Our eyes feel tired after absorbing bright light from digital screens. Sharing helpful guidelines to avoid eye strain from long screen time. Read on…

Screen time is the number of hours we spend staring at electronic devices like smartphone, tablet, laptop, television, video game console, etc. in the last couple of decades, our screen time is on the rise. On an average, working professionals are glued to the screen for almost 12 hours a day. 8 hours or more on computers at work. In the remaining few hours, they are into aimless scrolling of social media feeds.

Long hours of screen time cause fatigue, dryness, and irritation in the eyes. This condition is also called digital eye strain. It is preventable with suitable measures which include – change in lifestyle, proper eye care and regular eye check-up.

Before getting into those details, let’s understand the right viewing distance to avoid eye strain from long screen time.

Recommended Distance Between Eye and Digital Devices

Many of us have a tendency to get a closer look at the screen. We must give up this habit forever. Maintaining an optimal viewing distance from digital screens plays a key role in safeguarding eye health. Position your electronic devices as given below to avoid eye strain from long screen time:

• For desktop or laptop – 2 feet
• For phone or tablet – 1 foot
• For TV – 10 feet

How to Avoid Eye Strain from Laptop Screen

There is not much scope of cutting down on screen time at work. You cannot go for a digital detox in office hours.

All you can do is take small visual breaks from the computer screen. Rest your eyes after every 20-30 minutes. Cover them up with your palms, count till 20 and remove palms slowly. It brings a much-needed relief.

During long virtual meetings or video calls, keep your eyes away from the monitor as much as possible. Look at it only when you need to talk or some important texts and images appear on screen. Otherwise, while listening to other speakers, stay attentive but stare at a distant object. It can be an outdoor view, a soothing indoor plant, a beautiful landscape painting or colorful poster on the wall.

A proper setup around the workstation is equally important to minimize strain on the eyes.

Accumulated dust on the computer screen blurs your vision and causes eye strain. Wipe off dust every morning before starting your work.

Check the height of your laptop or desktop monitor. Never place it at the height of your eyes or above because eyeballs get too much air exposure and dry out faster. Make sure the center of your screen is at least a few inches below eye level.

Adjust ambient lighting to avoid harsh screen glare. This problem arises due to unwanted reflection of overhead fluorescent lights on the glossy screen surface. The stray light washes out the monitor and your eyes work harder to read from it. You have 3 options to fix it:

• Turn off strong fluorescent office lamps and use bulbs which have softer glow to reduce the effect of screen glare.
• Tilt the monitor forward a bit towards your lap. Then, overhead reflections are driven downward and have no direct contact with your eyes.
• Turn up brightness from the display settings of computer monitor. This new set up will strike a balance between the light emitted from screen and the surrounding lightings.

Another culprit behind annoying screen glare is a bare window nearby. If you face that window unfiltered daylight falls on your eyes and the laptop screen appears dark. On the other hand, if the laptop faces the window, its shiny screen turns into a mirror. Nothing is visible on it because of excessive reflections. To stop any glare from a window, either change the layout of your desk. Place the laptop at right angle or 90 degrees to the window. Or else, cover up the window with blinds or curtains.

How to Avoid Eye Strain from Smartphone Screen

Today, a vast majority of people suffer from digital eye strain due to overuse of mobile phones. Here are some smart tips for smartphone users:

• Make sure your screen time is less than 2 hours after work.
• Increase font size on phone screen to reduce eye strain.
• Lowering the screen brightness brings a lot of comfort to your eyes.
• Avoid sitting in a dark room with your phone. This contrast of darkness and bright phone screen causes severe eye fatigue.
• Set a reminder on the phone to take breaks at frequent intervals.
• Be careful about your head posture. Leaning down too much over a phone screen for an extended period has a bad impact on eye health.

General Eye Care Tips to Avoid Strain from Long Screen Time

We know digital screens affect our eye health. However, staying away from them is not easy. Therefore, follow some simple eye care tips in daily life:

• Cut down screen-based recreational activities as far as possible. Your eyes badly need some screen-free time.
• We often forget to blink while watching a digital screen. Be mindful about opening and closing eyes more frequently. It restores moisture on the eye surface and saves us from dry eye problems.
• No on-screen activities 2 hours before bed time. Stop the habit of watching TV before going to bed.
• Gentle cold compression of 10 minutes has a calming effect on tired eyes. Try it after returning from work and you can see the difference.
• Use artificial tears to lubricate dry eyes. However, do not start applying any artificial tears without consulting a doctor. Moreover, if discomfort due to dry eye persists or it leads to severe headache, visit a doctor without any further delay.

FINAL NOTE: You can avoid eye strain from long screen time and improve eye health with proper everyday care mentioned here. It is likely that digital eye strain will not bother you anymore in future. Even then go for a routine eye check-up once a year. Do not miss it!