Did your boredom increase your online activities during this lockdown period? Well, it works for me and most others as well. As the COVID hit the entire world and the lockdown phase started people got restricted within the four walls. This made everyone work from home, but this increased the screen time. As an indirect consequence of this pandemic, people started suffering from various eye problems among which Computer Vision Syndrome is a major one.
You may be wondering what this term is all about? Check out this article to learn more on this!
Major Eye Issues
As per various studies made worldwide, it is seen that working from home was a luxury before this pandemic broke out. According to the World Economic Forum and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, currently, 42% of Americans work from home. Most of them have reported that due to increased screen time their eyes feel dry that makes them feel uncomfortable while staring at the screen.
Dryness accompanied by headache, blurred vision, shoulder stiffness and pain are common symptoms. The outcomes of digital eye strain have turned out pathetic for those who work for a longer duration. Longer exposure to the blue light emitted from the device consists of high-energy short wavelengths that tend to cause retinal damage along with age-related macular degeneration.
The Macula is the part of the retina that gets severely affected due to digital screen exposure causing loss of central vision. Hence, periodic breaks from work are highly recommended and essential to maintaining your eye health.
Computer Vision Syndrome
Though the term may seem tricky this is simply an outcome of eye strain. The more you strain your eye the more will be the chances of CVS. Primarily, this Computer Vision Syndrome affects two main systems of your eyes. This affects your binocular vision and tear film.
Computer Vision Syndrome is generally referred to as digital eye-strain that comes with a long list of various eye-issues. Viewing a digital screen for a prolonged duration exposes your eyes to the harmful blue light. Constant work without any break and improper workstation are some of the major reasons behind the Computer Vision Syndrome. Besides, staring at the screen without a blue-light lens may also affect your eye-health severely. This causes visionary problems and eye discomforts.
What are the ways to reduce eye strain?
As we are aware of the fact that viewing digital screens is harmful, we need to adopt protective measures to combat this problem.
Let’s check out the ways that control eye-straining.
Maintain Good Posture
One of the most viable options to avoid eye-strain is to spend less time in front of screens. But in the current situation, this is practically impossible. Maintaining proper posture while working at home is a must. While sitting in front of the computer keep your feet flat, keep your wrist slightly elevated, keep your back straight and maintain 18 inches of distance from the screen. Make sure you never slouch over the keyboards as that restricts blood flow to your eyes causing major eye problems.
Change Your Lighting
To get rid of headaches and eye strain make sure your surrounding light is never too dim or too bright. Extreme conditions affect your eye causing eye irritation along with headache. To avoid such situations you can apply an anti-glare screen to avoid discomforts.
Increase Font Size
Try not to squint while you are working on your computer or laptop or even mobile devices. Increase font size would reduce your eye-strain to a large extent. Moreover, you can always opt for a bigger screen depending upon your budget, as that gives you an enlarged view of whatever you are working on.
Bink More
We all know that blinking is an involuntary action. You might be feeling weird to hear “blink more”! You heard that right. While you are working you must blink consciously to keep your eyes wet. Blinking avoids dryness and discomforts due to irritation. Hence for improved and enhanced efficiency, it is essential to blink frequently.
Go for Frequent Breaks
Don’t sit in front of the screen continuously. Take a short break in regular intervals to divert your focus. This way your eyes would relax and rehydrate.
Restrict Blue Light Exposure
Wearing blue light glasses is highly recommendable as that cuts off the entry of blue light to your eyes. You can also implement blue-light filters in your computer or mobile screen to get rid of this dangerous ray.
Refer correct prescriptions
Ensure that you use the correct glasses and you are using an updated prescription. As this might lead to straining of your eyes.
Residing in a technology-free zone is next to impossible in today’s world. Hence, health issues along with eye -problems are common. Despite all the professional commitments, we must adopt certain precautionary measures and safety habits to ensure good eye health.
