Tips to prevent digital eye strain
Spend long hours in front of a computer or looking at a digital screen and before you know it, digital eye strain is staring you right in the face. The pounding of a digital eye strain headache. The fatigue of tired eyes. And there’s no ignoring the soreness of strained shoulders. Thankfully, you don’t have to suffer the pain of the strain. With a few simple tips and tactics, you can take the discomfort out of the digital and comfortably savor your screen time at any time. Take a closer look at digital eye strain to understand why computer eye strain is such a pain and spot computer eye strain symptoms from the start. Then, learn how to prevent the problem, along with digital eye strain treatment options that can bring relief.
All about digital eye strain
While you may enjoy spending time in front of a computer or scrolling the screens on your tablet or mobile phone, your eyes certainly don’t. Staring at digital screens for large amounts of time can strain your eyes and leave you with eyes that are achy, watery, itchy, and red, as well as vision problems. This happens so frequently that it’s gone from a small concern to a full-blown condition known by several names, including digital eye strain, computer eye strain, and computer vision syndrome.
The causes of computer eye strain
If your eyes are suffering from strain, the source of the soreness may actually be right before your eyes. It’s the digital screen of the computer you use for work, the tablet you watch for movies, and the mobile phone that’s always in your sight. Staring at digital screens is harder on your eyes because it makes your eyes work harder than reading a printed page. The factors that can trigger trouble include:
- Long hours spent staring at a digital screen
- Poor lighting
- A screen that’s too bright or overly dim
- Screen glare
- Reflections on the screen
- Using devices with poor contrast between the words and the background
- Viewing a screen from the wrong angle
- Being too close or far from the screen
- Uncorrected vision problems
- Bad posture
Watch out for these computer eye strain symptoms
If you’re like the millions of people who spend countless hours staring at the screen of a computer, tablet, mobile phone, or TV, you may be suffering from computer eye strain symptoms. You may be overlooking them as signs of stress or the burden of a busy life. The most common computer eye strain symptoms include:
- Digital eye strain headache
- Achy eyes
- Tired eyes
- Dry eyes
- Itchy or watery eyes
- Blurred vision
- Double vision
- Eye redness
- Neck, shoulder, and back pain
Eye-opening digital eye strain treatment options
If your eyes are aching and your head is throbbing due to overdoing it with digital screens, relief is in sight. Computer eye strain can be diagnosed by getting an eye examination. During the exam, be sure to describe how often you’re on a computer or another digital device both at home and at work. Before your test, remember to measure the distance between your computer screen and your eyes so you can be tested at the same distance. If your screen is the source of the strain, the easiest and most effective digital eye strain treatment options can also prevent computer eye strain altogether. These include:
- Reducing your screen time
- Adjusting the lighting around you
- Changing your computer display settings
- Minimizing glare
- Improving your seating position and posture
- Taking frequent breaks to rest your eyes
- Using the 20-20-20 rule where you look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes
- Wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses
- Using eye drops or artificial tears to moisten dry eyes
- Blinking more often
- Getting regular eye exams
Whether you’ve been suffering from digital eye strain or simply want to avoid the pain, these helpful tips are bound to be a sight for sore eyes.