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What Is the ümay.rest Device and What Does It Do?

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Posted on by Dr. Cynthia Markarian Bahoshy
A patient in an exam chair points near their eye while talking with a smiling optometrist in an eye exam room with a phoropter and slit lamp.

Key Takeaways

  • ümay.rest is a small, portable device for tired, overworked eyes.
  • It uses cool, warm, and gentle vibration settings across 3 daily modes.
  • Sessions take about 10 to 20 minutes a day.
  • ümay.rest is an at-home comfort tool that can be used alongside the care your optometrist recommends for dry eye.

You close your laptop after a long day, and your eyes feel heavy, dry, and a little sore. Many people around Brantford know this feeling well. It’s one reason our team at Brantford Eye Care hears more questions about at-home comfort tools like ümay.rest.

ümay.rest is a compact, portable device with cool, warm, and gentle vibration settings designed to help soothe tired eyes and support rest. It works as a restorative comfort tool alongside the digital eye strain solutions and dry eye treatments offered in our office.

What Is the ümay.rest Device?

ümay.rest is a compact device you can take to work, keep on your nightstand, or tuck into a travel bag.

It offers 3 ways to relax your eyes: a cool setting, a warm setting, and gentle vibration, allowing you to choose the option that matches how your eyes feel in the moment.

What Does ümay.rest Do for Your Eyes?

Relief from Screen Time

Hours spent navigating emails, spreadsheets, and video calls can leave your eyes feeling worn out by mid-afternoon. ümay.rest is built to soothe tired eyes after long screen sessions.

It also provides a structured reason to step away. A short session reminds you to pause, rest, and take a few slow breaths before returning to your desk. These brief breaks serve as a great daily addition to your digital eye strain routine.

Rest and Sleep Support

The warm setting is designed to help you unwind, ease ocular tension, and relax before bed.

How Do You Use the ümay.rest Device?

3 Modes for Your Day

ümay.rest organizes its sessions around 3 key moments in your routine:

  1. Rise: A refreshing cool session to help wake up your eyes and start your day.
  2. Recharge: Combines cool and warm settings for a rejuvenating midday break.
  3. Rest: Uses gentle warm thermal therapy to help you wind down before sleep.

How Long Each Session Takes

Plan for about 10 to 20 minutes a day in total. You can easily slip a session into a coffee break at work, or pair it with dimming the lights as you settle in at bedtime.

An adult sitting on a couch in a dim living room at dusk, holding a smartphone and rubbing one eye with closed eyes.

ümay.rest and Dry Eye Comfort

Dry eye disease can cause persistent daily discomfort. You might recognize common signs such as:

  • A gritty, dry, or fatigued sensation in your eyes.
  • Eyes that feel noticeably worse after spending time on screens.

While ümay.rest can be an excellent comfort tool, it is not a substitute for clinical dry eye care from your optometrist. It can feel deeply soothing alongside the personalized treatment plan your eye doctor recommends.

If your symptoms persist or worsen, an optometrist can perform a detailed assessment using tools like MYAH meibography to determine the root cause.

How Warmth Supports Your Tear Film

Your tear film has 3 layers that work together to keep your eyes comfortable and your vision clear:

  • Lipid (oil) layer: the outermost layer. It’s produced by the meibomian glands in your eyelids and slows the evaporation of tears.
  • Aqueous (water) layer: the middle layer. It hydrates and nourishes the surface of the eye and washes away debris.
  • Mucin layer: the innermost layer. It helps tears spread evenly and stick to the eye’s surface.

When the meibomian glands get blocked, the oil layer suffers, tears evaporate faster, and eyes can feel gritty, dry, or tired.

Gentle, consistent warmth is a well-established way to support these glands. The warm setting on ümay.rest is designed to warm the eyelids so the glands can release oil more easily, helping maintain that protective lipid layer. Keeping all 3 layers balanced is a big part of managing dry eye comfort over time.

ümay.rest vs. Traditional Warm Compresses

Many optometrists recommend warm compresses as a first step for dry eye, such as the Bruder Mask, i-Relief, and BlephaBag. You can purchase all three through our website.

These options work well. For some people, though, a rechargeable device may be more convenient, for example:

  • It’s ready where you need it. Keep it on your nightstand or desk with no heating up first.
  • You don’t have a microwave. A rechargeable device works without one, which helps at the office, at a cottage, or while travelling.
  • Steady temperature. A rechargeable device is designed to deliver consistent warmth for the whole session.

ümay.rest also offers more than a traditional compress. Beyond the warm setting, it has a cool setting, plus gentle vibration. The cool setting can:

  • Refresh and wake up tired eyes, which makes it a good fit for the Rise mode in the morning.
  • Help reduce puffiness around the eyes after a short night or a long day.
  • Feel calming and relaxing, giving you a moment to rest between tasks.
  • Feel soothing on itchy, irritated eyes. Cool therapy is commonly used for this, including when eyes are bothered by seasonal allergies.

A warm compress can still be a great choice, and your optometrist can help you decide which option fits your eyes and your routine.

When to See an Optometrist in Brantford

At-home comfort tools work best when supported by professional eye care. Our team at Brantford Eye Care can help tailor a routine that works for you, which may include:

  • Comprehensive eye exams: Detailed assessments using modern technology like OCT imaging and MYAH dry eye analysis.
  • In-office dry eye therapies: Targeted options including IRPL (intense regulated pulsed light), Jett Plasma Pen, and clinical LLLT.
  • Personalized recommendations: Guidance on whether tools like ümay.rest, heated masks, or specific eye drops fit into your routine.

We Can Help

Whether you need a pediatric eye exam for your child, a contact lens fitting, or advice on managing dry eye symptoms, we are here to support your visual health. Book an appointment with Brantford Eye Care today.

Written by Dr. Cynthia Markarian Bahoshy

How many doctors does it take to change a lightbulb?”

One or two.

Clear, comfortable vision is such an integral and important part of our lives. I enjoy interacting with our patients, learning about them and their visual needs and I get great satisfaction when I can improve their quality of life by providing them with optimal eyesight at the same time as screening for and treating potentially sight-threatening conditions.

I have been an optometrist at Brantford Eye Care (previously known as Dr. Robert Schumacher and associates) since 2002. I became the new owner of Brantford Eye Care in October 2012.

I attended the University of Ottawa where I studied Biochemistry as part of my undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree. I completed my Doctor of optometry (OD) degree at the University of Waterloo in 2002.

My externship was completed at the Houston Eye Associates in Texas. During that time, I gained extensive experience in all aspects of ocular health diagnosis and management. This included exposure to various retinal conditions, glaucoma, cataracts, children’s vision, binocular vision, and other aspects of ocular disease.

I worked as a student researcher at the Centre of Contact Lens Research at the School of Optometry, University of Waterloo where I gained extensive experience in all aspects of contact lenses. I also worked as a student researcher at the Ottawa General hospital in the Department of Ophthalmology during my university years.

I am an active member of the Ontario Association of Optometrists, The Canadian Association of Optometrists, the Ontario College of Optometrists, and the Hamilton and District Area Society of Optometrists. I am certified in the Treatment and Management of Ocular Diseases.

My main interests are in dry eyes, contact lenses, and in children’s vision. I have experience working as an optometrist at a Toronto LASIK centre and I am able to answer any questions you may have regarding LASIK and other refractive surgeries. We are affiliated with the various LASIK centres and can refer you for a complimentary LASIK consultation as well as perform your pre and post-op examinations at our office.

I enjoy many activities such as swimming, yoga, playing the piano, and spending time with my family. I enjoy solving visual issues and challenges and meeting new people.

I’ve been very fortunate to have met so many wonderful patients and families at our office. I enjoy being a part of Brantford’s health care team and look forward to seeing you at the office!

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