Digital Eye Strain
Understanding what causes it.
Digital Eye Strain refers to a syndrome that is caused by constant exposure to our digital devices that are constantly emitting artificial blue light.
This problem, also known as Computer Vision Syndrome, has an easy solution and in this article we tell you how to prevent it.
What is digital eye strain?
Suffering from itchy and dry eyes that feel exhausted? We know the feeling!
Digital Eye Strain affects a lot of people, because everyone can be at risk of experiencing it at some point: it’s not only digital workers, children can also be susceptible.
Here are some of the symptoms of digital eye strain – ways in which our eyes tell us that it’s time to give them a little break from overexposure to our screens:
- Eye fatigue and itchy eyes
- Dry eyes or watery eyes
- Neck and shoulder pain
- More sensitivity to light
- Redness of the eyes and a burning sensation
- Blurred vision or double vision
- Headaches
- The need to close our eyes very often
Tips for Digital Eye Strain relief
It is important to understand exactly the effect that computer screens can have on our vision by exploring what side effects they tend to have on our eyes. In order to improve our wellbeing and productivity, we’ve gathered some of the most common problems caused by screens and lack of light, together with some easy tips for Digital Eye Strain relief.
Learn how to master relief from Digital Eye Strain:
PROBLEMS | SOLUTIONS FOR DIGITAL EYE STRAIN RELIEF |
---|---|
Blue Light overexposure and glare: The two main causes are blue light overexposure and glare from the screens themselves. If the brightness of your screen is set to a high level, it can create drastically more glare. | Adjust the light around our working spaces: make sure that any lights around our desks do not increase the glare from our screens. Ideally, we should make use of as much natural light as possible, in order to get all the benefits from the natural blue light that is emitted by the sun. This will leave us full of energy and with happier and more relaxed eyes! Another easy tip is to automatically set the brightness of our screen so it will adjust to any light change in our environment. |
Low contrast: Screens are filled with pixels – tiny dots that do not produce equal light brightness. The contrast that the pixels create has a direct effect on our eyes. | Aside from the brightness of our screen, it is also recommended to automatically set the contrast settings on our devices. Also, it is important to limit screen time especially at night: did you know that overexposure to artificial blue light can have a direct effect on our circadian rhythms (sleeping cycles)? The solution: if we want to sleep like a baby, we need to limit our screen time at night as much as possible. Read more about sleep glasses. |
Reduced blinking: Did you know that the average blinking rate is 8 to 21 times a minute? Blinking is a basic reflex that helps our eyes stay hydrated. However, the constant use of digital devices reduces our blinking rate, thus increasing the dryness of our eyes. In fact. Studies [1] have observed a reduction of up to 60% in people’s blinking rate, when using a computer. (If you are like us, having just read this, you’ll probably be blinking constantly. Funny the way our brains work!) | Blink often: remember to blink more often to moisten your eyes and avoid dryness. It is amazing when we become aware of how our body functions on autopilot, without us controlling it consciously. Another recommended good practice is to take breaks every 20 minutes so we give our eyes a chance to rest and recover our energy. |
Reduced eye movement: When we concentrate on our screens, whether they are really small like our smartphones, or larger, like our computers or TVs, the range of motions our eyes make is drastically reduced. A significant decrease that can also cause our eyes to become drier and Digital Eye Strain symptoms to appear. | The 20-20-20 rule: An incredibly easy yet powerful trick to learn! Every 20 minutes, give your eyes a 20 second break from digital devices, by focusing your eyes on something (other than screens!) that is at least 20 feet away (roughly 6 meters). |
Other factors: it is also important to remember that other factors such as poor lighting, bad posture, together with pre-existing and uncorrected vision problems, may also accentuate Digital Eye Strain. That’s why it is essential to create a great working space with adequate lighting | Pay attention to our posture: neck and shoulder pain can become incredibly intense after spending many hours sitting in front of a computer (or bending our necks vigorously to check updates on our phone). That’s why it is so important to position our desks in an optimal way so that our posture doesn’t suffer. Ideally, our head should face directly at our screens, our backs should be sitting straight, and our arms at 45 degrees. |
Digital Eye Strain glasses are a great solution to tackle some of these common problems caused by spending many hours in front of our digital devices. They not only help reduce glare, the effects of high brightness and contrast, and overexposure to blue light, but they also prevent reduced eye movement and blinking by ensuring that our eyes are rested at all times.
Check out what the digitally conscious generation thinks about our computer glasses!
Digital Eye Strain glasses
Also known as blue light glasses, digital eye strain glasses are one of the best ways to minimize artificial blue light exposure and prevent eye fatigue. Barner’s blue light glasses are stylishly designed to reduce glare and allow for better focus. If you want to prevent itchy and dry eyes, Barner’s range of glasses are your best bet!
Benefits of preventing Digital Eye Strain
Our eyes have an incredible lifelong mission: to reveal the world around us, to help us better understand our surroundings, to admire our environment, and to enjoy the abundance of colors, shapes and sizes. They’re amazing!
Let’s give our eyes the TLC they deserve and protect them as much as possible!
Happy eyes also mean a happier life. Here’s how we can all benefit from preventing Digital Eye Strain:
Better focus
Reduces glare & eye strain
Reduces Eye Strain & Computer Vision Syndrome symptoms
Better sleep cycles
Improve posture & well-being
Look cool wherever you go
Check out what the community of Barner’s blue light glasses have to say about their experience and the noticeable benefits!
To recap
What are the best tips to relieve Digital Eye Strain?
- Adjust automatically the brightness and the contrast of your screen to avoid blue light overexposure and glare.
- At night, it is always better to minimize as much as possible screen time.
- Blink more often to avoid dry at itchy eyes.
- Keep in mind the 20-20-20 rule!
- As a rule of thumb, always sit properly at your desk!