The problem began every day around 3 p.m., after Cathy Higgins had spent five or six hours staring at a series of computer screens on her desk. His university work, supervising research projects, involved closely observing the numbers and details of contracts, requests and budgets.
“My vision was so blurry that I couldn’t even see what was on the screen, and I was squinting so much that I couldn’t function,” Higgins said.
As his eyesight worsened, Higgins walked and talked to members of his staff. He began planning in-person meetings for the evenings. But he would resume work on the computer late at night after his children went to sleep.
“If I had to continue working with blurred vision, then I would get migraines,” Higgins said.
Digital screens are ubiquitous, not only at work but also in our homes, schools and stores. An estimated 104 million working-age Americans spend more than seven hours a day in front of screens, according to the American Optometric Association. All that time in front of screens can take its toll.
Excessive exposure to screens can cause dry or watery eyes, blurred vision, and headaches. It can also cause nearsightedness in some people, especially children. Some tech workers even describe brief episodes of vertigo when they stare at screens for too long.
Overloaded eyes
One reason for the discomfort is that staring at screens for long periods of time causes the muscle that helps your eyes to focus to tighten.
“That muscle is not supposed to stay tense all day. And if you do, it’s like lifting a light weight and trying to hold it over your head for hours,” said American Optometric Association President Steven Reed. “It’s not difficult to lift it. But after a while, even if it’s not a heavy weight, the body just gets tired.”
Fortunately, exposure to blue light from computer screens and devices has not been shown to cause permanent eye damage, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
However, symptoms can affect work, family time, and rest. As an optometrist in Mississippi, Reed sees patients who complain of frequent eye pain, headaches and blurred vision associated with computer use. He advises getting an eye exam and taking frequent breaks.
For Higgins, trying to catch up on work she couldn’t do when her eyes were too strained during the week took away from time she spent with her daughters on the weekends. “They were playing together and I couldn’t stay as focused as I would have liked on what they were doing,” she said.
Here are some tips from eye health professionals to reduce eye strain caused by devices.
Follow the 20-20-20 rule
Take a break every 20 minutes from sitting in front of a computer. During the break, focus your eyes on something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Stopping close work and looking at something in the distance gives tired, tense muscles time to relax.
“Fortunately, eye strain is temporary,” said Raj Maturi, an ophthalmologist at Midwest Eye Institute in Indianapolis who serves as a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “The best way to avoid these symptoms is to take breaks from screens or nearby work activities and use lubricating eye drops, if necessary.”
People typically blink 18 to 22 times per minute. But when they look at a screen, the frequency drops to three to seven times a minute, according to the Cleveland Clinic. That’s where eye drops come into play.
It’s good to move around and get outside, but when you don’t have time for a walk outside, frequent 20-second breaks can help.
Change your desktop layout
Some people find that using a larger computer monitor helps reduce eye strain. You can also increase the font size on your laptop, monitor or smartphone screen.
Higgins did all of the above after starting a new job as senior vice president at Stand Up to Cancer. Since he works remotely from his home in Midlothian, Virginia, he bought a 29-inch monitor and sits about three feet away from it, about a foot farther away than in most office setups.
The changes helped her. He still has occasional problems with blurred vision, but not as often. “When I have a long day, like a 12-hour day, that’s when I start having vision problems again,” he said.
Sitting an arm’s length away from the screen and adjusting it to look slightly downward can also help reduce eye strain, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Be wary of product claims
Some products, such as blue light glasses, are marketed with claims that they will reduce digital eye strain, improve sleep, and prevent eye diseases. But several studies have found that those lenses are not very effective, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. It’s actually our behavior with digital devices that causes symptoms, not the small amount of blue light that comes from screens, the group said.
Extracurricular optics
After stepping away from computers at work, many people find themselves reading or scrolling through smartphone screens. It’s not just workers: kids use laptops, tablets, and smart displays in school environments all day long.
Too much screen time or focusing on nearby objects can accelerate the onset and progression of myopia, especially in children, said Ayesha Malik, a pediatric optometrist in the division of ophthalmology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Anyone who streams shows should do so on a TV, rather than a tablet, to help alleviate eye strain, he said.
Children should follow the 20-20-20-2 rule, which includes an extra “2” at the end to encourage them to play outside for 2 hours a day, which helps eye development, she said.
“The reality is that most children interact with screens all day long at school and at home. It becomes difficult to track the total number of hours,” Malik said. “Aim for no more than 20 minutes during a session.”
Sleep soundly
The blue light emitted by digital screens can increase alertness, so watching Netflix on an iPad or scrolling through social media in bed can make it difficult to get a restful night’s sleep.
To give your eyes and brain the rest they need, doctors recommend turning off screens an hour or two before bed. You can also set devices to “dark mode” at night to reduce the impact of bright light. If you’re used to watching videos at night, try listening to an audiobook or podcast instead.
