Overcoming Digital Eye Strain | Aphrodite Livanes Optometrist Brisbane: Eye Care Plus

Looking into how best to manage or prevent digital eye strain? Here’s what you need to know.

It is estimated that the average person spends 42% of their waking hours looking at digital screens.

From work, to entertainment, to catching up on social media – there’s no doubt our devices can keep us connected and productive. Unfortunately, prolonged use can also lead to a common issue known as digital eye strain, or computer vision syndrome (CVS).

What Is Digital Eye Strain?

Digital eye strain refers to a group of vision-related problems resulting from extended use of computers, tablets, smartphones, and other digital devices. We tend to blink less when staring at screens, causing our eyes to become dry and irritated. Over time, this commonly leads to discomfort and may impact our daily life.

Digital screens also emit artificial blue light, which has been linked to increased eye strain and fatigue, disrupted sleep patterns, and potentially the development of other long-term eye health issues (1).

Common Symptoms

If you’re experiencing digital eye strain, you might notice some of the following symptoms:

Tired or sore eyes
Blurred or double vision
Difficulty focussing
Dry, irritated, or red eyes
Headaches, especially after screen use
Neck and shoulder pain (due to poor posture while using devices – commonly referred to as ‘text neck’)

One of the most common symptoms is an “eye strain headache,” often felt around or behind the eyes after long periods of screen time. These may become more severe the longer you go without addressing the issue.

How to Prevent Digital Eye Strain

The good news is that you can manage or even prevent digital eye strain with a few simple adjustments, such as:

Following the 20-20-20 Rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet (six metres) away for at least 20 seconds. This gives your eyes a break from focussing on the screen.
Blinking More Often: It sounds simple, but consciously blinking a few times at regular intervals helps keep your eyes moist and refreshed. If you have particularly dry eyes, use this opportunity to also apply eye drops.
Adjustiing Your Lighting: Is your screen brighter than your surroundings? This is a lot harder on your eyes, so adjust your lighting accordingly.
Taking Breaks: Regularly stepping away from the screen helps ease the strain on your eyes and prevents muscle tension.

Ideas from our Optometrists

If you’re still experiencing discomfort after trying these tips, it’s a good idea to schedule an eye exam. An experienced optometrist at Aphrodite Livanes can assess your individual situation and may treat your digital eye strain with some of the following solutions:

Blue light blocking glasses for eye strain: Protective lenses that block the wavelengths of artificial blue light known to be troublesome for some people.
Anti–reflective or anti-glare glasses: Anti-reflective or anti-glare coatings can eliminate almost all reflection of light from the lenses of your glasses, helping your eyes stay relaxed during screen time.
Photophobia glasses: For those with a particular sensitivity to glare, the specially tinted lenses with prisms may provide the best relief.
Vision therapy: A personalised therapeutic program including visual exercises to strengthen neural connections and improve your eye focus and coordination.
Eye drops: Lubricating drops to combat dryness and irritation of the eyes.
Ergonomic advice: Recommendations on screen positioning, lighting, and posture.

Don’t Ignore It! Here’s Why…

Research has found that digital eye strain may exacerbate other eye conditions like photophobia or myopia (near sightedness). Left untreated, myopia can lead to more serious eye problems such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinal detachment, or cataracts – and potentially, permanent vision loss (2).

Early detection is key to treating any issues before they get worse – so if digital eye strain symptoms are troubling you, book an appointment for an eye exam with us today.

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