Take A Screen Break!

March is Workplace Eye Wellness Month. Eye Wellness is always an important topic and becoming more important for each of us as we all are having increased digital screen time. Symptoms of digital eye strain, also referred to as “computer vision syndrome”, include tired, burning itching eyes, dry eyes, blurred vision and/or headache. To help reduce the effects, Prevent Blindness (preventblindness.org) has provided the following tips to help keep vision healthy at work and at home. Please also share these with your family:

Place your screen 20 to 26 inches away from your eyes and a little bit below eye level.
Use a document holder placed next to your screen. It should be close enough so you don’t have to swing your head back and forth or constantly change your eye focus.
Change your lighting to lower glare and harsh reflections. Glare filters over your digital screens can also help.
Get a chair you can adjust.
Choose screens that can tilt and swivel. A keyboard that you can adjust is also helpful.
Computer glasses with yellow-tinted lenses that block blue light can help ease digital eye strain by increasing contrast.
Anti-reflective lenses reduce glare and increase contrast and also block blue light from digital devices.
Take frequent breaks by using the “20-20-20” rule, as recommended by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the and the American Optometric Association. Every 20 minutes look away from your screen and look at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This gives your eyes a chance to reset and replenish themselves