Children spend more time than ever on digital platforms these days, whether it be computers, tablets, TVs, or the most used one—smartphones. All this takes a toll on their well-being. Not only children; adults too are affected when it comes to prolonged use of digital screens. Such screens emit blue light, which causes adverse effects to the eye health of individuals.
What Exactly Is Blue Light?
Digital devices produce blue light that can easily enter your eyes. And increase the risk of eye problems. This leads to a condition such as digital eye strain, which is a visual discomfort that you experience after using a digital screen for an extended period of time. common health concerns that are associated with this issue are dry eyes, nausea, headache, etc.
What Happens When You Stare At Your Screen For A Long Time?
Eye fatigue
When you are looking at the screen for a long time. Your eye muscles get tired. This way your eyes get strained and headaches incur. Also, if you use smart devices where lighting is less, you have to put in extra effort to concentrate, and this leads to more eye problems.
Blurry vision
We often notice that when we stare at the screen for a prolonged time, our focusing system gets temporarily locked up. This implies that when you look away from your screen, everything appears to be blurry. This is why it is recommended to take breaks in between.
Dry eyes
When we are staring at our screens, we often forget to blink. This is when our eyes become dry and irritated. This is why we are not able to see properly and start rubbing our eyes badly. Sometimes when the issue accelerates to a high level, eye drops are used to soothe the eyes.
Things You Can Keep In Mind
- It’s very important that you keep a check on your screen time. If you are a working professional, you need to segregate the screen time between your professional and personal life. If screen time is not monitored in an early stage, then it leads to serious health complications in the future as well.
- Make sure that no matter how busy you are, you don’t forget to blink. This will save you from eye problems such as dry eyes, etc. Whenever you are working or using any digital screen, make sure that you are blinking extra. In addition to this, you can also use eye drops to tackle this issue.
- Also, it is recommended that you get your eyes checked at regular intervals. Often, we come across situations where we don’t pay attention to our eye health until things get serious. Going for regular eye checkups does no harm and in fact is a good practice to follow.
20-20-20 Rule
According to this rule, every 20 minutes of screen time, you should look away at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This will give your eyes the rest that they deserve, and this also prevents eye strain.
As we all know, screen time is a big concern these days. So going for small mindful activities can actually help keep our eyes healthy.