Spending all day staring at a computer monitor can do more than make you ready to call it a day; it can also lead to eye strain and other potential vision problems. Between 50 percent and 90 percent of computer workers suffer from computer vision syndrome. Symptoms include eye strain, fatigue, blurry vision, dry irritated eyes and light sensitivity.
You may not be able to stop working on a computer, so here are 10 steps you can take to lessen eye strain and other symptoms of computer vision syndrome.
1. Get a computer eye exam
According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, computer users should have an eye exam before they start working full time on a computer and once yearly thereafter. Your eye doctor can detect signs of dry eye that may worsen after long hours at the computer. They can also prescribe computer eye glasses.
2. Use proper lighting
When you use a computer, ambient lighting should be about half that found in most offices. If possible, position your monitor so that windows are to the side of it, instead of in front or back.
3. Minimize glare
Install an anti-glare screen on your monitor. If you wear glasses, have an anti-reflective coating applied to your lenses.
4. Upgrade your display monitor
Replace your old cathode ray tube monitor with a flat-panel liquid crystal display. LCD screens are easier on the eyes and usually have an anti-reflective surface. Chose at least a 19-inch diagonal screen for a desk top.
5. Adjust the brightness and contrast of your monitor screen
Adjust the screen settings to make sure the contrast between the screen background and the on-screen characters is high. Make sure text size and color are optimized for the most comfort.
6. Blink more
People blink about five times less often while working at a computer. This can lead to a condition called dry eyes. If you experience symptoms such as irritation, redness, blurriness or a heavy or tired feeling in your eyes, ask your eye doctor about artificial tears. Do not use drops that only "get the red out," as they may not reduce dryness. Ask your eye doctor about using fish oil, flax seed oil and/or omega 3 fatty acids by mouth which can help with dry eye. Finally, when your eyes feel dry, blink several times to rewet them.
7. Exercise your eyes
Every 20 minutes look away from your computer for 10 to 15 seconds at a distant object, which relaxes the focusing muscles to reduce fatigue.
8. Take frequent breaks
The National Institute Occupational Safety and Health found that discomfort and eye strain were significantly lower when computer workers took four additional five-minute "mini-breaks" throughout their work day. These additional breaks did not reduce workers' productivity. In fact, data entry speed was actually faster as a result of the extra breaks, and work output was maintained.
9. Modify your workstation
The top of your monitor screen should be at eye level. The ideal gaze angle is 10 to 2o degrees below the eye. A high screen gives rise to dry eyes because it forces you to keep your eyes wide open and blink less frequently.
10. Computer eyewear
For the greatest comfort at your computer, you may benefit from having customized eyeglasses prescribed for your computer work. Computer glasses are also a good choice if you wear bifocals or progressive lenses, because they generally are not optimal for the distance to your computer.
1. Get a computer eye exam
According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, computer users should have an eye exam before they start working full time on a computer and once yearly thereafter. Your eye doctor can detect signs of dry eye that may worsen after long hours at the computer. They can also prescribe computer eye glasses.
2. Use proper lighting
When you use a computer, ambient lighting should be about half that found in most offices. If possible, position your monitor so that windows are to the side of it, instead of in front or back.
3. Minimize glare
Install an anti-glare screen on your monitor. If you wear glasses, have an anti-reflective coating applied to your lenses.
4. Upgrade your display monitor
Replace your old cathode ray tube monitor with a flat-panel liquid crystal display. LCD screens are easier on the eyes and usually have an anti-reflective surface. Chose at least a 19-inch diagonal screen for a desk top.
5. Adjust the brightness and contrast of your monitor screen
Adjust the screen settings to make sure the contrast between the screen background and the on-screen characters is high. Make sure text size and color are optimized for the most comfort.
6. Blink more
People blink about five times less often while working at a computer. This can lead to a condition called dry eyes. If you experience symptoms such as irritation, redness, blurriness or a heavy or tired feeling in your eyes, ask your eye doctor about artificial tears. Do not use drops that only "get the red out," as they may not reduce dryness. Ask your eye doctor about using fish oil, flax seed oil and/or omega 3 fatty acids by mouth which can help with dry eye. Finally, when your eyes feel dry, blink several times to rewet them.
7. Exercise your eyes
Every 20 minutes look away from your computer for 10 to 15 seconds at a distant object, which relaxes the focusing muscles to reduce fatigue.
8. Take frequent breaks
The National Institute Occupational Safety and Health found that discomfort and eye strain were significantly lower when computer workers took four additional five-minute "mini-breaks" throughout their work day. These additional breaks did not reduce workers' productivity. In fact, data entry speed was actually faster as a result of the extra breaks, and work output was maintained.
9. Modify your workstation
The top of your monitor screen should be at eye level. The ideal gaze angle is 10 to 2o degrees below the eye. A high screen gives rise to dry eyes because it forces you to keep your eyes wide open and blink less frequently.
10. Computer eyewear
For the greatest comfort at your computer, you may benefit from having customized eyeglasses prescribed for your computer work. Computer glasses are also a good choice if you wear bifocals or progressive lenses, because they generally are not optimal for the distance to your computer.
