A usual day in office is like this, you sit in your chair and stare at your computer and type and stare some more and type, click and stare again. You are seated at your chair most of the time except when you have to visit the washroom, have a tea or during the lunch break or some meeting to attend. As soon as these are over, you are at your desk and in front of the computer once again. By the end of the day, you have a pair of tired eyes that are itchy and watery and your vision seems to get blurred….
Unlike a few decades back, offices today all over the world are dependent on computers and most of the work is done on a computer. Thus working 8-9 hours in front of the computers have lead to our eyes being overworked and tired. A common complaint among all office workers is eyestrain. This article will help you understand the causes of eyestrain and ways to protect your eyes from it.
What is eyestrain and how is it caused?
When we stare at the computer screen for long, the muscle inside the eye, responsible for focused vision is overworked. When the muscle is overworked, we experience aches and sometimes blurred vision. If the eye muscle is overworked more, we get a mild headache.
Eyestrain has also something to do with the fact that our eyes dry out while working in front of the computer. This is because, we blink 12 times in a minute otherwise, but in front of the computer the rate is just 5 times per minute. Thus not only are we focusing for too long but our eyes are getting drier too, further the dry air blown by our air conditioned offices don’t help our eyes.
How to prevent eyestrain?
Eyestrain does not cause permanent damage to our eyes but it can be very uncomfortable and can lead to a loss of productivity, physical fatigue and errors in work.
Here are the things that you can do to prevent eyestrain:
Get an Eye Exam
Whenever you feel dry itchy eyes and have difficulty in vision, it would be a good idea to have an eye examination done. This eye examination will help you in ruling out eye conditions other than eyestrain that are causing these symptoms. Also tell your ophthalmologist about the regularity of your computer usage and the symptoms felt so that he can tell you about measures to reduce eyestrain.
Pay attention to the Lighting
The light that comes through the windows or the overhead lights may give your office a well lit effect but causes eye strain. Our eyes require half of the ambient lighting that is found in most of the offices. So if your desk gets excessive light from a window or harsh interior light then you need to reduce it. Simple measures to do this are by closing drapes, shades and blinds and using fewer light bulbs and using bulbs of lower intensity. Also adjust the monitor so that that the light is not at the front or back of the monitor but at the sideways.
Adjust the monitor
You need to look at how far the computer is from your eyes. The distance should be around 20-26 inches from your eyes which is slightly far than what is required for written text. The monitor should be slightly lower than or at your eye level so that the centre of the monitor is at least 10 inches lower than your eye level.
Adjust the brightness and contrast of the monitor so that it is not too bright or too dull to read from and such that the text is clearly and distinctly visible. You need to change the background of some documents so that it is comfortable to read, the best contrast is black text on white background, dark text on light background is also acceptable. Also keep the font size as per your convenience.
Opt for LCD
If you still have the old monitor and computer system at your work, your office management needs to upgrade! The cathode ray tube monitor that was previously used is known to cause eyestrain due to the flickering of images in it. The new flat paneled liquid display commonly known as LCD is better on the eyes as there is no or little flicker preventing eye strain.
If you cannot change your monitor immediately, change the settings in the control panel to keep the refresh rate at the highest level possible so as to reduce the flicker.
If you are buying a LCD, buy a monitor with maximum resolution and with a wide screen around 19 inches diagonally so that your eyes are not strained.
Exercise your eyes
The eye muscles get tired because they keep looking at the same distance and at the same object for long. Some exercises that will reduce the eyestrain include looking at an object at a distance for 10 seconds and then looking at an object that is up close for 10 seconds. This exercise helps the eyes to focus at different distances easily.
Another exercise is to look away from the computer screen after every 20 minutes to something that is situated at a distance. This exercise relaxes the focusing muscles inside the eye and helps in reducing fatigue.
Take breaks
Many of us believe that our time away from work is just a waste of time which robs us from working efficiently. Hence we find ourselves taking less than 2 breaks in a day. A study has shown than along with two 15 minute breaks that are needed, an additional of four 5 minute breaks throughout the day helps reduce the eye strain. This time was shown to have no negative impact on productivity since the time required for data entry was less; the additional breaks had no impact on work. While on a break, remember to move around, stretch your arms and legs.
Blink more often
The reason we feel a burning sensation in our eyes is because they dry out. They dry out because while working on the computer we forget to blink as many times as required which dehydrates it. So if your eyes feel burnt out, blink more often. Another exercise that you can try - Every 20 minutes, blink your eyes 10 times very slowly as if you are sleepy. This will keep the surface of your eye hydrated.
Protective Eyewear
For those who experience long bouts of eyestrain, you can opt for anti reflective glasses that are coated with a chemical that will reduce the reflections, reducing the eyestrain. Avoid wearing lens while working on the computer as they tend to dry eyes out and increase the itchiness.
For those who are over 40, their regular eyewear aren’t that suitable for computer use as they are made for a reading distance of 16 inches while the computer is at a distance of 20-26 inches. You can make another pair of glasses that will accommodate this distance.
With these suggestions and measures to reduce your eyestrain, you can work efficiently without any loss in your productivity!
