Nearly 70% of Americans who work in offices spend upward of seven hours looking at screens daily, according to a report by the American Optometric Association and Deloitte Economics Institute.
Among those who work remotely, numbers may be even higher, given that imbalanced workloads are a common occurrence. As a result, up to 77% of those who work from home find themselves burned out. While working in front of a screen for extended periods is a norm in today’s digital era, it also increases the risk of catching ocular issues, such as computer vision syndrome or digital eye strain.
The National Institutes of Health report that digital eye strain is caused by prolonged use of electronic devices and can lead to various ocular issues like dry eyes, blurry and watery vision, and even headaches and neck pain. Although it doesn’t cause permanent damage, digital eye strain can cause great discomfort and affect your work performance and productivity. This makes vision care all the more crucial. If you’re dealing with workplace eye strain, here are five tips for eye care at work:
Wear blue light glasses
One risk factor for eye strain is prolonged exposure to blue light emitted by your office computer. Blue light has the shortest wavelength and the highest energy in the visible light spectrum, which allows it to reach the retina and cause ocular problems easily. To protect your eyes at work, you can try blue light glasses from retailer LensCrafters. They come with special lenses that can block out blue-violet light between 400 and 455 nm. As a result, it can help preserve visual comfort even while you spend hours in front of a screen. This enables you to perform productively throughout the day without worrying about eye issues.
Adjust your monitor settings
You can also adjust the display settings of your monitor so your eyes can feel more comfortable. Do this by setting your brightness to the right level for your preferences – not too bright and not too dim so your eyes can read and see properly. You can also adjust the text size if it’s too small so you won’t have to squint and make your eyes work extra hard when reading texts. Finally, you can also minimize your computer’s blue light by turning on the night light in your display settings. That way, you won’t have to deal with visual discomfort while working. Outside of work, you may also want to adjust your screen distance on devices you and your family use. For Apple products like iPhones and iPads, you can tap into the built-in TrueDepth camera to detect if you’re holding the gadget closer than 12 inches for a long time, which will then issue an on-screen warning to move away.
Make your area more conducive to work
Optimizing your work area can do wonders for your eye health. You can make your desk more conducive to better posture and eye positioning by ensuring proper lighting to reduce the contrast between your computer screen and your work environment and thereby prevent eye strain. Try using desk lamps like the SWNA “Drop Light,” which provides a soft, comfortable illumination that is easy to adjust and dim. You can also try the Uplift LED Desk Lamp E7, which is lightweight yet durable and has up to 685 lumens that can be easily adjusted. Having a well-lit area is key to avoiding visual fatigue since your eyes aren’t exposed to a single source of harsh light.
Use eye drops
Staring at computer screens for long periods makes it easy to overlook blinking, which can lead to tear evaporation and painful dry eyes. To counter this, you can use artificial tears or eye drops to relieve dryness and provide moisture to your eyes at work. Try the iVIZIA eye drops which make use of ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and povidone that can provide lubricating and moisturizing properties to ensure visual comfort. Getting your eyes moisturized, whether by blinking or through eye drops, enables you to work properly without dealing with visual discomfort.
Prolonged computer use at work can increase your chances of getting digital eye strain. Be sure to follow these eye care tips to help you stay productive and preserve your ocular health.
Published on November 30, 2024 under eye glasses, eye health. Modified on December 6, 2024.
