10 Essential Eye Care Tips for Computer Users

Opticians say people are so addicted to their computers, smartphones; tablets, flat screen TV, and kindle that it can lead to long-term eye damage. If you are one of those who works on computer and glances at Smartphone for over 100 times a day, chances are you have to pay the price for this screen addiction. Continuously staring at these devices can lead to tired, dry and itchy eyes, worst you might suffer from blurred vision and mild to severe headaches. Luckily, here are a few tips that can help you minimise this inevitable strain, what you need to do is to adapt new habits for this gazing routine. Let’s scroll down to see what they really are

1). Blink your eyes often: Blinking your eyes often keeps them moist and reduces itchiness and irritation. It is a fact that we tend to blink less while staring at our precious computers, smart phones or TVs than we usually should, and this is what starves our eyes of the protective tears. Recommending to blink consciously is a sort of silly because you will not remember it where there are so many things you need to take care of. But putting a small note saying – “Blink Now” besides the computer screen can help.

2). Proper lighting: One major reason behind eye strain can be excessively bright light when you use a computer, ambient light must be half as bright as that used in the offices. To reduce external lighting use drapes, shades and blinds in the offices and for interior lighting use low-intensity bulbs and tubes.

Having too dark or bright screen can stress your eyes and cause difficulty in maintaining the focus. Keep the brightness same as the light level in the environment around you.

3). Minimise the glare: Glares add reflection on the computer screen can also lead to eye strain, it is a good idea to install anti-glare screen on the computer monitor, and to cover the windows. You can wear lenses with anti-reflective coating.

4). Take breaks: Your eyes will thank you for this! You probably might have heard of 20-20-20 rule by now, the concept behind this rule is to take a break of 20 seconds and looking at a distance of 20 feet after staring at the screen for 20 minutes. Doing this will keep your eye muscles relaxed and strain free. You can walk around and if possible do some office stretches, it will release the tension, make you feel revitalised and prevent lower back, neck and shoulder pains at bay.

5). Upgrade the display: Replace your old tube-style monitor which is called as “cathode ray tube” with an LCD (Flat panel crystal display) like those on the laptops. This is because LCD screens have anti-reflective surface and are easy on the eyes. Cathode ray tubes can lead to the flicker of images, which is one of the major causes of eye strain. Even if you do not notice this flicker, it can cause excessive strain and fatigue while working on the computer. (If you use a Cathode ray tube adjust its display to highest refresh rate). And, when you chose a flat panel display to ensure to select a screen with highest possible resolution.

6). Display settings: Adjusting the display setting of the computer can greatly reduce eye strain. Adjust the text size and contrast in a way that you are comfortable when reading or writing long documents. Take care of the colour temperature, which describes the spectrum of visible light emitted by the colour display. Blue light is short wavelength visible light and can cause more strain than the lights with other wavelengths.

7). Modify your workstation: The position of your computer monitor can be a reason for the eyestrain. It is important that it must be placed at an adequate distance from your eyes. Ideally, computer screen must be 15 – 20 degree below the eye level if measured from the centre of the screen. Purchase ergonomic furniture for enabling yourself to position your head and neck properly in front of the computer. In case, you have to look back and forth between the printed pages/ books and computer screen, it can cause eye strain, it is hence good to place hose pages on a copy stand just adjacent to the monitor. Maintaining proper posture during computer work also contribute a lot towards the eye health. Keep your workstation and chair adjusted at the correct height.

8). Massage or eye cupping: Massaging the area around your eyes will keep your eyes relaxed. You can rub your hands together to create warmth and gently cup your palms over the closed eyes (Ensure you hands are cleaned or sanitised before performing this exercise). Soothe your eyes with cucumber, cut 2 pieces of it and place them over your eyes, it is the best thing to do after a long tiring day working on the computer screen.

9). Stay hydrated and takes vitamins: Stay hydrated, because insufficient water intake can worsen the condition of dry and itchy eyes. Also, take adequate amount of vitamins for maintaining complete eye health. Consult a specialist and take vitamins that contain anti-oxidants and ingredients that contribute towards reducing eye strain (Vitamin A, C, E, and B complex).

10). Comprehensive eye exam: Opting for a regular eye exam is one of the most important ways for preventing or reducing the problems caused due to strain. If you have not visited an eye specialist for over a year, schedule a visit now.

Be sure to tell your doctor about your workstation setup and if possible measure how far your eyes from the screen are when you sit in front of your computer and let your doctor know about it. It would help your doctor know about the posture and distance you maintain while working and he might guide you about the right distance and posture if the need be.