Aniela Dybiec
Aniela is a writer who loves art, makeup, and magick. She is also an amateur illustrator, a wellness fan and a vegetarian.+ info
Coming from a person that is 10 hours a day in front of a screen on a regular day, screen fatigue is a thing, But the good news is that you can do some things to make it better.
Whether you've gone back to a full on-site schedule or you are still working from home, the chances are that you spend a large portion of your day sitting in front of your computer. The thing is that our eyes are not made to be focusing all day on our gadgets and too much time in front of a screen can lead to lots of conditions.
4 Tips to get rid of screen fatigue
When you spend too much time in front of the screen the muscles around the eyes get strained. Fixing your sight on a screen for too many hours can not only affect your mental well-being but your eyes as well. Many people blame blue light for this, but while it certainly affects your sleep patterns, it is eye train what you should be worried about. From a biological point of view, our vision processing has not evolved to keep up with our modern life.
When you are in front of the screen, your eyes are constantly working to adjust focus from one distance to another – the muscles relax when looking at things far away and they contract to focus on things close up – like your digital devices. So compare staring at a screen with being in an endless squat. This is how your digital eye strain happens.
So when closing your laptop and going for a walk is not an option for you, this is what you can do instead.
Blink
When we're looking at the screen we tend to forget to blink – make a point of blinking consciously every now and then.
Look away
Every 20 minutes or so, take half a minute to look at a distant object. This will allow your eye muscles to relax.
Check your screen settings
There are some modes like the night mode that are gentler to your eyes, adjust the brightness and make the text bigger if you feel like you are making a big effort to read.
Get checkups
It is important to get regular eye checkups to make sure your vision needs are met. The wrong prescription can make the effects worse.