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Are you spending hours working on a laptop or a desktop lately? Have you been using social media a lot? All these problems have become so common today that knowing how to protect your eyes in this digital era has become very important.
Do you know how much time an average person spends on screen? Since the pandemic, screen time has gone up to 19 hours a day! Almost 30% of adults say that they are constantly online doing one thing or the other.
Even children today have started using screens for say their studies lot. We are so dependent on our gadgets that all of us are exposed to this digital problem of eye protection.
Having too much screen time can affect your life in a wide way! Have you wondered about the consequences of spending most time digitally?
Harmful Effects Of Digital Life
Physical Strain to Eyes
We not only use digital technology for our work, but also for entertainment and interaction. Most of us are living in an online world. This can damage your retina and weaken your eyesight. Not only this, it affects the body posture, and neck and back problems are common too.
Sleep Deprivation
The blue light coming out of your screens makes it hard for you to sleep. It is because it affects the production of melatonin which is your sleep hormone and maintains your body clock. If you are facing a problem sleeping at night, read How to sleep better at night.
Affect Cognitive Abilities
There are many pieces of research out there that claim that using digital gadgets for a long time can actually affect your intellect and your mood. Not only physical problems, but screen time can also contribute to mental issues like concentration, weaker memory, and information processing.
Anti-Social Tendencies
It is no secret that digitally today we are connected to the world but gaps within our close social groups have increased. Especially in children, it becomes important to motivate them for social interactions.
Using computers and phones for a long can make you addicted and increased your anti-social tendencies. Read How To Stop Phone Addiction and Live Life Offline
Low Self Esteem
People today are spending too much time on social media. It is no longer a medium to interact, there is an information overload about people, celebrities, facts, and many more things. Spending too much time on your social can have a negative impact on how you perceive yourself.
You see your friends getting promoted, someone traveling the world, or a classmate getting married. This can hamper your self-esteem and manipulate your moods. One must understand that whatever they see on the internet is not true. People are going to post their best selves online.
How To Protect Your Eyes In This Digital World
Make A Workspace
A workspace not only increases your productivity but can also help you in taking care of your eyes too. It will help you in maintaining your good body posture, working or studying long hours can really mess up your spine!
Some of the things you can take care of while setting up your workspace is-
- The area should have efficient lights. It can be a well-lit part of your room, even better if it’s naturally bright.
- Place your laptop or computer at a substantial distance, say at one arm’s length, and keep it at a position slightly below your eye level or buy an adjustable desk.
- Make sure you do not keep the screen just next to a window. If you are, make sure the light coming in is not too bright.
This won’t create pressure on your neck and will keep your back and shoulder straight. Also, it will prevent strain on your eyes.
Read Things To Add To Your Room For Positivity
Buy Good Eyeglasses
With us spending a lot of time on screens, investing in good eyeglasses has become imperative. There are good reflective lenses out there in the market that block blue light while very selectively absorbing it.
No matter what your eyesight is, blue lenses have to be there if you are using screens for a significant amount of time. You can get a computer/laptop anti-glare screen too. This will help you protect your eyes by blocking harmful rays.
Follow The 20/20 Rule
This 20/20 rule was told by one of my friends who used to work on laptops a lot but still had perfect eyesight. You also might have heard about it. This rule says that after working for 20 minutes, you should rest your eyes for 20 seconds.
For those 20 seconds, you can close your eyes or look somewhere else, obviously not on any other screen! I usually look outside my window or somewhere distant. It is suggested to look at any object which is atleast 20 feet away before you start working again.
Adjust Your Phone Settings
Most of the cellphones today come with an eye screen protection feature. You must turn it on, especially at night. Adjust your screen brightness, and change some settings, instead of while screen, opt for a grey or darker shade screen.
Set up your font size. When you use smaller fonts or you read something that is written in a very small size, you put a strain on your eyes reading it. Using bigger fonts will help you in keeping your eyes strain-free.
Additionally, when you read something online, scroll through Instagram, or study, zoom the screen and increase the size.
Blinking is a Must!
When you stare at something for a long, you start feeling the strain, teary, and prickling. Blinking is quite effective when it comes to your eyes protection. Blinking helps in retaining moisture in the eyes which is important to protect your eyes from drying up.
If you are working in an AC room, your eyes might dry up quicker, and you need yes drops for that. Whether you want to use eye drops or not, make sure you take a little break, wash your face, and blink for a few seconds.
Get Your Eyes Tested
NHS recommends that one should get their eye tested every two years if they are of age 18-60 and sooner if they are more aged. If you are feeling some problems before that, then you shouldn’t wait and go for a checkup soon.
If you notice any blurred vision or headache because of strain in your eyes, you should go to a doctor before it worsens.
Over To You
These were some of the tips on how to protect your eyes with all the digital involvements. It has become almost impossible to imagine living a day without our phones and laptops, from studies to work and entertainment we use digital screens for most things.
Therefore, we must remember that our eyes are one of the most important parts of our well-being and we must take care of them.
