In an increasingly digital world issues such as digital eye strain are becoming more prevalent than ever before. The use of digital devices has become so ingrained in our day-to-day lives that we would have trouble surviving without them both professionally and personally. Every year that goes by we become even more dependent on these devices, so digital eye strain can only grow as an issue.
We rarely think about the impact this exposure to digital devices might be having on our vision and because of that we deal with recurring headaches, blurred vision and other symptoms of digital eye strain.
So with all this in mind, here are 5 tips to help protect your vision in a digital world:
- Lighting matters: As they say in the photography world “lighting, lighting, lighting!” Lighting doesn’t just matter in a photo shoot, lighting matters in your every day lives as well. If you work in an office and spend a large amount of time staring at a screen it is important to adjust your monitor settings so as to not strain your eyes. The lights above your head make a huge difference as well, if they are producing too much light then your eyes will become fatigued from over-exposure, on the other side if the lights are too dim, then your eyes will get strained over time. It is recommended that you keep your source of light off to the side of you, rather than at your front or back.
- Adapt your environment to your needs: It is a good idea to customize your environment to what is most comfortable for you. Using a large monitor or a screen magnifier for your computer helps to reduce symptoms of eye strain. Don’t sit too far back from your computer either, because that can cause your eyes to get strained. Believe it or not having a comfortable chair can do a lot for your eyes, because it reduces the amount of stress you put on your eyes when you are constantly adjusting how you are sitting for the best angle of view.
- Read at the right angle: This is pretty specific, but it has been known to help. It is important to ensure that your computer monitor is positioned slightly below your eye level, so that you are looking slightly downward at it. Sitting approximately 24 – 28 inches away from your screen is recommended as well.
- Don’t forget to blink: Statistics show that people blink a lot less when they are using digital devices, which causes your eyes to get strained over time. It is a good idea to remind yourself to give your eyes a break after once in a while in the office. You would be surprised at how much of a difference it makes when you take a moment to close your eyes for a few seconds every 20 minutes.
- Magnify your text: If you already have vision complications then settings your text to be magnified for easier reading helps to reduce symptoms of eye strain. Just about every type of digital device has options to increase the size of the text on your screen to make it easier to read so you don’t have to squint so much.
