Looking at Too Many Screens? Your Eyes May Be Feeling the Strain
80 years ago, a screen was something that kept bugs from coming into your house. No one could have imagined when the first televisions appeared in the mid-20th century, just how ubiquitous screens would become in society today.
Unfortunately, those omnipresent computer screens that project light directly into your retinas, can cause a real strain on your eyes. This digital eye strain has a name: it is called Computer Vision Syndrome.
Digital eye strain can include eye pain and difficulty focusing, and at least half of people who work in front of computer screens have at least some symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome. Do you? Here are some of the symptoms to look for.
Eye Twitches
An uncontrollable muscle spasm where your eyes involuntarily quiver is known as eye twitching. Eye twitching is not usually harmful, but it can be frightening and unpleasant. Eye twitching can have a number of causes, but the drying out and stress on the eye that can occur from too much screen viewing can definitely be one of the more common ones.
Blurred or Double Vision
Your eyes need to constantly focus and refocus in order to read everything on a computer screen. As you get older, your eye lenses naturally lose some of their resilience, and focusing gets harder no matter what you do. But straining to focus on a computer screen continuously can result in problems like blurred vision or double vision.
Dry Eyes
Staring at a screen, which shoots light directly into your eyes and may reduce the amount of blinking you do, can dry out your eyes. This can cause redness, irritation, general discomfort and other eye issues.
Headaches From Eye Strain
Pain directly in your eyes isn’t the only possible discomfort that can result from digital eye strain. Straining to read screen after screen can also result in headaches and even backaches for some.
How to Reduce Digital Eye Strain
There are a number of ways to reduce the effects of computer screens on your eyes. One of the best ways is to take periodic breaks from looking at the screen. Every 20 minutes or so, look at something other than a screen, about 20 feet away for about 20 seconds. Don’t forget to blink frequently.
Another way is to reduce the brightness on your computer screens. If you’re experiencing digital eye strain symptoms, it could be because your screen is too bright. It’s not hard to reduce those settings to make them easier on your eyes.
You should also make sure you set up your workstation in an ergonomic way. Think of digital eye strain as a repetitive motion injury, much like you would think of carpal tunnel syndrome. Make sure your monitor and any other materials you need to look at while working are located in a place where you don’t have to stretch your neck, strain your eyes, or continually look back and forth in order to do your work.
Another important way to protect your eyes from digital eye strain is to make sure you always get regular eye exams from qualified professionals. If you’re in the Portland, Oregon area, the eye care specialist you want to see is at Beaumont Vision. Beaumont Vision has highly skilled optometrists in a professional, intimate atmosphere to provide an ideal environment for your eye care. To schedule your appointment, visit Beaumont Vision today.