We live in a digital, screen-heavy age, where most of our office hours are spent in front of a screen and our time after hours is spent watching TV or scrolling through social media. Over-reliance on screens of various sizes could be the reason you’re experiencing eye strain, neck and shoulder pain, or dry eyes or blurred vision. We share some advice on how to protect your eyes….
Just as we wear sunglasses to protect our eyes from sunlight, we need to take the same level of care to protect our eyes for a screen-heavy world. He’s how to safeguard against eye strain and fatigue:
Take regular breaks
It’s important to look away from the screen at regular intervals – at least once every hour – and focus on something in the distance for about 20 seconds. This gives your eyes a chance to change position and relax the eye muscles, ultimately helping ward off eye fatigue and strain.
Blink More
Make a conscious effort to blink more to help your eyes stay moist. Most people tend to blink about a third as often as they would away from the screen resulting in dry eyes.
Ensure Proper lighting
Eye strain is often caused by excessively bright light from sunlight or harsh interior lighting. Double check your screen’s lighting intensity – it should be as bright as your surroundings. Enlarge the font, close blinds and turn down the lights in your office to prevent glare.
Don’t sit too close
Your eyes work the hardest when you’re viewing something up close, much harder than when you are looking at something far away. Sit an arm’s length away from the computer screen, avoid tilting it and keep it positioned just below eye level.
Get Active
If your career demands long periods of time seated in front of a computer, make sure that while you take steps to protect your eyes from being negatively impacted, you also keep fit and active. See that you get a fair amount of time outdoors and maintain a healthy, balanced diet. Always keep your sunglasses and hat handy, and – if you haven’t already – quit smoking.
Ask your trusted Spec-Savers optometrist about digitally surfaced Accommodative Support Lenses, Blue Control Lens coatings and the benefits of ocular lubricants for the optimal management of digital eye strain.
Date Published: 19 July 2017
