Why Is My Eye Twitching? Causes and How to Stop It

The everyday eye twitch is myokymia, a minor, occasional eyelid twitch that is often caused by fatigue or stress. Stress, dry eye, too much caffeine and lack of sleep can all set one off, and most of the time the twitching goes away on its own. Getting more sleep and cutting back on caffeine may help. See an eye doctor if it keeps going for more than a few weeks, closes your eyelid completely or spreads to other parts of your face.

Key takeaways

Your eyelid twitches when one of its muscles contracts on its own, often set off by stress, fatigue, dry eye, too much caffeine or too little sleep.
Most twitches go away on their own, and more sleep, less caffeine, managing stress and artificial tears for dry eyes may help.
See an eye doctor if twitching lasts more than a few weeks, shuts the eyelid completely or spreads to other parts of your face.
Call 911 immediately for sudden drooping or numbness on one side of the face, or a drooping eyelid with double vision or a pupil that looks different.

Why do eye muscles twitch?

The movement you feel is a muscle in your eyelid contracting on its own. Doctors call the everyday kind myokymia, a minor, occasional eyelid twitch.

It is different from benign essential blepharospasm, a less common condition with abnormal blinking or spasms of the eyelids. For most people, eyelid twitching goes away on its own.

What causes eye twitching?

Ordinary things set off the everyday kind. The National Eye Institute names stress, dry eye, too much caffeine and lack of sleep, and MedlinePlus adds fatigue.

Fatigue and short sleep

Fatigue and lack of sleep are both on the trigger lists, and getting more sleep is one of the lifestyle changes MedlinePlus suggests.

Stress and eye twitching

Stress can bring on a twitch, and managing your stress is one of the lifestyle changes the National Eye Institute says may help.

Caffeine and eye twitching

Too much caffeine is one of the triggers, and cutting down on food or drinks with caffeine, like coffee, tea or soda, may help.

Dry eye

Dry eye is on the National Eye Institute's list of things that can cause eyelid twitching. When it is behind a twitch, your doctor may recommend eye drops or medicine to help your eyes make more tears.

Dry eye happens when your eyes don't make enough tears to stay wet, or when the tears don't work correctly. It can feel scratchy, as if something is in your eye, and it can sting or burn, redden the eyes, blur your vision and make you sensitive to light.

If the twitch comes with gritty, uncomfortable eyes, have them checked. A dry eye evaluation looks at how stable your tear film is and how well the oil glands in your eyelids are working.

How do you stop eye twitching?

Most twitches stop on their own, and a few changes may help in the meantime:

Get more sleep.
Cut down on food and drinks with caffeine, like coffee, tea and soda.
Find ways to manage stress.
If your eyes feel dry, try artificial tears, the most common treatment for mild dry eye.

For eyes that feel dry, the National Eye Institute also suggests a humidifier to keep the air at home from getting too dry, wraparound sunglasses outside, plenty of water and enough sleep, about 7 to 8 hours a night.

How long does eye twitching last?

There's no set length, but most of the time the twitching goes away on its own. The National Eye Institute's cue to see an eye doctor is twitching that keeps going for more than a few weeks.

Blepharospasm, the less common condition, usually starts with small eyelid twitches that happen every once in a while. Over time, the twitching may happen more often and close the eyes completely.

When should you see a doctor about eye twitching?

Go to an eye doctor if any of these apply:

Your eyelids keep twitching for more than a few weeks.
Your eyes close completely when they twitch.
Other parts of your face start to twitch, like the muscles on one side of your face.

If your upper eyelid has started to droop, have it checked: drooping can come from weak muscles, aging or nerve damage, and a droop that comes on suddenly needs a same-day visit, or an emergency room when we're closed.

Twitching that shuts the eyelid or pulls on the face can be a sign of two less common conditions. In benign essential blepharospasm, sudden muscle jerks or tightening can close the eyelids completely. Over time it can get hard to keep the eyes open, which can severely impair vision, and in some people the spasms spread to other muscles of the face. It sometimes runs in families, and women ages 40 to 60 are more likely to develop it.

In hemifacial spasm, the muscles on one side of the face twitch on their own, usually starting around the eye. The most common cause is an artery pressing on the facial nerve where it leaves the brainstem. Botulinum toxin injections are the treatment of choice for hemifacial spasm, and often the most effective treatment for focal dystonias (conditions in which muscles in one part of the body move or tighten on their own) such as blepharospasm. Most people with blepharospasm need injections every 3 to 4 months.

Sudden drooping or numbness on one side of the face is a stroke warning sign. Call 911 immediately for that, or for sudden arm weakness, trouble speaking, loss of vision, double vision or loss of balance. A drooping eyelid that comes with double vision or a pupil that looks different also needs a 911 call, because it can be a sign of a stroke or another nerve emergency.

If the twitch comes with eye pain, redness or blurred vision, call us at 310-828-2010 for a same-day visit during office hours: Monday 10 to 5 and Tuesday through Friday 8 to 5. Outside office hours, eye pain or blurred vision belongs in an emergency room. Sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes, even if it comes back, is an emergency at any hour: call 911. Intense eye pain with nausea, a headache or halos around lights can be an attack of angle-closure glaucoma: call us immediately if we're open, or go to an emergency room.

How we check a twitching eyelid at Cohenmehr Optometry

During a comprehensive eye exam, our eye doctors in Los Angeles examine the eyelids, the tear film and the front of the eye at the slit lamp (an exam microscope), which is where signs of dry eye show up.

If dryness is part of the problem, our dry eye program starts with imaging of the oil glands in your eyelids. If the pattern looks like blepharospasm or hemifacial spasm, we coordinate a referral to an ophthalmologist who treats it.

A same-day urgent visit includes a slit lamp exam, an eye pressure check, and dilation and imaging as the symptoms call for.

For other eye complaints, our eye symptoms guide matches 16 common problems to the right page and the right level of urgency.

Questions patients ask

Why is my left eye twitching?

For the same reasons a right eye twitches. Stress, dry eye, too much caffeine and lack of sleep can set off a twitch in either eye, and most of the time it goes away on its own. Twitching that keeps going for more than a few weeks, closes the eye completely or spreads to other parts of your face, like the muscles on one side, needs an exam, whichever side it's on.

Why is my eye twitching so much?

A twitch that keeps coming back in bursts can be set off by stress, dry eye, too much caffeine or lack of sleep, and most of the time it goes away on its own. Getting enough sleep, managing stress and cutting down on caffeine may help. If the twitching keeps going for more than a few weeks, closes your eye completely or spreads to other parts of your face, see an eye doctor.

Can low magnesium cause eye twitching?

Low magnesium isn't on the lists of eyelid twitch triggers from the National Eye Institute or MedlinePlus, which name stress, dry eye, caffeine, fatigue and lack of sleep. People with digestive diseases such as Crohn's or celiac disease, type 2 diabetes or long-term alcoholism, and older adults, are more likely than others to get too little magnesium. A deficiency causes symptoms such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and weakness, and an extreme one can cause numbness, tingling and muscle cramps. If you have those symptoms along with the twitch, see your doctor.

Can screen time make your eye twitch?

It can play a part. Dry eye can happen if you spend a lot of time looking at a computer, tablet or phone, so limit screen time and take breaks from staring at screens. Dry eye is one of the things that can cause eyelid twitching. If long screen days also bring headaches, tired eyes or blurred vision, a computer vision syndrome evaluation checks your focusing and eye alignment.

Sources

Written by

Dr. Kevin Cohenmehr, OD

Medical eye care: glaucoma, diabetic eye exams, macular degeneration and eye infections, plus vision therapy for children. A graduate of UCLA and SUNY College of Optometry.

About Dr. Kevin →

Why Is My Eye Twitching? Common Causes and How to Stop It