For people all over the world, a huge part of their day is spent in front of a computer screen or looking at their phone or tablet. And while this may be part of your job or your lifestyle, spending too much time looking at a backlit screen can end up causing a lot of strain and damage to your eyes. Luckily, there are some simple changes you can make to your habits and routines that can help your eyes stop their suffering. To show you how, here are three tips for saving your eyes from the strain of device screens.
Get Regular Eye Exams
The time you spend looking at screens may be causing your eyes more strain than you actually realize. And according to Gary Heiting and Larry K. Wong, contributors to All About Vision, the best way to know how much damage has taken place and what you specifically can do to help your situation is to get a regular eye exam. Your eye doctor will be able to look at all the areas of your eye to see what’s going on and inform you of how you can better take care of yourself. Also, by making these visits on a regular basis, you’ll be able to catch any abnormalities before they become big problems for your vision or health.
Take Periodic Breaks
One thing you can do on your own to help avoid strain to your eyes is to schedule in regular breaks for looking at screens. According to the American Optometric Association, it’s important that you give your eyes time to relax after you’ve been using a screen for a longer period of time. As a good rule of thumb, you may want to use the 20-20-20 rule. This rule states that after you’ve spent 20 minutes looking at the screen of your device, you spend the next 20 seconds looking at something that’s about 20 feet away from you. This will give your eyes the rest they need and help you limit the amount of strain both your eyes and your brain may be feeling.
Work To Reduce Glare
Glare from your screens is one of the things that can cause the most strain and damage to your eyes. To help reduce this glare, Lindsay Abrams, a contributor to The Atlantic, writes that you can try things like making sure your screen is the brightest thing in the room, not trying to use your device in direct sunlight, and changing the background and text of your phone to be in a gray-scale rather than black and white. All of these things will help minimize the glare you see on your device and help to protect your eyes.
If you’re worried about how using devices is affecting your eyes, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you find ways to keep your eyes protected.