Whether for work or play, most people spend hours each day looking at digital screens. Taking these eye-friendly self-care tips can help prevent and treat digital screen fatigue and eyestrain.
Blink often to keep your eyes moist. Practice the “20-20-20” rule, which is to look away from your monitor every 20 minutes at something that’s at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Look away from the screen every 20 minutes
Staring at a screen for long periods of time strains the muscles in your eyes. To help ease eye strain, try looking away from the screen every 20 minutes and focusing on something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. You can even set a reminder on your smartphone or tablet to prompt you.
It might sound like a lot, but it’s actually one of the best things you can do to combat eye fatigue and digital screen stress. It gives your eyes a chance to rest and relax from focusing, and you’ll also help prevent dry eyes.
According to The Vision Council, people blink about 18 times a minute, but when you stare at a computer or digital screen, you blink 2/3 less often than usual, which can lead to dry eye. By practicing the 20-20-20 rule, you can make sure to blink more frequently and avoid dry eyes.
Change your posture
Changing the position of your body during digital work can help relieve eye fatigue and posture issues. Try placing your documents on a copy stand and positioning your screen at a comfortable viewing height. This will alleviate the stress of constantly looking down and up at your materials, which overworks your eyes.
Another way to reduce eye fatigue is to frequently look away from the screen and focus on distant objects. This helps relax the focusing muscles in your eyes and also reduces glare from light-coloured painted walls and shiny surfaces.
Another cause of eye strain is when the brightness of a screen contrasts too strongly with the surrounding light. Adjusting your monitor brightness and using glare reduction filters can help avoid this. If you are noticing symptoms of eye strain, it is important to consult with an optometrist and discuss your screen use habits, posture, and the environment in which you are working. This will help you manage and prevent future symptoms from forming.
Change your screen
Although eye strain doesn’t usually affect long-term vision, it can make it difficult to get through a work day and can cause shoulder and neck pain. The good news is that simple preventative measures can help.
Adjust the settings on your monitor. Choose a higher resolution and a smaller dot pitch to improve clarity and reduce eyestrain. Older monitors often flicker (sometimes imperceptibly), which adds to eye strain. If you have an older CRT monitor, switch to a flat panel screen that doesn’t flicker.
Glare from light reflecting off of your computer screen or shiny work surfaces can also cause eye strain. Consider using an anti-glare screen or painting your work surface a darker color with a matte finish. Adjust the brightness of your monitor so that white screens appear white instead of bright yellow and minimize the amount of blue light that’s emitted from your screen. (Blue light is associated with eye strain and sleep disorders.)
Change your lighting
The lighting in your home, office or workspace has a big impact on eye health. Bright fluorescent bulbs and bright sunlight can cause eye strain as well as glare from reflective surfaces such as mirrors or windows.
It’s a good idea to add in lamps and other task lighting to reduce the brightness of interior lights. Using dimmers on the main lights can also make a big difference.
Replacing old-style cathode ray tube (or CRT) monitors with flat panel LED screens that are easier on the eyes can also help. These screens are less likely to flicker, which contributes to eye strain and fatigue. It is also a good idea to purchase lenses with an anti-reflective coating to reduce glare from reflective surfaces such as walls and finished surfaces.
It is important to take breaks and use your digital devices in the right environment to prevent eye fatigue and strain. If you notice any symptoms of eye strain, contact your local ophthalmologist to schedule an appointment.