With technology these days, it’s hard NOT to stare at a screen. From our car navigation, to our smart phones, tablets and computers, the world is FULL of digital screens. If you stare at your computer screen all day, it’s more then likely that you have developed symptoms of digital eye strain, sometimes called “computer vision syndrome.” But don’t fret! There are ways to help avoid such strain. By taking into consideration these tips below, provided by an article from Business Insider.
5 Tips for Avoiding Digital Eye Strain:
Blink. When we stare at screens, we forget to blink, which dries out our eyes. It’s hard to remember, but trying to make sure you keep blinking can help. Eyedrops are another simple and useful way to keep eyes from getting too dry.
Increase the size of text when needed. Staring at small text can make you squint and put your face closer to a screen, leading to fatigue and headaches, among other issues — so boost text size and color contrast to make things easier to read.
The 20-20-20 rule: After 20 minutes of work, take 20 seconds to look at something 20 feet away. Your eyes have muscles that help them move and focus on different objects, but if we stare at a screen the same distance away for hours at a time, those muscles have a hard time adjusting once we move again. This is what can cause that end-of-the-day fuzziness, so prevent it by looking around every so often.
Limit blue-light exposure in the first place. This can be a tough one, but there are a few things that can help. Simply taking breaks from the screen is useful, by scheduling meetings or organizing some of your work so that it can be done on paper. In some cases, anti-glare filters, computer glasses, and apps that block some blue light can help as well.
Position your monitor in the right place. Keep your computer monitor about 35 to 40 inches away (further than you might expect), with the center of the screen about 5 inches below eye level. This positioning is associated with the lowest levels of visual strain, and it’ll also prevent the neck and back pain that come along with computer vision syndrome.
Read more here.
Also check out this info-graphic from All About Vision, which shows 7 things your probably doing at your desk that will increase eye strain:
