Often we don’t realize that our eyes pay a heavy price for all those many hours which we spend on electronic gadgets like computers, smartphones, tablets etc., and the price is – eye strain and dry tired eyes.
And because of the high prevalence, this eye strain experience has been named as computer vision syndrome (CVS).
The symptoms of CVS are also very common such as burning eyes, headache, light sensitivity, back pain upto neck, blurred vision.
However, if you are experiencing above symptoms, these tips will help in reducing the eye strain.
Modify the way you view
Can you believe that the way we view objects affects the chances of CVS? There is an appropriate angle at which one should align their eyes to avoid headache. Keep the screen of the electronic item between 20 to 28 inches away from your eyes and 4 to 5 inches below your eyes. And the distance between your monitor and other reading material should be close as to keep head movement nominal.
Decrease the glare
If the contrast between letters on the monitor and its background is too little (meaning low contrast) then you are making your eyes work harder unnecessarily. This inevitably leads to tired eyes and often light sensitivity. Always read in a brightly-lit area sufficient enough to feel comfortable. Light around you should not be too bright as well. Adjust the curtains/ blinds on your windows according to the availability of sunlight. Alternatively, you may also make use of glare filter.
Give a break to your eyes!
Excess of anything is injurious to health- this old saying still holds true. And so does the eye doctor’s formula of 20-20-20! It is worth taking a break after every 20 minutes and look at an object which is at least 20 feet away for a minimum of 20 seconds.
Blinking brings moisture to your eyes
It is found that people who use computers for long hours are likely to blink only one-fourth than they would normally do. This certainly is bound to increase the risk of having dry eyes. Either give a reminder to yourself to blink more often or use lubricating eye drops.
Get your eyes checked
Recurring headache may be because of age related eye problems like cataract or poor functioning of the eye muscles, etc. Further, it is important to check if the vision problems are due to hypermetropia, astigmatism, squint eyes.
Simple measures as above can help in reducing eye and neck pain. However, if you still feel there is any abnormality in your vision, then, it is important to undergo a detailed eye check-up and diagnose if there is any presence of hidden eye problems.
