How to protect your eyes from too much screen time

If you thought you spent your whole day in front of the computer before the pandemic, what about now? In-person meetings, water cooler chats, coffee meetups, and working lunches were once the screen-time time-outs your eyes needed to relieve eye fatigue. Now, there’s little to no escape from staring at the computer screen. And video calls are making digital eye strain worse, forcing you to focus on multiple faces at once.

[Photo Credit: doucefleur]

Staring at any screen (computer, phone, tablet, TV, e-reader, etc.) for a long time can cause eye strain. When watching a screen we tend to blink less, making eyes dry and irritated while the onscreen movement challenges eye muscles to work hard to focus and refocus.

Digital devices also release blue light. This high-energy light can cause digital eye strain because it scatters in the eye and makes it harder to focus. However, the Canadian Association of Optometrists has debunked reports that blue light causes permanent damage to eye cells.

The discomfort and vision problems associated with too much screen time are often called computer vision syndrome. The most common symptoms include headaches, dry and irritated eyes, blurred or double vision, excessive tearing, eye pain, or excessive blinking. In addition to these complaints, studies have shown that blue light exposure can also disrupt a healthy circadian rhythm and lead to poor sleep quality.

Use the yp.ca search engine to find an optometrist near you and make an appointment for a thorough eye health exam.

It’s especially important to limit screen time to protect children’s eyes. Children find it easy to lose track of time when using digital devices, making them prone to the same dry, irritated, and fatigued eyes as adults. Plus screen time keeps children indoors, where they miss out on natural light that plays an important role in healthy eye development. Researchers believe there’s a strong link between the increase in nearsightedness in children and excessive screen time. Blue light is also a concern for children’s eye health because their lenses are less able to filter out this high-energy light.

• Optimize the lighting at your desk to ensure that your screen is the same brightness as your surroundings, and there’s no glare. Take advantage of natural light whenever possible.
• Elevate your monitor so that it’s straight ahead at eye-level about two feet away.
• If your eyes feel dry, use artificial tears eye drops to keep them moist.
• Increase text size on all devices to read content more easily.
• Set a reminder to practice the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes look away from your screen and look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
• Does it need to be a video call? Ask yourself if a phone call would do the job, and give your eyes a much-needed rest. 
• Go low-tech with your note-taking, and opt for pen and paper or marker and whiteboard.
• While not eco-friendly, it is eye-friendly to print out a paper copy of a long article or presentation for reading.
• Resist the temptation to each lunch in front of the computer and take a mid-day break from screen time.
• Eat a diet rich in leafy greens and colourful fruits to provide the vitamins and minerals needed for good vision health.

There are filters and apps available that can reduce blue light exposure. There are also blue light glasses, or “blue blockers”, which are specially coated lenses that filter out blue light in the same way that treated UV sunglass lenses block harmful ultraviolet light. An optometrist can help determine if prescription glasses with blue-blocking lenses are right for you.

See your optometrist for a thorough eye health exam and more Smart Tips to protect yourself from eye strain.