Plus the Science Behind Why We Suffer from Digital Eye Strain
From a desk job to scrolling social media before falling asleep, our digital world can put a lot of strain on our eyes. This is known as digital eye strain. In this article, we’ll take a look at why we get digital eye strain, plus some tips to help you reduce eye strain while still staying connected in our modern world.
What is Digital Eye Strain and Why Do We Get It?
While using digital devices won’t permanently damage your eyes, staring at digital devices can cause temporary discomfort. These symptoms can include dry eyes, blurry vision, tearing or watery eyes, and headache.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the reason this happens is because we blink less while looking at devices. Normally, humans blink around 15 times per minute. However, this “blink rate” can be cut in half when staring at screens or doing other near-work activities, such as reading.
Tips for Reducing Digital Eye Strain
To help reduce strain from staring at devices in our digital and modern world, here are some tips to follow.
- Look Up and Away: Give your eyes a break by making it a habit to look up from the screen. Try following the 20-20-20 rule–every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
- Blink More: Make a conscious effort to blink more often to help keep your eyes lubricated.
- Use Artificial Tears: When your eyes do feel dry, lubricate them with artificial tears recommended to you by your eye doctor.
- Keep Your Distance: Sit at arm’s length from your computer screen and adjust the height so you are looking slightly downward.
- Reduce Glare and Brightness: Device with glass can cause glare. To reduce it, consider adding a matte screen filter to your device. Also, adjusting the brightness and contrast of your screen and dimming the lighting near your screen can also help.
- Use Night Mode: Use built-in settings or apps to add a “night mode” or blue light filter to your screen. This makes it warmer and easier on your eyes. On some devices, you can schedule this mode to turn on and off at the same time every day.
- Increase Text Size: Enlarging the text on your screen to a comfortable size will help you avoid squinting and further strain.
- Consider Special Glasses: If you do a computer job, consider asking your eye doctor about glasses specifically designed for computer use (with a blue light filter) that help reduce digital eye strain.
Suffering from Digital Eye Strain? Schedule an Appointment!
If you believe you are suffering from digital eye strain, we recommend scheduling an appointment with your eye doctor. It’s important to get an exam to rule out any other eye health issues. If your eye doctor agrees it is digital eye strain, you may be prescribed special glasses designed for heavy digital screen users.
Black Diamond Eye Care is your trusted local Castle Rock eye doctor. We recognize how vital healthy vision is for a fulfilling life. That’s why we are dedicated to providing exceptional family eye care services. Scheduling an appointment with us is as easy as a few mouse clicks or a call!
