The computer screen should be an arm’s length away and its center should be about 10–15 degrees below eye level.
By Dr Shibal Bharatiya
Additional Director, Dept of Ophthalmology,
Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram
With the growing use of computers both at the workplace and at home, computer screens have now become an inevitable part of life for many of us. Despite making our lives automated in many ways, looking at screens for long hours comes with its own set of health issues. Eye strain is perhaps the biggest side effect of computer use which leads to discomfort, sore eyes, and headaches. To minimize eye strain when using computers the following strategies can be helpful.
The 20-20-20 Rule
Following the 20-20-20 rule can be beneficial to reduce eye strain if followed diligently.
1. Turn your eyes away from your computer screen every 20 minutes.
2. Close your eyes for 20 seconds.
3. Then open your eyes and look at something at least 20 feet away.
4. Optimize your screens
Reducing the brightness and adjusting colors of the computer screen to decrease the blue light can be helpful. A number of applications are available that can adjust the brightness of the computer display according to the time of the day.
Blink, blink, and blink
Have you ever noticed that when we focus, especially on bright screens, the rate of blinking decreases? This is an indicator that our eyes do not receive enough lubrication, leading to dry, tired, and sore eyes.
Correct positioning of the screen
The computer screen should be an arm’s length away and its center should be about 10–15 degrees below eye level.
Wear appropriate glasses
An annual eye check-up is essential to make sure that you are wearing the appropriate spectacles while using computer screens.
Eye Exercises
Looking at the computer screens for prolonged hours causes visual strain which leads to weakness of eye muscles or convergence weakness and discomfort in eyes. Regular eye exercises can be helpful to strengthen the eye muscles.
Instructions for Convergence Exercises
While looking straight at a far-off object, our eyes are parallel to each other. But while we look at a near object our eyes move towards the nose. This movement of the eyes towards the nose is called convergence. The point of convergence for normal eyes is as close as 5 to 8 cm from the eyes but in case of weakness of convergence, this point moves away to more than 12 cm away.
This is common in people who look at computer screens for prolonged hours. The following exercise can help improve the convergence over a period of 4 to 8 weeks.
Eye Exercises to Improve Convergence
1. Focus on a far-off small object while sitting or standing, wearing your prescribed glasses.
2. Focus on the tip of a pen held at arm’s length.
3. Slowly bring the tip of the pen close to your eyes, with the tip at the same level as your eyes.
4. Hold it for about 10 seconds until you start feeling some strain or heaviness in the eyes. Make sure that the tip should continue to appear clear and single and should not appear double.
5. Take it back to an arm’s length and hold it there for 10 seconds.
6. Again slowly bring the tip close to your eyes to the point where you feel some strain.
7. Repeat the same process 10 times and then again look at the far-off small object. Repeat the entire cycle again.
Exercise Schedule
In the beginning, doing this exercise for 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening is enough.
Gradually, over a period of two weeks, increase the duration of the exercise to 15 minutes each.
Make sure you do the exercise regularly for 2 months, after which you can reduce it to once a day for 5 minutes to maintain good convergence of the eyes.
Remember that it is totally normal to feel slightly more strain, pain in the eyes, and even headache for a few days as you start doing the convergence exercises.
But gradually you will recover and your symptoms due to convergence insufficiency will improve.
Visit your doctor
If the symptoms persist or worsen, please visit your eye doctor. Your eyes are precious, and in our computer-driven world, it is crucial to take proactive steps to protect them.