Is Working From Home Affecting Your Eye Health?

Experts have been sounding the alarm for ages about the dangers of staring at screens all day. Now that the world is constrained to working at home, we have no choice but to stare at these same screens all day – and sometimes all night.

If you have not taken heed of these warnings before, it’s time you did for the sake of your eyesight. Our laptops, TV screens, and smartphones may be slowly robbing us of our eye health in more ways than one. Luckily, there are measures we can put in place to mitigate these effects.

The pandemic is narrowing our options

The world is in lockdown, and most people in office jobs are forced to work from the comfort of their homes. If working in the office was bad, working from home is going to kill your eyes unless you do something about it

Even those who are not working are spending long hours watching movies, scrolling through social media, and generally staring at screens for hours on end. We are turning to our electronic media to escape the maddening boredom of having to stay at home all day, every day.

How to Protect Your Eyes As You Work From Home

Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can take to protect your eyes from damage due to the blue light caused by screens.

1. Get out and take a walk

The main cause of eye strain is that the eyes have to focus on nearby objects for prolonged periods. Since the social distancing rules here in Sydney allow people to go outdoors for exercise, take a walk outside every now and then. It helps exercise the eye muscles, allows them to relax, and relieve the intense blue light barrage from screens at home.

2. Follow the 20-20-20 rule

After looking at a screen for 20 minutes, take time to stare at an object far away through a window for 20 seconds and blink 20 times. Following this procedure faithfully helps to lubricate the eyes, relieve strain, and reduce the impact of blue light. 

3. Reduce screen time

As much as possible, try to reduce the amount of time you look at a screen. Also, try to break it down into intervals with frequent breaks in between.

4. Proper lighting is essential

At night, leave the nights on. Avoid fluorescents lights which have a perceptible and harmful flicker, and instead, go for incandescent lights. Extra but soft lighting helps to reduce contrast in the room and reduce strain.

Get your eyes checked out at Laser Eye Surgery

If you have been experiencing eye problems such as eye strain, constant headaches, dry eyes, blurred vision, short or long-sightedness, you have cause for concern. The problem with blue light is real, and it can cause irreparable damage down the line. 

Contact us today or call us at (02) 9230 0010 to book an appointment. At our George Street eye centre here in Sydney, we will check out your eyes and help correct any damage before it is too late.