In the modern age, with so much technology surrounding us, from computers to fodable 5G smart phones to widescreen 8K televisions, our eyes are constantly under attack. It is hardly any surprise that the number of people reporting to their local opticians complaining of eye-strain or diminished sight is on the increase. Looking after your eyes has never been so important. So what are the practical steps that we can take to look after ourselves?
If you happen to work in an office where you are constantly staring into a screen, then it practically goes without saying that you have to take certain steps to ensure you do not do permanent damage to your vision. The recommended time allowance to be hunched over your machine working on documents, or surfing the net, or even reading tips such as these, is around 20 minutes. Thereafter you should physically move your eyes away from screen for a period of rest time.
Science has yet to prove that workers whose job involves staring at computer screens are likely to suffer permanent eye damage. But research does indicate the increased likelihood of dry eyes, or eye-strain. Computer screens all emanate background glare. This can cause muscle fatigue within the eyes, especially since the settings are rarely at the optimum condition for each individual user. If you work in an environment where you share IT equipment, then someone might find a screen too dark; the next user might complain about it being far too bright.
Even if you are using a device on your own at home, many of us prefer the convenience of simply firing up the machine and getting down to our usual tasks at whatever factory setting it arrived with. Altering screen resolutions and brightness levels involves going into control panels that can seem tiresome.
When you are concentrating at a computer screen, it is only natural not to blink. Although it will probably seem unnatural at first, if you can try to make the effort to blink - perhaps twice a minute as you look at documents - then this will help to counter dry eyes.
There are tell-tale signs that will inform you if your eyes are undergoing any particular levels of strain. If your eyes feel sore or tired, or even tearful, then it's probably time to take a break. The one good thing about surfing the net and looking at any number of different websites is that the very nature of this activity precludes excessive eye-strain.
Web developers are consciously aware of the need to create legible web pages. For this reason, websites these days tend to be designed to a certain is aesthetic. You will rarely find great slabs of unbroken text. On the contrary, information is imparted to a much better extent if it is broken down into easily digestible paragraphs, with important points emphasized in bold text, or arranged into bullet-pointed lists. There will also be a plethora of photographs or images that will guide the viewer's eye fluently down the page.
