In a world dominated by digital screens, our eyes are facing new challenges. Digital eye strain is a modern issue creeping into our lives, requiring attention and proactive care. How can we protect our vision without giving up our modern lifestyle? The answer may lie in glasses designed specifically for digital eye strain.
Glasses for digital eye strain may have anti-glare coatings, slight magnification, or a blue light filter. If spending the day at your computer is affecting your vision, your optometrist can examine your eyes to help you decide if computer glasses are the solution you need.
What Is Digital Eye Strain?
The experience of staring at digital screens can be challenging. Whether we are dealing with a flood of emails, navigating through countless pixels to be productive, or indulging in a streaming marathon, the symptoms are all too familiar.
Digital eye strain, or computer vision syndrome, arises from prolonged use of digital devices such as computers, smartphones, tablets, or even your television. We know it’s hard to avoid screens these days, but understanding their effects on your vision can help you recognize them.
Symptoms can vary from person to person, but commonly they include:
- Eyestrain
- Headaches
- Blurred vision
- Dry eyes
- Neck and shoulder pain due to poor posture
It’s completely normal to experience these symptoms if you’ve been using digital devices for extended periods. Usually, they’ll fade once you step away from your computer. However, it’s essential not to ignore them, especially if they occur frequently. Sometimes, uncorrected vision problems that you may never notice otherwise are worsened while using a digital screen.
Exploring Computer Glasses
The search for the ideal solution to combat digital eye strain has brought us to a simple yet effective answer—specialized glasses designed to reduce the impact of digital screens on our eyes. Unlike regular glasses, these have lenses that filter out blue light, reduce glare, and provide clear vision even on today’s pixelated screens.
Computer screens tend to sit just outside the regular range for reading glasses, meaning you can’t simply toss on your reading glasses and expect them to work the same. Computers are considered an intermediate zone of vision, so computer glasses have about 60% of the magnifying power that reading glasses do.
Computer glasses also generally have an anti-reflective coating. This can reduce reflections on the front and back of your glasses, offering greater visual acuity when looking at screens. Since you end up with a nice clear view, your eyes generally don’t have to work as hard, reducing eye strain.
Blue Light & Digital Eye Strain
A lot of talk about your eyes and digital screens comes down to blue light, a high-energy wavelength of light. Digital screens do put off a decent amount of blue light, not as much as the sun, but with more screens in our lives, our exposure is only increasing. And blue light does affect you in some significant ways.
Blue light can significantly affect your sleep-wake cycle, also called your circadian rhythm. Since the sun outputs so much blue light, our body takes that as a cue that it’s time to be awake and alert. If you’re on your computer late into the night, your body doesn’t quite know what to do about that. This can make sleeping difficult and affect your general well-being, including how quickly your eyes get tired.
While some animal studies suggest blue light can damage the retina, there isn’t any evidence that blue light exposure directly causes digital eye strain. Still, many computer glasses include a blue light filter since helping you sleep can go a long way in preventing digital eye strain.
How to Prevent Digital Eye Strain
While computer glasses can help, they are just one part of maintaining healthy eyes. The journey towards healthy computer habits involves several important steps. If you’re experiencing digital eye strain, here are some tips to reduce or prevent these frustrating symptoms and get back to work:
- Follow the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and focus your gaze on something 20 feet away.
- Take regular breaks: Give your eyes a break from digital screens. Get up from your chair if you’re at a computer and go for the occasional walk.
- Use proper lighting: Keep your work area well-lit. Avoid having lights behind you that may put a glare on your screen.
- Adjust your computer screen: Keep the center of your screen about 4–5 inches below eye level and about an arm’s length away.
- Focus on ergonomics: Adjust your chair so your feet sit flat on the ground, and use supports so your wrists don’t rest on the keyboard while typing.
- Remember to blink: It may sound ridiculous, but we tend to blink less while staring at a computer screen. Just take a moment to tell yourself to blink and help keep your eyes hydrated.
Remember, it’s not just about the hours but the habits.
Experience Relief from Digital Eye Strain
In the ever-changing digital world, our eyes need protection more than ever. Digital screens aren’t going anywhere, but by using glasses designed for them, you can care for your vision while staying connected through technology. It’s about relieving discomfort now and preserving clear sight for the beauty of life.
Experience digital eye comfort and overall eye wellness by booking a comprehensive eye exam at Eyes on Plainville. We offer a wide eyewear selection and personalized visual health support. Let us help you see clearly that your vision is our priority.
