If you spend hours each day working at a computer screen, you may experience eyestrain, blurred vision, itchy eyes, and occasional double vision. Having to work on computers for hours and hours, day in day out, can result in eye strain or injury. Over time, vision may become impaired, eye pain may be felt and ability to adapt to different light may also reduce.
These problems can range from physical fatigue, decreased productivity and increased numbers of work errors, to minor annoyances like eye twitching and red eyes. It is a visually intensive task and, unfortunately, our work pressure and lifestyles do not give us the opportunity to be kind to our eyes. Which is why these tips should come in handy.
The Best Computer Users Eye Care Tips
- While working for long hours, look at distant objects either in your office or outside. Looking at a distant object and then returning to your task helps your eyes focus better. Try taking such visual breaks for about five to 10 minutes every hour.
- Blink your eyes to make tears secrete, keep the eyes wet. This is more important if you wear contact lenses. Many people concentrate too much on their work, blinking infrequently. This results in the eyes becoming drier.
- Make sure your monitor is in focus and that the brightness of its screen matches the brightness of the surrounding room.
- Glare on walls and finished surfaces, as well as reflections on your computer screen also can cause computer eye strain. Consider installing an anti-glare screen on your monitor and, if possible, paint bright white walls a darker color with a matte finish.
- Computer glasses are prescription eye wear that are specifically designed for computer work. They allow you to focus your eyes on the distance of a computer screen, which is generally farther away than reading material. Computer glasses optimize your eyesight when you’re looking at digital screens and help to reduce glare.
- Set your computer to display black characters on a white background.
- Massaging the area around the eyes will help relax the muscles and can be very comforting. Rub your hands together to create friction and warmth, then gently cup your palms over your closed eyes and rest them.
- Drink plenty of water. It helps reduce puffiness. When a person is dehydrated, especially in an air-conditioned office, the body starts storing water as a defense mechanism. This adds to puffiness around the eyes.
- Put your computer on a low table, or use a portable computer so your eyes look down when you work. Looking downward means more of the eye surface is covered by the eyelid, and two other things happen: the eyes unconsciously blink more, and they produce more lubrication.
- Avoid bright overhead lighting shining directly on your monitor screen. Ideal office lighting is indirect and of a lower wattage.
- Exercise your eyes: Another cause of computer eye strain is focusing fatigue. To reduce your risk of tiring your eyes by constantly focusing on your screen, look away from your computer at least every 20 minutes and gaze at a distant object (at least 20 feet away) for at least 20 seconds. Looking far away relaxes the focusing muscle inside the eye to reduce fatigue.
- Adjust your screen resolution: Make sure your monitor has a high-resolution display. A higher resolution produces sharper type and crisper images, reducing eye strain.
Being healthy is a personal choice and one has to work hard at it. A balanced diet, regular sleep habits, a balance between work and rest, ad exercises – all play a vital role in restoring our health and helping us maintain our eyesight.
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