Who hasn’t suffered a little (or maybe a lot) of discomfort after a solid dose of screen time?

Things like eye strain, fatigue, irritation and redness. Blurred or double vision. Headaches.

Well you’re certainly not alone because these symptoms are experienced by as many as 90% of computer users.

They’re also the hallmarks of a condition called computer vision syndrome (CVS) – or if you want to get serious, asthenopia.

So why does the screen cause so much strain? And most importantly, how can we reduce or avoid suffering?

 

 

Screens turn us into bad blinkers

We’re frequently warned against too much screen time. One of the reasons is because staring at a screen wreaks havoc with the way we blink. And unfortunately, we’re spending a large portion of our days with our eyes within arm’s length of an electronic screen.

We blink our eyes around 30,000 times each day and yet we’re probably unaware of having blinked even once. We’re hardwired to blink automatically because it’s essential to lube our eyes with moisture in order to protect them and ensure they function optimally.

Blinking is one of those things that’s a critical part of our biology and yet something we take for granted – until something goes wrong.

And something is going wrong – we’re not blinking properly. As a result, our eyes become dry and we suffer those irritating symptoms.

When we use a screen, research has found:

We blink less frequently

We get so transfixed with the screen that we fall into some intense staring competition that we’re destined to lose. Research shows our blinking rate drops from around 22 blinks/min when we’re relaxed to a tiny 7 blinks/min when we’re reading on a computer screen.

We don’t blink completely

Not only do we blink less often but we also fail to fully close our eyes on each of those rare occasions that we blink when we’re staring at a screen. We blink completely half as often when reading from a screen compared with a piece of paper.

 

We do a lot of bad blinking

If we happened to stare at a screen and dry out our eyes for only a short period of time then we’d probably have nothing to worry about. But the fact that we spend such a large portion of our day staring at a screen and straining our eyes certainly raises the stakes.

We look at our phone within seconds of opening our eyes each morning. We pry ourselves off it to shower, dress and eat breakfast before returning to it for entertainment or a head start on work while we’re commuting.

We then shift our gaze from phone screen to computer screen for a long work day. Apart from a brief lunch break when we probably switch back to our phone.

And then in the evening, we hop back on the phone to unwind with a catch-up on the day’s social media and news, to watch our favourite movie or series, or to read a good book – all projected from a bright little screen little more than 30cm from our face.

Some adults are spending more time in front of a screen than they are sleeping. So it’s little wonder our poor eyes are struggling.

 

 

How to become a better blinker

Clearly (or maybe not-so-clearly if you are a sufferer), computers, televisions, tablets and mobile phones aren’t going anywhere. So, what can we do to prevent the screen from ruining our eyes?

It all begins with becoming aware and mindful. We’re now aware of the problem so next up is becoming mindful of the problem and possible solutions each time we settle in front of a screen.

• Take regular breaks from the screen to ‘stretch your eyes’ beyond their locked and short focus. Simply looking around increases our blink rate and completion to effectively moisten our eyes.
• Ensure there’s sufficient lighting and use an anti-glare filter on your screen to prevent excessive eye strain.
• Consider the distance between the screen and your eyes. Phones, tablets and laptops are unlikely to make it beyond arm’s length but be mindful of not bumping your nose on them as you watch. Also ensure you make the size of any font or image large enough that your eyes don’t have to work unnecessarily hard.
• And if that’s not enough, you might like to use eye drops or sprays to help moisten your eyes.

As with all aspects of health, it’s about building habits. So starting right now, as you’re in the midst of some screen time, tune in to your blinking. Direct a bit of conscious attention to how often and how completely you’re blinking, and how your eyes are feeling. Try to repeat this as often as you can – ideally each time you use a device. Then before too long, you’ll be blinking like a boss and able to quickly identify when you aren’t.