’s land.

And there’s plenty of variety in what’s produced here. In fact, the UK is home to more than 700 different types of cheese. So that humble cheese sandwich at lunchtime suddenly has a rather impressive story behind it.

Spot the red tractor

You may have seen the Red Tractor logo on food packaging. It’s one of the familiar signs consumers can look for when buying British produce, providing assurance that food meets recognised standards for safety, traceability and production.

Then there’s the wheatsheaf pin badge, traditionally worn during Back British Farming Day to show support for British agriculture.

Both have become familiar symbols of a much bigger story: the people, land and hard work behind the food we eat.

And if you need another reason to appreciate the humble wheat field, consider this: an area of wheat roughly the size of a football pitch can produce enough grain for around 11,500 loaves of bread.

Not bad for a field!

A little closer to home

Back British Farming Day is a useful reminder that the food on our supermarket shelves doesn’t simply appear there. Behind it are farmers, growers and rural communities working throughout the year, whatever the weather.

So next time you fill your glass, grab a sandwich or sit down for lunch, spare a thought for the journey that food has taken to get there.

From field to the fork, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than we might realise.

Sources

National Farmers’ Union (NFU)

Red Tractor