Northcenter Eye Care

North Center Eye Care
Home / For Patients / Improve Your Eye Q / Archives for Vision Council

Digital devices and your eyes

girl-with-smart-phone-1616794-639x426The Vision Council recently released its latest report on digital eye strain, which has become a primary eye health concern for people of all ages. In fact, nearly 60 percent of people use their digital devices more than 5 hours a day, enough time to have an impact on your eyes.

Perhaps you’ve experienced one of these symptoms:

  • Back and neck pain
  • Blurred vision
  • Dry eyes
  • Fatigued eyes

The good news is that digital eye strain can be greatly reduced with good digital use habits (such as setting up your work station properly and taking breaks from looking at screens). Yet, research shows that in the longer term, your eyes suffer damage linked to macular degeneration and cataracts caused by over-exposure to blue light that is emitted from digital devices. To address this, we can fit with you glasses that have coatings that filter a certain amount of blue light.

You can read more about the Vision Council’s findings here. At your next appointment, make sure to talk with us about any concerns you have about your use of digital devices and its impact on your eyes.

 

Photo credit Eric Gross/freeimages.com

Protect your eyes from digital damage

It seems like computers, smart phones and tablets are an indispensable part of our lives for work, hobbies and home life. Have you ever considered how much time you spend with your eyes on a screen?

Earlier this year, the Vision Council did some research on digital use and found that more than 93 percent of adults spend more than two hours each day on a digital device. Sixty percent spend five hours or more. If you have ever felt physical discomfort after viewing a screen for more than two hours, you’ve suffered from digital eye strain.

Here are the most commonly used digital devices, per the Vision Council.

Digital devices most commonly used

Blurred vision, dry eyes, headaches, neck/shoulder/back pain and general discomfort are all symptoms of digital eye strain. Taking a break every 20 minutes for 20 seconds and looking at something 20 feet away is a great way to give your eyes some rest. Other things you can do to alleviate digital eye strain include:

  • Increase the text size on devices to better define content on your screen.
  • Set up your desk for maximum comfort. When sitting in your chair with your arm extended, your palm should rest comfortably on the monitor.
  • Consider eyewear specifically designed for computer work. Glasses with blue light blocking, anti-reflective coating and/or progressive lenses can provide substantial relief to people who spend long hours in front of a screen.

If you think you are suffering from digital eye strain, please let us know. We can discuss various options for relief, from dry eye treatment to special lenses. As always, give us a call or schedule an appointment online.