It’s so common for people to spend eight hours a day sitting in front of a computer screen and when you add up all of the time you spend looking at your phone or a TV outside of work, you’ll notice that you spend the majority of your time in front of screens. That’s why it’s important to protect your eyes and look out for any potential signs of damage, but many people don’t give it a second thought.
If you stare at a computer all day long, these are some of the most effective ways to protect your eyesight.
Eye Tests and Glasses.
Regular eye tests are important if you use a computer on a daily basis. Ideally, you should be getting your eyes tested at least once a year, even if you don’t feel like your vision is suffering. Often, people experience a lot of eye strain while using a computer and they don’t realize that it’s because they need prescription glasses. Many people neglect eye tests and don’t buy glasses because they worry about the cost, but you can get some great glasses at affordable prices online, you just need your prescription from your eye test. If you don’t believe it’s that easy click here and see for yourself. Hopefully, once you have the right prescription glasses, you will notice that your eye strain improves a lot and you don’t feel as tired after using your computer for long periods.
Even if you don’t need prescription glasses, you may still benefit from specially designed computer glasses. These glasses are designed to prevent glare and protect the eyes from extended screen use, so they’re worth investing in.
Get Your Workstation Right.
When you work at a desk all day, it’s vital that you get your workstation right. You need a good quality desk and a chair that offers support, and you need to make sure that you are positioned at the correct distance from your screen. Unfortunately, most people sit too close to the screen and their eyes suffer as a result. You should be able to fully outstretch your arm before coming into contact with the screen (this is known as the high-five test). If you can’t stretch your arm all the way out, you are too close to the screen.
Lighting is very important as well because inadequate lighting means that you are forced to strain your eyes to see the screen properly. However, too much lighting or lights that are incorrectly placed will cause glare from the screen and that’s not great for your eyes either. Fluorescent lights cause a lot of eye strain as well, so they should be avoided if possible. Ideally, you need a few bright light sources that are not placed directly behind the screen.
Adjust Your Computer Settings.
Changing some of the settings on your computer can make a big difference as well. Turning down the brightness is the most obvious thing to do if you want to reduce eye strain, but you should also consider using a night mode filter as well. This filters out some of the harsh blue light and makes the color a lot warmer. Not only does this reduce the strain on your eyes but it can also help to improve your sleep because the blue light messes with your sleeping patterns. You can even attach a glare reduction filter to your computer screen to make it a lot easier to see and make it far less harsh on your eyes. Regular cleaning will help to reduce glare as well because a layer of dust on the screen reflects back a lot of light.
As well as altering the display settings on your computer, you should take a look at the text size as well. Most people don’t consider adjusting the text size on their computer but if it is very small, you have to strain your eyes more. By increasing the size even a small amount, you can give your eyes a break and make it a lot easier to remain focused when using your computer for long periods.
Take Regular Breaks.
Everybody that works at a desk needs to take regular breaks. It’s important that you get up and move around so you can prevent your muscles from seizing up and stretch your back out a bit. But it’s equally important to get up and take a break so you can rest and refocus your eyes. If you notice that your eyes are starting to hurt or you are getting a headache, you need to move away from the screen, even if it’s just for a few minutes. When you return, you will feel refreshed and more focused and your eyes will not be anywhere near as strained as they were before.
Even when you are not getting up and moving away from the desk, you should still follow the 20/20/20 rule to give your eyes a short rest. Every 20 minutes, refocus your eyes on an object that is at least 20 feet away from you and look at it for around 20 seconds. You also need to pay attention to how often you blink because we tend not to blink enough when looking at a screen and this leads to problems with eye strain.
Look For Alternatives To The Computer.
Everything is moving towards being digital these days and there are a lot of arguments in favor of going completely paperless in the office. However, that may not be the best thing to do because finding alternatives to using a computer is one of the best ways to prevent eye damage. If you need to look at a set of documents, for example, could you print them out and read through the hard copies instead? If you can find opportunities to take a break from the computer and do things the old fashioned way during the work day, the impact of staring at screens all day will be lessened.
We all rely heavily on screens and we can’t completely avoid them. However, if you follow these tips, you can protect your eyesight.
