Understanding digital eye strain

Digital eye strain and fatigue is a group of eye and vision problems, which can include eyes that itch and tear or are dry, red, tired and unable to focus properly as a result of prolonged screen time. Headaches and shoulder or neck pain are also common by-products.

What screens do to our eyes

The main reason for digital eye fatigue is the extended amount of time we spend behind computers or laptops, on phones and tablets – any device that we look at up close (usually within a one-metre radius).

When we look at something up close, the muscles in our eyes physically have to go into a flex position, much like doing a sit-up. Now imagine holding that position while you look at your phone, tablet or laptop – it would be both painful and exhausting after a while. That’s what we’re expecting our eyes to do; to hold that sit-up position, sometimes for hours, while we’re on our devices.

When your vision suddenly blurs, causing you to look away, blink, clear it up and come back, that’s your eye saying, ‘I can’t hold the sit-up anymore.’ Releasing the tension blurs out that focus and then when you come back to the screen, your eye prepares to do another sit-up.

Adopt the 20/20/20 rule: Every 20 minutes, give your eyes a break by looking at something 20 feet away, for at least 20 seconds, to help relieve some of the strain screens put on your eyes.

The effect of too much light

Another contributing factor to digital eye strain is the volume and intensity of light that shines off the screens of our devices.

A lot of that light travels directly into the eye, most of which gets absorbed into filters, as the eye knows how to deal with it, but there is also much unwanted light that the eye doesn’t know what to do with. This light then bounces around, within the eye, causing the eye to become fatigued and damaging the actual health of the eye over time.

What you don’t want to have happen is damage to the macula – the part of the retina at the back of the eye that is responsible for our central vision, most of our colour vision and the finer detail of what we see.

Vision-forward technologies such as blue-light glasses can help with the unwanted light that the eye doesn’t know what to do with. They are specially treated to filter out blue light and to help block the transmission of a range of wavelengths emitted from devices. These glasses are usually also treated to prevent glare, to further lessen strain on the eyes.

Digital eye strain affects us all

Digital eye strain is very common in both adults and children, so it’s important to protect the whole family’s eyes and vision from device damage.

Even if your child isn’t displaying symptoms of strain or signs of poor vision, the fact that they’re working on devices at school and/or spending a lot of time on screens at home is enough of a reason to come in and have their eyes tested. ‘Forearmed is forewarned’ as they say, so rather adopt a habit of protecting their eyes and yours, rather than needing to treat the fallout of digital overload.

At linksfield, we’re all about finding the best vision solutions for our patients. Give us a call or book an appointment with us.