Think carefully: How many hours a day would you say you spend looking at some sort of screen? Include your phone, your computer, TV and tablets. If you’ve begun to cringe, you may want to read on to learn about how to keep your eyes healthy. It’s good to give your eyes a break.
- Why does this happen? Looking at a screen all day with it close to you (near-work) forces the muscles of the eye to adjust to keep everything in focus, changing the shape of the eyes’ lenses. Doing that for hours on end obviously strains the muscles, just as you would if you had to hold up a somewhat heavy package for hours at a time. Combine that with poor lighting and posture, and you’ve got that feeling of headachiness and tired eyes (not to mention dry eyes because we don’t blink as much when looking at a screen).
- What can you do to help? Doctors suggest following the 20/20/20 rule: Take a 20 second break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away. If you have a glare on your computer, make adjustments to remove it and consider using eye drops to keep your eyes moisturized. Getting out of office lighting can help as well — go outside and get into natural light, looking at things from a distance to refocus your eyes.
- Is the damage permanent? At this point, the Mayo Clinic says no serious or long-lasting consequences come from eye strain. Researchers in Madrid have found that LED lights can affect retina damage in rats, but they haven’t yet found a similar correlation in humans. Still, we all know how depressing those LED lights can feel, so it might be good to bring in your own lamp. No matter what, take a break to avoid eye strain
Now that you’ve finished reading this article, look up for 20 seconds and see what you can spot. Even if you finished the article in less time, it’s a good habit to start to avoid eye strain in the future. Read our related health and wellness blog content or reach out to our professional recruiters at Medical Professionals today!
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