When was the last time we did something that did not involve sitting in front of a screen? We use screens for everything; our work, leisure, and even scroll down to keep up with daily life. That is a lot of strain on our eyes, and if you feel your eyes are tired, heavy and dried up at the end of the day, you can easily blame all the digital devices around you.
Get to know how screens strain your eyes
On average, we blink about 20 times in a minute and spending time in front of a screen tends to make us blink less because of the blue light coming from a screen, and it is harder to focus on the movement of the screen, which in turn causes a lot of eye strain.
There are proper prescribed ways to angle and distance your screen, but none of us follow that which puts additional strain on our eyes, head, and neck. These issues add up and tend to lead to much more prominent effects on your visions, especially in children.
Tips to avoid digital eye strain
Emitting screen time from your life is not possible nor suggested. So, to protect your eyes from digital strain, follow these tips:
- Distance your screen about an arm’s length or 25 inches from your eyes.
- Try to apply a matte screen cover on all your devices.
- Every 2 hours spent in front of a screen deserves a 15 minutes break away from one.
- Use eye drops to avoid dryness in your eyes.
- If you wear contact lenses, switch to glasses from time to time.
- Make the text on your screen larger.
- Adjust the brightness of your screen according to the lighting of your room.
What happens due to eye strain?
Whenever you strain your eyes a little too much, they would always let you know in their way. The common causes of eye strain are:
- Headaches
- Blurry vision
- Redness in the eye
- Dry eyes
- Pain in the neck, shoulders or upper back
One of the biggest reasons for eye strain nowadays is the excessive use of screens, and there are some common causes of eye strain caused due to digital screens mentioned below:
- Not maintaining a proper posture in front of any screen
- Not blinking enough
- Being too close to any screen
- Exposure of excessive blue light emitted from any digital screen
- Viewing a screen that does not have appropriate display settings
We just can’t put the entire blame on digital screens for the stress caused on our eyes every day. There are many more other factors to consider as well:
- Overworking or dealing with pressure for a continuous period can put your eyes under strain.
- Ignoring that your eyes are getting dried up frequently and experiencing a drop in your vision.
- If you are in an environment that is not adequately lit for a substantial amount of time, it can strain your eyes a lot.
- If you focus on a single task for an extended period, your eyes tend to get tired and hence put under strain.
Lifestyle changes to adopt to avoid eye strain
You might have heard your elders tell you that the solution to everything is to just get up in early in the morning. We are not quite sure as to how that could work out for you, but the following lifestyle habits can help you reduce some of that eye strain:
- Think of adopting the Clark Kent/ Superman look
When superman is not busy flying around, saving the world, he has a desk job and to protect his eyes from the strain; he uses computer glasses. If that works for an actual god, you and I will benefit from it very much.
When you use computer glasses prescribed by an ophthalmologist, you protect your eyes from the excessive glare of the screen, which helps you keep your eyes healthy.
- Take inspiration from Gorillas
Gorillas are known to blink quite frequently, which can be an excellent habit to adopt. We agree that when in conversation with someone, it may not give your best impression if you are found to be blinking a lot.
But, when working or sitting in front of a screen, never forget to blink, because the blue light emitted from the screens make us blink less, which causes a lot of stress on our eyes.
- Upgrade your workstation
If you need to look back and front between documents or read an article on how not to strain your eyes on a computer screen, you should place your computer screen around 20 inches from your eyes. The centre of your screen should be around 10 degrees below your eyes.
Adjust the height of your chair accordingly so that your feet touch the ground.
- Give your eyes a workout
Just like any other muscle in your body, your eyes can also be fatigued due to the continuous strain they are put under. You should follow the “20-20-20” (this is not a few format for a cricket match): Every 20 minutes, you look at a screen, look away and fix your eyes on something at least 20 feet away from you, for at least 20 seconds.
This exercise will relax the muscles in your eyes and reduce eye fatigue.
- Get a timely and complete eye exam
Having a routine checkup of your eyes can give you a complete picture of the health of your eyes. Your doctor would prescibe you certain habits and if necessary, some medicines to make sure you limit the stress on your eyes and have impeccable eye health.
