7 Ways To Reduce Screen Strain
These days, it’s almost impossible to go a few hours without staring at some sort of screen. We often hear of people suffering from headaches, eye strain, blurry vision, and dry eyes caused by too much screen time. While it is always important to visit your optometrist for regular exams and eye concerns, we have compiled a list of tips to help you avoid screen-related eye strain.
7 Ways to Reduce Screen-Related Eye Strain:
Use proper lighting - Eye strain is often caused by excessive light. It is best to have softer ambient lighting while using a screen. You can reduce outdoor lighting by closing drapes or blinds. Further, position your screen so that any windows are to the side of the screen instead of in front or behind it. You can reduce harsh indoor lights by opting for floor lamps with “soft white” LED lighting instead of overhead fluorescent lights which can contribute to eye strain.
Minimize glare - Reflections from walls, shiny surfaces, and your computer screen itself can cause eye strain. To minimize glare you can purchase an anti-glare screen for your display or paint your walls a darker colour. Further, if you wear glasses, make sure you purchase lenses with anti-reflective (AR) coating.
Adjust your computer display settings - The brightness of your display should be about the same brightness as your surrounding. Further, adjust the size and contrast of your text. Typically, black text on a white background is the best combination for maximum viewing comfort.
The 20-20-20 Rule - Take a break every 20 minutes for at least 20 seconds by staring at an object that is roughly 20 feet away. You can take this tip further by taking a 5-minute break every hour to further help relax the eyes.
Blink more often - Blinking helps to moisten your eyes to prevent dryness and irritation. Blinking is an automatic reflex, however, when staring at a screen people blink less often. Therefore you may need to consciously remind yourself to blink more often when working on a screen.
Use eye drops - If you find that your eyes get dry while working on a screen, be sure to keep some eye drops nearby. Adding a few eye drops in each eye will give you some instant relief from dry eyes.
Consider investing in computer glasses - To have the greatest comfort at your computer, ask your optometrist to modify your eyeglass prescription for computer use. Computer glasses are especially a good choice if you wear bifocals or progressive lenses because these types of lenses are not optimally made for the distance of your computer screen - you may find you have to tilt your head back (or forward) to find the sweet spot to look at your screen. This tilting of the head can lead to both eye and neck strain. Take your computer glasses one step further by adding a blue light coating to filter out harmful blue light that is emitted by screens.
Book your visit with us today and speak with one of our style experts about your computer glasses and discover more ways to reduce eye strain from screen time.