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Have you noticed yourself having dry or watery eyes as well as a blurry or double vision?
How about eye fatigue and itchy red eyes that seem to be quite noticeable only when you’re in front of your computer?
You, my friend, might be suffering from something that is called a “Computer Vision Syndrome” also known as a Digital Eye Strain. Since all of us now work in a highly digitized environment, being in front of a computer or mobile screen is inescapable.
Since your eyes are the first working sense that we use from the moment we wake up and are also the most essential part of our body to help us operate day by day—eye strains can literally be a sore to the eye.
And as the well-known saying goes—prevention is always better than cure.
So today, we’re going to tackle and go through some effective ways on how to protect our eyes from computer screen glares.
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Protect Your Eyes From Computer Screen Glare: 10 Tips For Teachers!
#1. Upgrading your monitor is a must
If you are still using an old model of a computer screen or a CRT monitor, it is high time for an upgrade. The very first step that you can take as a pre-emptive measure to protect yourself from eye strains is by upgrading your monitor.
CRT monitors have poor refresh rates along with obvious flickers that can distract the eyes and make them feel uncomfortable while you’re using the computer.
If you are experiencing some of these symptoms that I mentioned, then I highly recommend for you to get a new computer monitor ASAP.
High-resolution computer screens are worth it, your eyes will surely thank you in the long run. Standard computer screen nowadays provides at least 75Hz which can let your eyes stay focused and not let it work as hard compared to computers with lower resolutions.
So to make your feel a lot much better after a whole day in front of your computer screen, better get yourself a high-quality monitor to ease your eyes’ work when scanning images and texts that you work on frequently.
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#2. Choose a Well-lit Workspace
Aside from upgrading your computer screen, it is also a must for you to avoid poorly lit areas such as your workspace. Having ample light can make a world of a difference to keep your eyes from getting affected by computer glares.
Computer screens produce artificial light, and as natural light from the sun can affect our eyes, artificial light can also cause the same effect from the latter mentioned.
But being too bright is also not good for our eyes. If your workspace has too much natural light streaming into the room, you can simply adjust it by closing a few curtains or so.
Just a friendly tip, back then, I thought that it’s best to work in front or behind my window because I strategically always place my work desk near a window to get natural lighting as much as possible.
But I, later on, found out that the sweet spot was just beside my window. I was getting the best ambient light I could get and also a great view while I’m at it.
If your workspace does not have a window, it is ideal for you to set up a modified lighting system to help ease the work that your eyes are making.
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#3. Consider Anti-Glare Filters
Apart from upgrading your screen monitor and choosing a well-lit spot to work, you can also take another step further to protect your eyes by choosing to equip yourself and your computer screen with anti-glare filters.
You can have anti-glare filters both on your computer screen and on your glasses if you’re using one already with the said feature. This doubles the protection your eyes get.
One popular choice for computer screens is anti-glare matte screens. This helps reduce glare and reflection as well. Because if your computer screen reflects too much this can distract your eyes instead of letting it focus on the important content that you need to work on.
People who wear glasses can also opt for anti-reflective lenses which seems to be a standard that I see in most optical shops.
The last pair of glasses that I purchased for myself came in a bundle where it features anti-radiation and anti-reflective properties to help alleviate eye strain when working on my computer for a long time. And it has been on me ever since I can’t work on my computer without it.
You can really tell the difference between when I work without them and when I work with them. They really help reduce how tired my eyes get. And I love my Optometrist for it!
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#4. Reduce Blue-Light Exposure
Along with computer screen glares, the next factor that contributes to digital eye strain is blue-lighted, it’s not just from our computer screens and gadgets, it’s actually everywhere. From fluorescent lights in our home and offices, our TVs, and almost anything that is equipped with lights.
But we do get most of our exposure nowadays on our computer screens and mobile devices. Prolonged exposure to blue light can cause permanent damage to our eyesight as it can cause toxicity to retina photosensitive cells which I need to emphasize is IRREPLACEABLE.
And if they are damaged due to extensive exposure to blue light, they can cause permanent vision loss later on.
I actually read an article previously which states that there’s a study where there will be a great increase of people going blind because of how we use technology nowadays. And that actually scared me.
To help reduce the blue-light exposure of our eyes, we can equip ourselves with blue-light blocking glasses that are usually with tinted lenses to help filter the light our eyes receive from computer screens which is the harmful blue light.
You can also opt for a blue-light-blocking screen protector, and you can use this while also using special glasses to level up your game in protecting your eyes.
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#5. Adjust your Computer Screen Settings
This next method can provide a noticeable difference just by simply tweaking your computer screen’s setting.
It’s not every day that we get a chance to meddle with our computer screen settings and we usually don’t have time for that, but with just a little effort our eyes will be thankful for it.
Having our computer screen on full brightness all the time not only consumes more power, but it also contributes to eye strain as our eyes constantly need to keep up with the brightness our computer screen feeds.
It’s ideal to keep the brightness of your screen at just the right tone, not on full blast. It’s also best if you can adjust the contrast to a more yellowish or amber-colored side (stay away from the blue).
And since dark modes are what’s trending, they actually are great for our eyes. So if your computer can run in dark mode you can just easily switch to it too.
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#6. Observe the “20-20-20” Rule
Ever heard about the “20-20-20” Rule?
It’s where you take a break from your computer screen for every 20 minutes you stare at it, and this would take about 20 seconds away from the screen and you need to gaze into something that’s at least 20 feet away. Cool isn’t it?
This method can give our eyes the much-needed break they need especially from computer screens because we can’t really stay looking into something for hours and on, right? This greatly helps in shifting our eyes’ focus from short distances to long distances to help the eyes rest from time to time.
#7. Blink, Blink, and Blink
We all know that blinking is an automatic thing that we do. But did you know that we tend to forget to blink when we’re busy looking into our computer screens and mobile devices? As crazy as it sounds, it’s true.
And not blinking is bad for our eyes. Blinking is a great way to keep our eyes from drying up and to keep it moist, so don’t forget to blink when you’re in front of your computer and blink as much as you can!
Blinking also helps in refocusing our eyes because staring at something for too long can stress our eyes which then leads to eye strain.
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#8. Eye Drops Are Your Best Friend
If you are someone who still suffers from dry eyes even after trying to follow all the steps mentioned before, then you might be in need of a good eye drop.
Artificial tears are a great way to help lubricate our eyes when they can’t lubricate themselves naturally. Dry eyes can cause blurred vision and itchy eyes, and we really can’t have that especially when we are in the middle of something important.
But just be careful, people might think you’re crying or something! We don’t want that impression.
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#9. Keep Distance
Like sticker signs from cars and trucks saying to “Keep Distance”. It’s also crucial for us to keep a distance from our computers. Proper posture and leveling should also be observed to avoid eye strain and other problems that it can cause.
It’s best to stay away from your computer for at least an arm’s length away (about 20-30 inches) to maintain a healthy distance from your eyes to your computer. Keeping your computer too close to your face will help increase your chances of eye strain from computer glares.
Additionally, you can also try to modify your workstation and adjust it to your comfort level. Ideally, it’s best to have your computer positioned at a 15-20 degree angle to ensure that your eyes are still being covered by your eyelid when you blink to help keep it moisturized.
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#10. Get Eye Exams On A Regular
Do you still remember the last time you’ve visited your doctor to get your eyes checked? Adults aging from 18 to 60 years old should at least have an eye exam every two years. If you haven’t gone to your eye doctor yet, I suggest you go ahead and make that appointment now.
Eye specialists can greatly help you with how to combat eye strain as they can help you diagnose and create a treatment plan to appropriately handle it.
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Conclusion
Knowing how to protect your eyes from computer screen glare as well as from mobile devices has become more relevant now more than ever. Our eyes are constantly in front of laptops and gadgets which can cause damage to our eyes in the long run.
This condition might not be something to worry about at first, but once it affects your eyes, it’s hard not to notice.
Take frequent breaks and be easy on your eyes. It’s better to start taking care of them now than to fix vision problems later. Get away from screen time as much as possible and try to unplug as much as you can.
Little things can make a huge difference, especially for our eye health.
