ORLANDO, Fla. – Nearly two out of three people in the U.S. experience symptoms of digital eye strain.
Digital eye strain is when you have blurry vision and burning, itching, and tired eyes after using a digital device.
Too much time on a digital screen can have long-term consequences on your vision. Here are some sight-saving tips to prevent vision damage caused by screens.
Between iPads, phones, computers, people spend a lot of time in front of screens. But all our electronics may be short-circuiting our vision.
“I see patients everyday with digital eye strain,” Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, ophthalmologist said.
Mendelsohn said the blue light that is emitted from digital screens causes eye strain and puts people at greater risk for macular degeneration down the road.
So, what can you do to protect your sight? First, move farther away from your screen.
“There’s only one fourth of the exposure holding it two feet versus one foot,” Mendelsohn said.
Even moving the screen just one inch farther away from your face cuts the blue light exposure by 15 percent.
Also, most devices have a built-in filter that you can turn on and off at certain times. And you can have a blue light blocker embedded in your glasses lens.
Experts say it only takes 30 minutes a day to cause digital eye strain. Another effective strategy to limit digital eye strain is to follow the 20-20-20 rule, which is for every 20 minutes behind a screen, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.