7 Simple Ways to Reduce Digital Eye Strain

Technology has become an indispensable part of our everyday lives. Today, more than 4.8 billion people now use the internet!

We also have people using technology for an average of at least 6 hours a day. However, spending that long on our devices can cause digital eye strain in our eyes. You will feel more tired and it can make it harder for you to fall asleep.

Don’t worry, we have provided some ways you need to know to avoid and minimize digital eye strain.

1. Tweak Your Lighting

Your lighting places a huge role while you’re using your computer. Very bright artificial or natural light can create monitor glare that can tire your eyes. Make sure your computer doesn’t reflect the surrounding lights and it isn’t near windows.

You can remove exterior lights by closing drapes, shades, or blinds. Reduce your interior lighting by using fewer bulbs. You can switch to bulbs and tubes with lower intensity.

2. Adjust Your Display

Furthermore, adjust all the display settings to reduce digital eye strain and eye fatigue. Some options you need to change are:

  • Brightness
  • Text size and contrast
  • Color Temperature

Adjust your brightness to be the same as the brightness of your surroundings. Make sure it’s not too bright or too dark. A dark brightness can make your screen look dull and gray and is difficult for eyes to adjust to.

Change your text size and contrast according to your preference. It helps the most when you’re reading or composing long documents. Black print on a white background is the best combination when reading in a bright place.

The color temperature is the spectrum of visible light emitted by the color display. Reduce your color display to avoid getting eye strains. Go for longer wavelength hues such as orange and red.

3. Have Everything in Dark Mode

The biggest benefit of dark mode on apps is that it relaxes your eyes. Reading white text on a back background can reduce blurred vision when looking at a computer. The only downside is that you may take longer to read the text.

With dark mode, you can stare at your screen for long hours without any headaches. With a white screen or background, your eyes need more energy and can lead to major eye strain. This can lead to headaches and watery eyes.

The dark mode is great for those with conditions like photophobia where bright lights can cause migraines. Your screen will emit less flickering and blue light. Start using social media, websites, or email sites like Gmail dark mode.

4. Strengthen Your Eyes

The stronger your eyes, the less likely you will get digital eye strain. A good exercise for your eyelids is by closing your eyes halfway for more than 5 seconds. Squinting can reduce your pupil size and bend light easier so you can see better.

Start practicing focus exercises. Try focusing on small objects at different distances. The exercise will help relax your eyes and improve your vision.

If your eyes have better visual acuity, it eases your eye strain. Don’t forget to give your eyes a break. Look at something else other than your devices for 15 to 30 minutes.

You can also apply the 20-20-20 rule. You should focus on an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds in a 20-minute interval. Once you’ve finished the 20 minutes, close your eyes for 20 seconds to let your eyes rest.

5. Checkup with Your Physician

Go for an annual eye checkup for suggestions and treatments for digital eye strain. Keep them informed about your concerns to make it easier to answer your troubles. Constant checkups can help reduce the risk of getting a more complicated disease.

You can risk the chance of getting the following:

  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Thyroid Eye Disease
  • Astigmatism
  • Chronic Dry Eye Syndrome

Chronic eye syndrome is a condition causing frequent fatigue and vision problems. It is identifiable as fatigue from your eyes losing focus. You can experience blurriness but the eye exams will often be normal.

Thyroid eye disease will cause your tissues around the eye to swell and push the eyeball forward. It will make it harder for you to close your eyes.

Astigmatism is a common vision problem where there’s an error in the shape of your cornea. It changes the way the light passes and refracts in your retina. This causes your vision to be blurry, fuzzy, or distorted.

Chronic Dry Eye Syndrome causes your eyes to get dry due to symptomatic problems like diabetes. It can cause eye irritation to inflammation and even scarring in the surface of your eye.

6. Block the Blue Light

Blue light is supposedly beneficial during the day. It can boost your attention, reaction time, and mood.

On the other hand, those lights can keep you awake and disrupt your body’s natural sleep cycle. It can also damage your retinal cells and interferes with your melatonin production.

To avoid the effects of blue light, stop yourself from using your computer or phone before sleeping. You should also install screen filters on all your devices. Another option is using blue light blocking glasses while you work.

7. Relieve Your Dry Eyes

A major cause of eye strain is dry eyes. One of the main reasons for dry eyes is blinking less. When staring at a screen, people tend to blink 35% less than they normally do.

Do an exercise where every 20 minutes, blink 10 times very slowly. It will help rewet your eyes. Another method is by using artificial tears to relieve the dryness.

Ointments can also help lubricate your eyes. You can ask your eye doctor for a prescription for ointments or medicated drops.

Reduce Digital Eye Strain Now

Make sure you take a break now and then to avoid digital eye strain. Otherwise, your eyes start losing focus and you get blurred vision when looking at a computer. Use these ways daily and don’t forget to make a habit of doing eye exercises!

For more health guides, we encourage you to continue reading our health posts right here, today!