Can’t take your eyes off the screen? It may lead to digital eyestrain!
Digital Eyestrain is one of the issues generally overlooked until you start experiencing dryness in your eyes, they start looking small and tired or when head, neck or shoulder aches start interrupting your daily life. Screen time spent on digital devices like computers, tablets or smartphones . for prolonged hours may lead to this problem.
The fact of the matter is that it is nearly impossible to avoid digital devices, be it for work or entertainment. In this era of social distancing, you may find yourself more glued to screen than ever before! So what to do?
STOP WORRYING! This is the first thing to do. The good news is that you can put this issue at bay by keeping in mind just few handy tips that you are going to explore here. However, before that, let us quickly understand how screens affect our eyes.
It is normal for us to blink 15-20 times a minute. This normal blinking keeps the front surface of the eyes moist and allows tears to spread uniformly over eyes. It wipes out the chances of them getting dry and strained. The alarming fact researchers have found is that when we watch, play, read or work on a screen, we blink less nearly 50% less as compared to our normal eye blink rate. That is exactly how excessive screen time may result in eyestrain.
If ignored for a long time, this eyestrain can also cause CVC (Computer Vision Syndrome) which is a condition that results from prolonged and uninterrupted time spent on digital devices that strains the eye muscles to a level that it is difficult to recover the damage and leads to vision problems.
To preclude eyestrain, explore these tips - easy and effective.
- Keep the computer screen about 20 to 28 inches away from your eyes.
- Adjust the screen 15 to 20 degrees below your eye level.
- Use matte screen filter for computers, tablets and smartphones to reduce the glare.
- Follow the unbeatable 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at an object at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
- Rest your eyes for 15 minutes after every 2 hours spent on a digital device.
- Make sure your digital device is neither brighter nor darker than the surroundings.
- Wear glasses to give your eyes a break, if you wear contact lenses.
- Meet optometrist and get regular eye checks to make sure you wear glasses appropriate to your vision.
- Invest some time in adjusting the brightness, contrast and font size of your digital devices that are best suited for you.
Follow these tips and appreciate one of the best gifts of nature – your eyes – your windows to the world. Now that you know about these eye-opening tips, DON’T FORGET TO BLINK!
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