You most likely use displays for almost anything – to work, relax, or simply keep up with your social life. If your eyes feel tired and dry at the end of the day, your vision is blurry, or your head, shoulders, and neck ache, all that time spent on digital devices could be to blame.
You can avoid straining your eyes by changing how you use mobile phones, PCs, tablets, and other screens.
Do Screens Make Your Eyesight Worse?
Almost everyone uses a screen in their everyday lives; digital eye strain (DES) is more frequent than ever.
While hardly anyone spends their whole day staring at a computer screen, the majority of people do use cell phones. According to experts, digital eye strain occurs in approximately 50% of screen users.
So, do screens impair your vision? The good news is that eye strain isn’t a long-term issue.
There is little evidence that strain causes long-term eye damage. Still, it can produce considerable discomfort and make getting through a workday difficult.
Computer Eye Strain
What is the impact of the screen on the eyes? There are various indicators to be aware of, and they differ significantly based on whether you use a PC, TV, or mobile phone.
When using a TV (LED, LCD), and even if you are playing games on your calibrated TV Screen, it can also cause eye strain.
Let’s look at a few of the signs and how to prevent digital eye strain.
Computer Eye Strain Symptoms
The most common symptoms of eye strain, according to the American Optometric Association, are:
- Headaches
- Dry Eyes
- Red Eyes
- Blurred Vision
- And in severe cases, Neck and Shoulder Pain
These symptoms will appear after viewing a screen for extended periods if you use a computer all day for work.
How To Prevent Eyestrain From Computer Screen
Follow these measures to prevent your eyes from computer screens.
1. Use The 20/20/20 Rule
Your eyes are not intended to stare at something straight in front of you the whole day. Using the 20/20/20 principle, you can start by giving the eyes more rest throughout long workdays.
Unless you stare at the display for twenty minutes, you must take a glance at anything at least 20 steps away for 20 seconds. However, the longer you look away from the display, the better it is for your eyes.
2. Ensure Your Room Is Well Lit
It may seem contradictory, but having less light in your room is beneficial to the eyes when looking at the screen. Offices should not be overly bright, so shut your curtains and use fewer lighting systems when feasible. The light should not be too dim, but not too bright either.
Choose fewer power lights and keep your artificial light half as bright as the usual office.
3. Use High-Resolution Screens
Most individuals are no longer need to utilize CRT screens. Those were the old desktop screens with weak refresh rates that produced a perceptible flicker and made your eyes itch.
Screens today often have refresh rates of 75Hz or higher—the greater the number, the better. Additionally, higher resolution screens look more alive and provide a better user experience. When you can’t see the pixels, your eyes have to work much harder to interpret the visuals in front of you.
4. Reduce Glare
Glare on the PC screen can produce eye strain because it tries to stop your eyes from adjusting as smoothly as they do to the content you’re trying to focus on.
Get an anti-glare matte screen where feasible (instead of glass-covered LCDs). If you wear glasses, keep in mind that they have an anti-reflective coating. If you are playing video games, then you should have the best gaming glasses.
5. Take a Break
It is necessary to take regular rest if you work at a PC or watch TV all day. These pauses do not have to be lengthy. Take a few moments every hour or so to get up, go for a simple walk, and expand your hands and feet.
Taking a break from the PC can greatly decrease not just eyestrain and dryness but any other neck or back pain you may be experiencing from sitting at a screen.
6. See an Eye Doctor
If you’ve attempted everything above but still can’t find relaxation, it’s time to have your eyes tested. Schedule a meeting with an eye specialist or ophthalmologist to determine whether you require a new prescribing for glasses or contacts.
Your specialist could also advise you to use over-the-counter or prescription medications, like artificial tears or lotions, to alleviate your symptoms.
Mobile Phone Eye Strain
Smartphone screens, like computer screens, can produce eye strain. We all need to talk about it because we utilize them in place of pen and paper for almost anything. But how would cell phones damage your vision? What are its symptoms? Let’s take a look!
Eye Strain From Phone Symptoms
Mobile eye strain symptoms are similar to computer eye strain signs.
Smartphone eye strain can cause:
- Dry Eyes and Discomfort
- Terrible throbbing headaches all around eyes
- Impaired vision
How To Protect Eye Strain From Phone Screen
Let’s look at ways to shield your eyes from phone screens.
1. Adjust Screen Settings
It’s easy to overlook that you should personalize the device since it looks great right out of the box. Everybody’s eyes are unique, and all phones enable you to adjust the brightness, contrast, and text settings.
Reduce the brightness when you’re at home, or enable automatic brightness adjustments to allow your smartphone to react to your surroundings. Increase the font size to make it simpler to read text messages.
2. Use Night Mode
Night mode capabilities on recent Android and Apple devices make this simple to automatically lessen eye strain at night. When you enable this feature, your mobile will automatically switch screen set up based on the time of day.
3. Keep A Sensible Distance
From 16 to 18 inches away, you must be able to see anything on your phone’s screen. Keep your handset away from your face, but if you find yourself trying to bring it nearer, consider zooming in on your screen instead.
4. Don’t Forget To Blink!
According to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, when utilizing a screen, a man blinks up to 66 percent lesser frequently.
Blinking is necessary since it aids in the transmission of hydrating chemicals such as tears in your eyes etc. When you blink fewer times compared to normal, your tears evaporate quicker, leading to red & dry eyes.
