The increased usage of computers and smartphones results in a variety of health problems, particularly eye strain, which is the most common problem in today's generation.
Nowadays, digital technology has become an essential part of our life. Smartphones are used in our everyday life for various purposes including social networks, clicking photos, playing games, online shopping, etc. Computers or laptops are used for creating documents, photo and video editing, games, blogging, browsing, reading books, office-related works, etc.
The increased use of computers and smartphones benefits a lot in learning new skills, making money, accomplishing office tasks, etc but at the same time causes eye symptoms related to their usage.
Eye strain or asthenopia is estimated to be the most common complaint among prolonged computer and smartphone users. The term eye strain is frequently used to describe a group of symptoms that are related to the prolonged visual activity. The symptoms include smarting, itching, gritty feeling, aches, sensitivity to light, redness, teariness, and dryness.
Here are the 10 tips to reduce computer & smartphone eye strain.
1. Frequent blinking
The use of computer and smartphone devices reduces both the blink rate and completeness of blinks, which are factors associated with eye strain. Many studies show that the blink rate is reduced during computer or smartphone use (3–12 blinks/ minute) compared to normal blinking (17–26 blinks/minute). Blinking frequently produces tears that moisten eyes and reduce dryness and irritation. Try blinking between 15 and 30 times each minute. If you do this consciously, it will soon become a habit, leaving your eyes comfortable and moisturized at all times.
2. Eye exercise
Performing eye exercise is effective in improving eye health and reducing eye strain symptoms. There are many exercises you can perform but don't overdo it and keep it simple. Here is a simple sequence of exercises you can perform that will help relieve dryness and tension accumulated in the muscles of the eye:
Close your eyes, do 10 times clockwise rotation of eyes, and then 10 times anticlockwise rotation. After that, move your eyes up and down 20 times and then left and right 20 times. Make sure your eyes are closed all the time while performing these exercises.
3. Taking breaks
In a study, it is found that taking a rest break of 5 min after every 30-40 minutes greatly reduces eye strain, Dryness, Itching, Eye fatigue, Blurred vision, etc. During this break, watch the far trees from the window. Watch how the leaves move with the wind. Think about how they face extreme weather during summer and winter. In spite of this, they are still standing tall with their branches expanding in all possible directions. They do not complain, they do not cry. They do not go against the wind, they just go with the wind. They do not think about the past nor the future, they live in the present.
Thinking this way will not only relax your eyes but mind as well.
4. Screen brightness
It is impossible for us to stop using computers and smartphones for the sake of our eyes. They are an important part of our daily life. But by making some changes with the screen brightness we can reduce eye strain.
Computer and smartphone come with many display settings by using which you can reduce the damage done to your eyes. Here are some of the changes you can do in your device settings:
- Font size: Small font size is hard to see and is not readable. Increase the font size to make it more readable. On my computer, I have set the font size to 125% the default size.
Small font size text. (less redable)
Medium Font size text.
Large font size text. (more redable) - Contrast setting: It defines the difference in the background color and the foreground text color. The higher the difference higher will be the contrast. Low contrast text is hard to read, whereas high contrast text is easy to read. So, increase the contrast level. Text with low contrast. Text with low contrast. Text with high contrast. Text with high contrast.
Text with low contrast. (less redable)
Text with low contrast. (less redable)
Text with high contrast. (more redable)
Text with high contrast. (more redable) - Screen brightness: Don't use high brightness or low brightness all the time. Personally, I use medium brightness during day time and low brightness at night. You can switch to an adaptive brightness setting, that will automatically change the brightness for you.
- Blue light filter: There are three primary colors: Red, Green, and Blue. All the other colors are made out of the combination of these three colors. It is found that the blue color light is more harmful to our eyes as compared to other color lights. Enabling a blue light filter setting will reduce the amount of blue color light emitting from your device screen and thus protect your eyes.
5. Distance from screen
It is important to keep your eyes at a proper distance from the screen. Text on the screen is not readable/visible properly when your eyes are either too close or too far from the screen. You should sit at a distance between 20-40 inches from the screen depending on the screen size. For a small size screen, the distance must be less (between 20-30 inches) and for the larger screen, the distance must be more (between 30-40 inches).
Note: This rule applies to computers, tablets, and smartphones. But, for TV the distance will be more (between 120-180 inches, depending on the screen size) because generally less text appears on TV.
6. Posture
A good posture involves training your body to stand, sit, and lie in a position where the least strain is placed on your eyes and body muscles. Nowadays, people spend several hours on their smartphones and computer and most people don't know much about how to use them in a proper posture. Leaning forward, lying in the bed or bending head towards one side of the shoulder while using a mobile phone may harm the back muscles, neck, shoulders, and even the eyes drastically.
While using your computer or smartphone, your neck should be straight. Your head must be parallel to the device screen. The center of the screen must be in line with the center of your two eyes so that there will not be more load on one eye than the other.
7. Use eyedrops
Use eye drops when you feel dryness in your eyes to keep them well-lubricated and prevent a recurrence of symptoms. They are like artificial tears. It is good to use it sometimes but don't use it regularly. Try some natural ways like blinking, tearing, etc to keep away the dryness. Using cold water is also a great way to prevent eye dryness. Use a clean cloth, wet it with cold water and apply it slowly over your eyes.
Eye drops for computer and smartphone strain may help with some of the symptoms, such as dryness or irritation, but there are several factors to consider before buying them, including properly evaluating what is causing your eye strain.
8. Appropriate eyewear
Glasses for eye strain creates a protective layer so that your eyes don’t have to work so hard throughout the day. Wearing glasses optimized for reducing eye strain can help you benefit from high-resolution vision, protecting you when you’re working on a computer or driving to a holiday destination.
Choose the appropriate eyewear for you. If you need glasses or contacts and work at a computer, consider buying glasses or contact lenses designed specifically for computer work. Ask your eye doctor about lens coatings and tints that might help too. Also, do wear a UV filter sunglass whenever you go out in the sunlight to prevent the UV light from entering into your eyes.
9. Avoid doing things that are unnecessary
Most people and found to waste much time doing unnecessary things on their smartphones and computer. By avoiding these things one can save an ample amount of time by reducing the time spent on these devices. Here are some of the unnecessary things:
- Turn off notification: Every notification makes you desperate and forces you to open it. It is a good way to keep you up to date with the things but also make you impatient if you don't open it. Social site apps, music apps, news apps, e-commerce apps, etc send a frequent notification to the customer to keep their bank balance healthy. You can either reduce the notification frequency or turn it off completely if it is not necessary.
- Uninstall unused apps: We all have some apps installed on the smartphone that we don't use. You can simply uninstall such apps.
- Avoid social sites: These are virtual life, not real life. People spend hours on them. They take selfies and post it on social sites in the hope of getting more likes and good comments/feedback. If they don't get enough likes on their pictures, they feel neglected and rejected. This lowers their self-esteem and puts them into depression.
10. Eat healthy food
Good healthy food is necessary for good eye health. Nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zinc, and vitamins A, B6, B9, B12, C and E might help in reducing age-related vision problems like macular degeneration and cataracts. These vitamins and minerals will not cure the existing eye diseases but help in preventing or slowing the progression of several different eye conditions. However, eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and healthy fats is necessary and will provide you with all the nutrients to your eyes and to the rest of your body.
Bottom line
Prevention is the best strategy when dealing with computer and smartphone eye strain. Special attention is needed for people at a high risk of digital eye strain such as computer workers and contact lens wearers.
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