11 Highly Effective Tips to Protect Eyes from Any Screen

Learn how to protect your eyes from digital screens by reading this article.

Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

About 80% of all learning comes through our eyes. Our eyes make us maverick as well as able of viewing artistry voluptuousness. If working on a screen is compulsory to you then your eyes are at high risk and please stop adding insult to injury. It’s a bit difficult to get your lost eyesight back but you can protect your eyes more than before. Eyesight loss is the 5th major reason for blindness; so, please don’t take it as anything. Eye strain caused by computer screens is named “Computer vision syndrome (CVS)”. If you are an online student or a freelancer then it’s so important for you to know some highly effective tips for the protection of eyes and avoiding irreversible eye damage.

Symptoms:

Before discussing medically proved solutions we must know some common symptoms. Following are some common symptoms that will become dominant if your eyesight is being affected badly by a smartphone/ computer.

Ø Headache

Ø Blurry vision

Ø Double vision

Ø Sudden decrease in vision

Ø Itching in eyes

Ø Sensitivity to glare

Ø Changing in eye color

Ø Eye dryness

• How to protect eyes from computer/ smartphone screen?

Here are 11 scientifically & medically proven ways to protect eyes from all types of screens. If you are serious about your eye health then you should at least pursue 7 of these.

1. 20/20/20 rule:

Today, screen time is the biggest issue that we encounter on a daily basis. The American Academy of Ophthalmology states clearly, that looking at a tiny or bigger screen continuously without any break will cause eye strain. In a research experiment, almost 90% of 795 students got CVS symptoms after just 2 continuous hours of computer usage. We can say that it’s like a perfect storm.

The 20/20/20 rule is made to treat this problem. It states that after spending 20 minutes on a screen, you should look away at something that’s 20 feet away from you for about a total of 20 seconds.

If you are in a room then it’s not possible to look at something 20 feet away, so, you can simply close your eyes for 20 seconds.

It’ll be a little difficult to develop a habit, of following this rule in beginning. But soon you will become familiar with this.

2. Distance:

Your distance from the screen plays an important role in the maintenance of your visual health. You should position your screen at least 20 inches away from yourself. It’s about an arm’s distance. It’ll not only protect your eyes but also will improve your mental health.

3. Blink:

Normally, we blink our eyes 15-20 times per minute but in the case of using a digital device, we forget blinking of eyes and we blink eyes only 5-9 times that will further cause diseases like eye strain, eye dryness, and redness of eyes. To avoid such irreversible damages, blinking is a good natural solution. While using a screen it’s necessarily important to remember blinking for the proper functioning of eyes as well.

4. Apps:

Some apps are designed, by keeping in view the researches of expert ophthalmologists and thus, will help you in protecting your eyes from the digital screens by neutralizing blue light in your phone which is most harmful. Some of the most valuable ones are given below:

Ø Twilight

Ø Easy eyes

Ø Blue light filter for eye care

Ø Redshift

Ø F.lux

Ø Iris

Ø Sunset screen

It’s an effective and productive idea to protect the eyes from blue light. Almost all the worlds’ best ophthalmologists will recommend the usage of blue light filter apps. All the above apps will reduce blue light and you can install any of your choices.

Pro tip: I will recommend Twilight as it’s a bit more useful according to our research as it has auto color adjustment and some other convenient tools & options.

5. Set Timer:

If you are one of those who are addicted to phones then it’s beneficial to set a timer for a specific app; basically, setting a timer seems like a blessing in disguise. Anyhow, follow the following steps to set an app timer:

1. Open settings in your phone.

2. Click on Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.

3. Tap the chart.

4. Tap Set timer next to the app you want to limit.

5. Choose how much time you’ll spend on that app. After that, tap Set.

Tip: When you run out of time, the app closes and its icon dims. Keep in mind:

App timers reset at midnight.

To use the app again before midnight, follow steps 1–4 above and delete the app timer.

If you didn’t understand it, then you can watch this video https://youtu.be/2zv4HTNaXUA for better results.

6. Use filter glasses:

Photo by Redowan Dhrubo on Unsplash

These are specially prepared glasses to protect the eyes from the screen. They work the same as blue light filter apps; basically, they consist of unique lenses that’ll automatically neutralize blue light from the screen. If you’re working on more than one screen then installing blue light filter apps on all devices is not possible instead of that you can use these specially designed glasses.

7. Night mode/ eye comfort/ reading mode:

Some mobiles have already installed blue light filter tools with different names. You can also enable them according to the settings of your phone. After enabling then you’ll not need any glasses or apps because these tools are their alternatives.

8. Low Battery:

Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash

Using a phone with a low battery will not completely affect your eyes but it has some negative effects. For example, mobile rays will directly affect your iris. So, be careful next time.

9. Eye Breaks:

Taking eye breaks while continuously working on a screen can improve your eyesight and will also reduce eye dryness. So, look at something rather than a screen for some seconds during work.

10. Cleanliness:

Dust and dirt on a screen are by no means unfamiliar to us. It’s normal to get your screen dirty but it’ll force your eyes for more focus and will damage further. So, keep your screen free of dust.

11. Background, text size, and brightness:

Last but not least, colors also affect eyes a lot, so, to protect eyes, black text on a white background is one of the best color contrast for eyes. Increasing your text size from settings can leave a good impact on your eyesight and always remember to set brightness levels according to your eyes neither too high nor too low.

Pro tip: Don’t use your phone whilst traveling.

• Improving eyesight:

These were all highly effective tips for the protection of eyes but to improve eyesight, you should follow the steps given below:

1. Go for a morning walk.

2. Spend some time in Sunlight.

3. Use fake tears.

4. Look at trees & plants.

5. Eat as many fruits as you can.

6. Drink water.

7. Take proper sleep.

8. Avoid drugs and smoking.

9. Use sunglasses.