Do you suffer from eye strain from staring at screens? Here’s what you should do
Many people suffer from eye strain after spending long periods in front of screens, and some attribute this strain to the blue light emitted by electronic screens.
But the American newspaper “The Washington Post” advised against assuming that blue light is the main cause and spending money on things like glasses to reduce its effects.
According to the newspaper, we are exposed to “blue light” daily from the sun, and to a lesser extent, from our phones, tablets and televisions, but concerns about it have increased as people spend more time each day staring at screens.
But she said we feel tired for a different reason, as doctors have found a new cause: “computer vision syndrome,” which occurs in people whose eyes don’t respond well to constant staring at screens. Eye doctors have said that blue light is actually a secondary factor to fatigue.
According to ophthalmologists, excessive exposure to sunlight and holding screens too close are all major threats to eye health.
Three eye doctors said the benefits of blue light glasses are overstated, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology does not recommend blue light-blocking glasses “due to a lack of scientific evidence that blue light causes permanent damage to eye health.”
The newspaper asked doctors: If wearing anti-blue light lenses or screens is not the solution, what should we do if screens are harming our eyes?
Is blue light harmful to my eyes?
Blue light has some benefits for mental and physical health, but large amounts of it can be dangerous for your eyes.
The sun is a much more powerful source than your phone screen, and exposure to screens generally doesn’t produce enough light to harm our eyes, but we don’t yet know the cumulative effects of years of phone use, said David Ramsey, director of ophthalmology research at The Hague Hospital and Massachusetts General Medical Center.
“But if you suspect your phone is hurting your sleep, you may have bigger problems,” he added. “Surfing social media at night exposes us to content that makes us excited, upset or anxious, and using your phone until you fall asleep can tax your brain.”
Do I need blue light protection on my glasses?
“Protecting against blue light won’t hurt, but it won’t necessarily help a lot,” said Melissa Barnett, director of ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine.
She added that eye characteristics vary from person to person, and it may be necessary to visit an ophthalmologist and undergo an eye examination to determine the modifications that will make a real difference when using screens, such as glasses or medications.
What should I do instead?
Experts agree that the most common cause of eye strain is simply not blinking enough.
Humans normally blink about 15 times per minute, but when we use screens, that rate drops to about 6 times, a decrease of more than 50 percent.
For heavy screen users, this can mean a full day of dry eyes.
Another reason is that we raise screens to our noses. Ideally, there should be some distance between our eyes and computer and TV screens. Barnett recommends the “20-20-20” rule: 20 minutes of work, then a 20-second break to look at something at least 20 feet away.
Most importantly, treat comprehensive eye exams the same way you would treat teeth cleaning.
You need to have your eyes checked about once a year, Barnett said.
