Your typical day may look a little something like this: Wake up, stare at a small screen (phone). Go to work, stare at a medium-sized screen (computer), with intermittent breaks to look at the small screen again. Once you get home for the evening, maybe you take the edge off by making the final switch to the large screen (television).
Technology dominates our days, whether for work or personal use, and you’ve probably felt the headache or general fatigue around your eyes after a long day of screens. If you can’t flat-out reduce your screen time, how might you at least reduce symptoms of digital eye strain like headaches, blurry vision and dry, tired eyes?
Televisions contribute to eye strain just like any other device, even though the larger screen effects are studied less than phones and laptops. Regardless of the screen size, though, it’s a myth that blue light or even sitting too close to the screen are the chief contributors to eye strain. Experts are still trying to nail down just how screens and other things held close to the face, like books, affect eye development and risk of myopia in kids.
One of the main culprits behind digital eye strain is hidden in plain sight.
Two expert eye doctors explain why eye strain occurs, how to reduce the discomfort and how TV screens may be more comfortable to look at than phones and laptops.
For more on eye care, here are simple ways to protect your eye health and our picks for the best places to buy eyeglasses online.
The easiest way to relieve eye strain: blink!
There are loads of blue light glasses on the market, but they aren’t actually proven to reduce eye strain. That’s because blue light isn’t the main aggravating factor in the first place.
Ethan Stern, an ophthalmologist at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, says there are a few behavioral and lifestyle factors that are most accurately linked to eye strain: blinking, sleep habits and nutrition. Keeping the eyes lubricated by blinking…
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