Time passes on being digital. We’re experiencing now though never knew it’ll be ever like the present scenario.
The outbreak of pandemic COVID-19 has made us locked inside the home & now the home is the centre for working, learning, entertaining & socialising from a distance. Children are learning through homeschooling. Students are getting their sessions via online delivered classrooms.
Companies have been started “Work from Home” & thus more employees are working & having meetings online. People are locked but relaxing through watching movies, playing screen games, enjoying parties with friends online. Majority of the people maximum time connected to the world being online only.
We may thankful for having internet & such technologies which allow us to do so.
But too much of a good thing can be bad. This new way of working & living translates into vast amounts of screen time for everyone.
Blue light, which emits from the screens of computers, laptops and smartphones, is harmful (blue violet) to our eyes because it has the highest energy wavelength of visible light and this penetrates right through the eyes’ natural filters, to the back of the eye. This exposure over time can cause damage to the back of the eyes, increasing the risk of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and permanent vision loss.
More immediately, staring at a screen also contributes to fatigue, blurred vision, watery eyes and headaches.Our eye muscles have to focus and re-focus for so many hours a lockdown day. When our eyes are in constant use like this, it’s no wonder they start to feel strained. This much focus also dramatically reduces our blink rate. Blinking gives vital moisture to the eyes throughout the day, when we blink less our eyes can get extremely dry.
Too much screen time, especially before bed also disrupts sleep.
This vision-related problems resulting from prolonged use of computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones have a name – Computer Vision Syndrome.
Signs that you might be suffering from Computer Vision Syndrome or digital eye strain include:
- Headaches towards the front of the head and around the eyes.
- Sore and tired eyes.
- Body fatigue, feeling tired and wanting to close your eyes.
- Vision fluctuation, which occurs when the muscles in the eyes become so used to focusing on a digital device that they can’t relax when they look at something else.
- Sensitivity to light.
- Poor night vision results from overstressed eye muscles continually trying to focus on light sources and digital devices.
- Dry, red eyes.
- Itchy eyes that you need to rub frequently.
- Reduced concentration. As most of the symptoms of digital eye strain are uncomfortable, they can cause distraction.
what can we do to protect such eyes?
An Optometrist play an important role here & consult to give eyes the best help they can get to adapt in a world where the use of computers and others digital devices is the way of life.
Allow me to discuss “Tips to relief from digital eye strain “
