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Tools And Tips To Help Reduce Digital Eye Strain & Fatigue

To help expedite tasks within our busy lives, it seems that people have become chained to digital technology. Wherever you turn, this is apparent. People on computers, on their phones, or staring at TVs. As people continue to get busier, we turn to the conveniences that technology offers us. Allowing for us to cram even more into our busy days. We have the option to use technology for almost everything. We use digital devices for work, and then we go home and use them for pleasure. So it’s no surprise that there is now a condition called “digital eye strain”. Digital eye strain and digital eye fatigue are the terms used to describe the fatigue and eye strain put on our visual system, from staring at digital devices. If you suffer from digital eye fatigue, here are some recommendations and tools to help ease your discomfort.

Specialty Eyeglasses To Help Reduce Eye Strain

Just as people have different footwear for different actives they do, people often require different types of eyeglasses for different visual tasks and environments they are in. Special eyeglasses, such as computer glasses and eyeglasses designed to reduce eye strain while looking at smart phones and tables, are designed to optimize vision while looking at digital devices. Special computer glasses come in many different designs. Simple, single vision computer lenses, are a lens with one one presciption ground within the lens. Your eye care professional will set the focal length of the lens depending on the distance your eyes sit from a computer screen. Although these lenses are great for exclusive computer use, if a person requires additional power for reading, these lenses may not be the best solution. Computer progressives are a great choice as there is a large area of the lens optimized for computer distance, as well as extra power in the bottom of the lens to help with reading. Recently, advancements in lens designs have been made to benefit all users of digital devices. These lenses, such as the Essilor EyeZen lens, are designed with a slight reading addition in the bottom of the lens to help eye muscles relax when accommodating for near work. Therefor anyone using digital devices regularly can benefit from these lenses, even people in their teenage years.

Blue Light Anti-reflection Coatings

Just as there has been new developments in lens designs and technology to help with digital eye strain, there has also been new developments in lens treatments and coatings. These new anti-reflection coatings help to protect the eyes from the harmful light emitted by digital devices. Recent research shows that certain blue light rays emitted by digital devices can damage the delicate tissues of the back of the eye. Therefore, eyeglass lens manufacturers have created new blue light blocking coatings, such as the Crizal Prevencia coating . These special coatings absorb harmful blue light rays, and prevent them from entering and reaching and causing damage to the back of the eyes, the macula. This adds an added health benefit over a normal anti-reflection coating that just helps in decreasing reflections from overhead lighting.

20-20-20 Rule

To help prevent eye strain, people using computers for extended periods of time are recommended to practice the 20-20-20 rule. This rule is simple, for every 20 minutes of computer work, give your eyes a break by taking them off of your computer screen. Pick an object at a distance of about 20 feet away, and stare at that object for 20 seconds. Along with practicing the 20-20-20 rule, a person can make other simple changes, such as adjustments to monitor brightness, contrast, and colour, which can also help curb eye discomfort. When working on digital devices and doing near work, we tend not to blink as much, so making a conscious effort to activity blink more, will naturally refresh the eyes.

Reduce The Amount Of Time Spent On Digital Devices.

Although this solution seems like a no brainer and easy fix, it is probably the hardest of all solutions to implement. Many of us have constant exposure to technology because it is a requisition of our jobs. Therefor, the option to simply stop using or decrease the time spent on digital devises within our day, is simply not an option. On average, nearly nine in ten adults (88 percent) spend more than two hours each day using a digital device, with one in 10 people spending at least three-fourths of their waking hours on a digital device. So my recommendation is, if you need to use digital devices excessively at work, then to try and cut back using digital devices at home for pleasure. We as a society spend lots of our down time, on our phones, gaming, and watching tv. I’m guilty of it myself, but recently (especially with summer coming) I’m making a conscious effort to get off the couch and computer and get outside. Not only will your eyes thank you, but so will the rest of your body!

Article Written By: Trina Vanaalst

Additional Sources: http://visianinfo.com/the-20-20-20-rule-preventing-digital-eye-strain/

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