Electronic displays are ubiquitous both in our professional environments and also within our personal spaces and educational institutions.
In Europe, approximately 30 percent of workers between the ages of 15 and 74 are part of the workforce.
reported using
using digital devices for the majority or entirety of their workday.
Spending so much time in front of screens can be taxing, potentially resulting in symptoms like dry or teary eyes, blurry vision, and head pain.
This may result in myopia, commonly known as nearsightedness, particularly among certain individuals, such as children. Therefore, what steps can be taken to lessen eye strain?
Follow the 20-20-20 rule
Specialists recommend giving your eyes a rest from the screen every twenty minutes.
You ought to direct your gaze at an object approximately 20 feet (six meters) distant for around 20 seconds.
Taking breaks from close-up tasks and gazing into the distance allows those strained, tense muscles to loosen up.
“Fortunately, eye fatigue is transient,” stated Raj Maturi, an ophthalmologist at the Midwest Eye Institute in Indianapolis and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
To prevent these symptoms effectively, it’s advisable to take breaks from screens or close-up tasks and use lubricating eye drops when necessary.
It’s beneficial to venture out and spend time outdoors, however, if you lack the time for a stroll, taking multiple 20-second breaks can be equally helpful.
Change your desk setup
Certain individuals discover that switching to a bigger computer display may lessen eye strain. Additionally, you could amplify the text size on your laptop, monitor, or mobile device’s screen.
Maintaining a distance of about an arm’s length from your screen and positioning it so you look slightly downwards can aid in reducing eye strain, as stated by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Beware of product promises.
Certain items like blue-light spectacles are promoted for their purported benefits of decreasing digital-related visual fatigue, enhancing your quality of sleep, and warding off vision disorders.
However, multiple studies have shown that these glasses are not particularly effective, as per the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
The group stated that it is actually our interaction with digital devices which leads to these symptoms, rather than the minimal amount of blue light emitted by the screens.
Browsing books or screens post-work hours
Once they step back from computer monitors at their jobs, numerous individuals end up engrossed in smartphones for browsing or reading purposes.
Excessive screen usage or continuous focus on close-up items may speed up the beginning and worsening of myopia, particularly in kids, according to Ayesha Malik, a pediatric optometrist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
She suggested that people watching shows online should use a television rather than a tablet to reduce eye strain.
Children ought to adhere to the 20-20-20-2 guideline, where adding another ‘2’ emphasizes spending at least two hours daily outside, aiding in their visual growth, as mentioned by her.
Malik pointed out that the truth is many kids spend significant time interacting with screens both at school and at home daily. Keeping tabs on all those hours can be challenging. He advised aiming for less than 20 minutes per single session.
A
report
The recommendations from the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine suggested last year that children should spend one to two hours outdoors each day since this exposure “provides brighter and more diverse lighting for the eyes and necessitates different eye movements and focusing efforts compared to being inside.”
Sleeping soundly
The blue light emitted from digital screens can boost alertness, which means that watching Netflix on an iPad or browsing social media feeds before bedtime might make it difficult to achieve restful sleep.
For adequate rest for both your eyes and mind, physicians suggest discontinuing screen use one to two hours prior to bedtime.
