Is Your Screen Time Affecting Your Eyesight?

How much time do you spend staring at your screen? It’s probably way more than you’d like to think, but is all of this screen time affecting your eyesight and causing a serious problem? It may surprise you to learn that screen time is not linked with long-term eyesight problems, despite what this may feel like after you’ve stared at a screen for hours on end.

How Screen Time Affects Your Eyesight

Most people assume that staring at screens damages their eyes, but this isn’t scientifically true. The American Academy of Ophthalmology is on record saying that using devices and having a ridiculously high screen time will not lead to bad eyesight.

Why do people assume that it does? Two words: blue light.

Everyone’s worried about blue light, and they think it will damage the eyes, but that’s not the case. There’s no scientific link between this happening – blue light is only problematic when it comes to bedtime. This particular type of light stops the brain from releasing sleep hormones, so you may find it harder to sleep if you’ve been looking at a screen all day. It’s why you need a good wind-down routine that involves minimal screen time in the hours leading up to bed; you’ll fall asleep quicker and be asleep for longer.

Why Does Your Vision Seem Worse After Staring At Screens?

You may read that previous paragraph or two and be skeptical. You’ve literally felt your vision get blurry and your eyes hurt after looking at a screen all day, so surely this means you’re harming your eyesight?

Before you go shopping for eyeglasses for men, you need to understand what happens to your eyes when you look at screens and why it feels like your vision gets worse. You see, it’s all to do with digital eye strain. This is a condition that impacts people who work at computers or look at screens for hours a day. Effectively, your eyes strain because you forget to blink. They then dry out, which is why you’re left with the following:

• Blurred vision
• Itchy or dry eyes
• Headaches behind the eyes

These are all symptoms of digital eye strain – they’re not signs that your vision is getting worse and you need to wear glasses.

How To Deal With Digital Eye Strain

For starters, try to cut down your screen time whenever possible. Take breaks at work and follow the 20-20-20 principle. Every 20 minutes, you look away from your screen and blink for 20 seconds while staring at something 20 meters away. It breaks up your eye strain and helps you moisturize your eyeballs so they don’t dry out and get sore.

Play around with the brightness of your screen to suit where you are. E.g. If you’re in a dark room, decrease the brightness so it’s not too bright, as this causes more eye strain. You will also benefit from wearing glasses instead of contact lenses – if you already wear them – as contacts will dry your eyes out even more and exacerbate the problem.

So, no, screen time shouldn’t be affecting your eyesight, as you can’t damage your vision from looking at screens. What’s likely happening is that you’re experiencing digital eye strain, but this can be dealt with if you remember to take frequent breaks so your eyes can rest.

*Disclosure: This is a collaborative post