Protect Your Eyes From Screens - 10 Tips To Help Prevent Eye Fatigue

2023 Author: Lynn Laird | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:49

Lately, it seems that everyone is confined in front of a screen whether it is that of the computer, the smartphone or another digital device. Therefore, this overexposure leads to many physical and psychological problems. Among the most alarming are poor posture and speech disorders in children, as well as insomnia, weight fluctuations and so-called digital eye strain in adults. This last point will be the subject of our current article. So how do you protect your eyes from screens?

10 tips to protect your eyes from screens

In fact, it turns out that protecting your eyes from screens is imperative as recent research has shown that 59% of people who regularly use digital devices have symptoms of computer vision syndrome (SVI), also known as computer visual fatigue.. Its manifestations include: red eyes, impaired vision or diplopia, feeling of dryness, tearing or other eye discomfort, headaches, neck and shoulders, among others. So how do you protect your eyes from all these harmful effects?

Getting screen protection glasses is a priority

Getting hold of a pair of computer glasses is the first step in protecting your eyes from digital screens. This simple but effective optical instrument is equipped with an anti-blue light filter, the most aggressive light towards our retinas. This type of glasses can at the same time compensate for possible refractive errors (such as myopia, astigmatism and presbyopia, among others), offer dioptric correction and so on. Of course, you will need to seek the services of an ophthalmologist who can customize your glasses to suit your specific needs.

Minimize glare fights eye strain

Staying on the theme of glasses, look for those rated AR. That is, their lenses feature an anti-reflective coating that reduces glare not only from your monitor but also from reflected light from walls, desk top, and other smooth surfaces all around. Yes, it is not only the computer screen or the smartphone that you have to protect your eyes! A good tip about this is to surround yourself with soothing matte-finish colors instead of going for the hyper-boosting glossy whites.

Optimizing your workstation to protect your eyes

Okay, when you go to the office every day, the colors around are rarely negotiable. But nowadays working from home is more the norm than the exception, isn't it? So favor relaxing green shades that evoke peace and fight against eye fatigue also at the subconscious level. Likewise, having a potted plant within sight is one of the basics of successful home office design.

Additionally, if your daily work involves viewing printed pages while reviewing information displayed on your computer screen you are constantly making wandering eye movements which can further aggravate eye strain. To prevent this unfavorable scenario, put the sheets on a small easel or other type of vertical stand and place it right next to your screen.

Ideally, position your monitor 40 to 75 cm from your eyes and try to position its center about 20 degrees lower than your eye level when you are sitting in your desk chair and looking straight ahead. Regularly clean the screens of electronic devices and ventilate the room well before sitting in front of the PC. It is beneficial not only to your vision but to health as a whole!

The right lighting for computer vision syndrome

Eye strain is often caused by excessively bright light either from the outside sun entering through a large, bare window or from one or more overly bright indoor lights. In fact, when using a computer, your ambient lighting should be about half the intensity of what is typically found in most "similar" offices. So reduce the exterior light that is too strong by closing the curtains or blinds halfway.

Then, manage interior lighting better by using low-intensity bulbs that emit a “warm white” light or by reducing their total number. Who wants to protect his eyes should also prefer LED lighting to filament bulbs and especially fluorescent tubes. Full spectrum bulbs, whose lighting effect most closely approximates the full spectrum of daylight, are among the best options for setting up a natural ambience and thus reducing digital eye strain.

Finally, if conditions permit, please arrange your computer screen so that the windows are next to it and not in front or behind. Favor floor lamps and table lamps instead of ceiling lighting just above your head.

Protecting your eyes by upgrading the screen is a must

If you haven't already done so, replace your old cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor with an LED flat screen (or LED for light-emitting diode in French) with an anti-glare surface. Old-fashioned CRT displays can cause imperceptible flickering of images which, however, leads to quite severe eye strain. Be aware that the effects of this "flicker" are more harmful if the monitor's refresh rate is less than 75 hertz (Hz). So, if the choice is yours, select a new flat screen with AR and go for the highest possible resolution. Finally, for a desktop computer, select a relatively large screen, in other words with a diagonal of at least 19 inches.

Adjust screen display settings

If you have no choice and still need to use a CRT display in the office at least set the display settings to the highest possible refresh rate. And while we are talking about setting the parameters … Everyone who wants to protect their eyes must revisit the display settings of their monitor whether it is brand new or archaic. For Windows 10 select Start> Settings> System> Display.

There are no exact values and strict rules in terms of good brightness, contrast, color temperature etc. You will need to do some experimentation and find the saturations that you find most comfortable in your own eyes. Take a look, for example, at the white background of this web page. If it seems to you to be shining like a light source, your brightness is probably too high. If, on the other hand, it looks dull and gray, the brightness may be too low.

When we talk about color temperature, it is a technical term that describes the spectrum of visible light emitted by a screen. Blue light is short wavelength visible light that is the main culprit in eye strain. This is why it is advisable to reduce the color temperature of your screen (which also limits the emission of blue light) in order to better protect your eyes.

As for text formatting: adjust the size of the letters to a level that allows you to read comfortably without leaning towards the screen. Avoid hard-to-read fonts and vibrant colors that quickly overload the eye. Usually, black printing on a white background is considered optimal.

Take frequent breaks for eye strain

To protect their eyes from screens and reduce the risk of computer vision syndrome (and especially back and shoulder pain) everyone who uses the computer, tablet and smartphone for several hours of the day should take breaks frequent. Once every 2 hours, ideally every hour, is a good recess schedule. During this downtime, you have to get up from the chair, take a few steps, stretch your arms and legs, move your back, neck and shoulders etc. All of these movements reduce muscle tension and fatigue. Follow the 20/20/20 rule - every 20 minutes take a 20 second break and watch something 20 feet (6 m) away.

Blinking more often removes visual stress

Blinking may seem like a straightforward process to many people, but you can really forget to do it enough, especially when you're overwhelmed with work or just mesmerized by the glow of blue screens. In fact, a study has shown that people close their eyelids three times less often when looking at a screen! On top of that, it turns out that you only partially close your eyelids, which is not enough to moisten the sclera and reduce irritation and the feeling of dryness. Whoever wants to protect their eyes in front of a screen just has to blink every now and then.

Anti-visual fatigue tip: if you experience dry eyes even after having followed most of the recommendations here, ask your pharmacist for non-prescription artificial tears to lubricate your cornea throughout the day spent in front of the screen. The exercises are also super beneficial for this purpose …

You can protect your eyes by training them

Did you know that there are exercises you can practice to protect your eyes from the negative effects of monitors? So-called eye gymnastics is indeed at the top of the list of practices beneficial to visual health. Remember the 20/20/20 rule and also try these 10 exercises that will improve your eyesight!





How to protect your eyes: consult an ophthalmologist

Have you ever heard the phrase "Better safe than sorry"? So, we saved the best advice for last! Having a routine eye exam every year with an eye doctor is the most important thing you can do to prevent or treat your possible vision problems. During your exam, be sure to share how much time in total (and at work and at home) you spend in front of digital devices as well as the usual distance between your eyes and your PC monitor so that it can test your eyes. this specific working distance.