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Headache, blurred vision, eye pressure When screens overload the head
At the present time, people often spend many hours in front of the computer. How does it affect our eyes when we stare at one or more monitors for a long time each day??
Employees in offices often spend the entire working day in front of the computer. Of course, computers have made our everyday life and work a lot easier, but what are the health implications of spending hours staring at one or more monitors? A recent survey by "The Vision Council" should now help answer these questions.
Constant screen work overloaded the head. Picture: pressmaster - fotolia 65 percent of respondents suffered from physical discomfort due to digital exposure
Computers are much used both privately and professionally. There are hardly any people left who have nothing to do with computers in their free time or at work. Almost 90 percent of Americans use their devices for at least two hours a day. In addition, an increasing number of people (about 70%) even use multiple screens at once. How does this behavior affect our eyes? A survey of more than 10,000 participants found that about 65 percent of Americans suffered from physical discomfort caused by digital eye strain. By staring at screens for hours at a time many of those affected get dry, irritated eyes or head and neck pain, for example.
Several screens significantly increase the digital strain
People who use only one monitor, would do better than people who use multiple screens simultaneously, explained the doctors. Only about 53 percent of respondents with a monitor suffered from the symptoms of digital eye strain. If multiple monitors were used, the value was 75 percent. Eye strain is a problem, especially for people in their twenties. These had the highest levels of digital overload (73 percent). Today, many people would use multiple screens or different devices at the same time. Justin Bazan, an ophthalmologist and medical advisor to The Vision Council. For example, some people use a computer and their smartphone at the same time, resulting in a double burden on our eyes.
Blue light from screens not good for our eyes
However, there are a variety of factors that can lead to a digital eyestrain. For example, be sure to keep enough distance to the monitor. Many people make the mistake of holding them too close to their eyes with smartphones, as a result of which people start to blink less. Blinking is important for our eyes, it protects our eyes from drying up, among other things. Bazan. So our eyes are dry and irritated, our vision is also worse and often we see then slightly blurry. At this moment we often feel the urge to rub our eyes. A condition that most office workers will know after a long day at work. The blue light emitted by our screens is also not good for our eyes. It is very similar to the ultraviolet light, which is known to cause damage to the cells of the eyes, explained the expert. Bazan. Preliminary investigations have shown that blue light, similar to UV light, can cause damage to the cells inside our eye. A bright ceiling lighting can cause extra glare and increase the amount of blue light that enters our eye, the medical professional added.
Read the right books, not the digital versions
Avoid blue light from digital devices that are not equipped with backlighting to reduce the digital eye strain. Read the right books, not the digital versions. When we look at ink on paper, our eyes know how far apart the book is. This makes it easier for us to focus on the text. Pixels on a screen would be harder to focus on because individual pixels would be competing, so to speak, around our eyes, the scientists explained. That constant focus would weigh heavily on our eyes, Dr. Bazan added.
Three hints to avoid a digital over-exertion
Although you can not print every page you read at work, there is still a way to help protect your eyes. Practice the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes you look at a screen, give her eyes a break of 20 seconds. During this break, try to look at something about 20 meters away. This would relax the focussing muscles, advised the doctors. You can also wear special computer glasses with yellow glass to relieve their eyes. In addition, they should always keep enough distance to the monitor, the researchers said.