How To Prevent Strained Eyes While Working on the Computer

Eye strain and tired eyes are extremely common symptoms for people spending long periods of time working in front of a computer screen. Our eyes are under a lot of stress when we are looking at a computer screen, as it requires various muscles to be permanently contracting.

In the same way that if we exercise for long periods of time without a rest (senza riposo), the muscles within our eyes will also become tired. The two main muscles groups that are working constantly whilst we focus on our computer screen are as follows:

1. The lens: In the same way that a camera has a lens, there is also a lens within our eye. You can think of the lens in our eye as being at maximum zoom when we are looking at close objects such as a computer screen. It is the ciliary muscle within our eye that contracts when our lens is focusing on near vision tasks and after extended use, these muscles can get tired.
2. Convergence muscles: In order to look at things close, both our eyes have to turn in slightly. If you hold your finger just in front of your nose and look at it, this will illustrate how your eyes have to turn in when you are focussing at a near task. Again these convergence muscles will get tired after prolonged computer use.

What are the common eye symptoms with extended computer use?

Everyone will experience slightly different symptoms, but the most common ones are as follows:

• Eye ache: This is predominantly caused as a result of the over action of the muscles mentioned above.
• Red eyes/stinging eyes: The most likely cause of this is a lack of blinking. When we are concentrating on the computer screen our blink rate significantly reduces which means that our eyes are not getting the oxygen and nutrients they require from our tears.
• Computer screen becomes blurred:  As mentioned above, to hold the focus on the computer screen for long periods of time the muscles within our eyes have to be permanently working. Sometimes these muscles get so tired that they temporarily ‘give up’ and hence our vision goes out of focus.
• Headaches: This is a common symptom of excessive computer use and you are likely to experience the discomfort in either the front or side of your head. The headaches are caused by over use of the muscles within your eyes.
• Blurred distance vision: You may find that after prolonged computer use, when you look up from your screen your normally perfect distance vision will be slightly blurred. The reason for this is that the lens in your eye becomes so used to focusing at near tasks it has problems refocusing to distant objects. You may notice this when you leave work after a long day in the office.

What can I do to reduce the eye strain symptoms?

Below, are my top 5 tips to help minimize any of the above symptoms you are experiencing:

• Take breaks: This may sound extremely obvious but it is surprising just how few people take breaks from computer work. Aim to have a 5 minute break every hour or so and possibly slightly longer if the work you are doing is particularly intense. Think of working on the computer as exercising; you need to give your muscles a rest every now and then. It is important that during your break you are not concentrating on anything close. For example reading a book is the worst thing you can do!
• Get your eye sight tested: One of the commonest causes of eye strain is that you should be wearing glasses and do not realize it. Book in for an eye test and your Optometrist will assess whether you need a prescription for computer work. Not only will wearing glasses reduce your eye symptoms but it will also increase your productivity.
• Blink more/artificial tears: Blinking is extremely important to keep your eyes nourished and it is proven that blink rate significantly reduces during computer use. Try to consciously blink more whilst using the computer or otherwise you could use artificial tears prescribed by your optometrist.
• Look into the distance: Every 10 minutes or so, you should try to look into the distance for a few seconds as this helps your eyes relax temporarily. If you have a window then look out of it but if not then just look to the other side of the office.
• Don’t sit too close to your computer screen: This tends to especially be a problem if you are using a [gs laptop]. The closer the screen is to you, the harder both the lens and convergence muscles have to work. Move you screen back a few centimeters and you will be surprised at how much easier it feels on your eyes.

Spending large amounts of time on the computer these days is inevitable whether it be as part of your job or just for pleasure. As a result of this, we need to look after our eyes a little bit more and following the tips outlined above will at least reduce the amount of discomfort and eye strain you experience.