Spending hours each day in front of a screen may cause your eyes to feel tired, strained, and dry. In this digital age, most people are familiar with this syndrome. The good news is that you can easily reduce or even eliminate digital eye strain.
Eye strain can result in irritated and red eyes, blurred vision, headaches, or a strained feeling in the shoulders, neck, or back, reported Healthline. It can even cause fatigue during the day and reduce the quality of your sleep at night, according to the eyecare site All About Vision.
This is no surprise, as screens are everywhere: sitting atop desks, perched in laps, cradled in palms, and even strapped onto our wrists! Be it working, playing, exercising, socializing, or relaxing, most people around the globe are looking at screens most of the day.
Screen time statistics for 2022 show that daily screen time has increased by nearly 50 minutes (or 13 percent) a day since 2013, according to Exploding Topics. Around the world, people are averaging 6 hours and 58 minutes of screen time daily.
If your eyes are feeling the effects of all this blue light, give them some well-deserved self care. Here are seven ways to reduce tired eyes.
Blink more!
Eradicate that zombie look and blink, suggests All About Vision. This solution could not be easier! You typically blink 15 to 20 times a minute, yet while staring at a computer screen, you may be blinking only five to seven times a minute. When you blink, you naturally moisten your eyes. Avoid dry eyes and blink more often.
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Go on dark mode
Be it a computer, a tablet, or a smartphone, you can adjust your screen settings. This will make it easier on your eyes.Try to avoid creating a glare by having your screen as bright as the lighting in your room.
Or, select “dark mode” on your phone and see white letters on a dark background. This is said to be easier on your eyes.
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Adjust your work space
It is best to gaze down at your screen, recommends the American Academy of Opthalmology (AAO). This is easily done by raising your chair or working on a lower work table. Another idea to help avoid dry eyes is to keep a bottle of artificial tears by your desk or, during winter, have a humidifier nearby.
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Keep the “20-20-20” rule
This is also easy to do, provided you remember! The AAO recommends looking at an object that is 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.
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Wear blue light glasses
Also called computer glasses, blue light glasses have a coating that blocks damaging blue light, according to All About Vision. You can get them with or without a prescription. You may even find that after wearing them, you sleep better at night!
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Take Omega-3
A study in the Contact Lens & Anterior Eye journal showed that supplementing your diet with omega-3 fatty acids helped dry eyes. They studied close to 500 people who used the computer around three hours a day and found that after three months of taking an omega-3 supplement, 70 percent were symptom-free of dry eye signs.
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Clean your screen
Trying to keep your computer and phone screens clean may help reduce computer vision syndrome, suggests HealthTechZone. Buy a screen cleaner at an electronics store, then spray the screen, and wipe it down with a soft cloth. Alternatively, use a smudge-free screen protector.
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