Treatments for Digital Eye Strain
Fortunately, eye strain doesn’t have any long-term consequences on your eye health. But it can be uncomfortable, aggravating, and even painful. There are some lifestyle changes you can make that may reduce the symptoms.
Give Your Eyes a Break
One of the simplest things to try is to just let your eyes rest periodically throughout the day. Optometrists recommend following the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This time allows your eyes to relax and refocus.
Adjust Your Environment
You can also reduce your eye strain by making some environmental changes in your office or home:
- Reduce glare on your screen by using an anti-glare screen filter
- Change the lighting in your environment to match your device
- Adjusting the contrast and brightness on your screen to match your environment
- Improve the air quality of your space with a humidifier for dry climates, or adjusting the thermostat to reduce blowing air
Adjust Your Workplace Habits
Many people spend quite a few hours at work on a computer. The following tips may help reduce your eye strain and stress while at work:
- Correcting your computer posture can reduce digital eye strain and prevent other workplace injuries, like carpal tunnel.
- Remember to blink often. We tend to blink less when using a computer, which can cause dry eyes and irritation.
- Try using an adjustable desk lamp when reading or writing.
- Close blinds or place your monitor away from bright lights and windows to avoid glare.
- Position your monitor about an arm’s length away so the top of the screen is just below eye level.
- If you need to refer to print material while working on a computer, try using a document holder to reduce how often you need to turn your neck or head.
- Try adjusting your screen settings to a place that’s comfortable for you. Enlarging type may make reading easier, or adjusting contrast and brightness may reduce how hard your eyes work.
