You’ve been working on a project all day and find yourself rubbing at your eyes and wishing you could step away from the computer. Your eyes are watering, and you’re not even sure you can see clearly anymore. You’ve got digital eye strain! Symptoms of digital eye strain include dry and tired eyes, blurry vision after viewing a screen all day, headaches, and neck and shoulder aches. It occurs because people tend to blink less often when viewing screens, so eyes get dry and irritated, and because the glare of a computer or phone screen and the blue light they emit can be hard on the eyes. You can reduce digital eye strain by changing the way you interact with computers and phone screens. Here are three steps to take:

1. Adjust your distance and atmosphere.

Make sure your computer screen or other device is about 25 inches from your eyes. This is about an arm’s length away. Also, the center of the screen you’re viewing should be about 10 to 15 degrees below eye level. It’s also a good idea to invest in a humidifier to keep moisture in the air. This will help your eyes keep from drying out, which can cause strain. Make sure the lighting in the room where you work or view devices is bright enough. You want to avoid viewing devices in the dark or anywhere where your device is brighter than the surrounding light.

2. Take a break.

There’s no rule that says you need to complete all your work at once, or view all those videos at once. Consider spending only up to 2 hours at once looking at your screen, and then take a 15 minute break. Walk around the office or, better yet, outside. Also, while you’re working, follow the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at an object about 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.

3. Use blue light glasses.

Blue light is a color in the visible spectrum that has a short wavelength. The sun emits natural blue light, and artificial blue light comes from computer screens, phone screens and other digital devices. It also comes from LED lights. Blue light can reach the back of the eye can cause damage to the retina. It’s also known to interrupt sleep by throwing off the body’s circadian rhythm. Too much exposure to blue light – and most of probably have plenty, with all the devices in our homes and workplaces – can cause eye strain and, eventually, eye damage. Blue light glasses come in both prescription and non-prescription lenses, meaning if you don’t normally need glasses, you can get some specially made to block blue light with no other prescription. If you do need a prescription, the blue light protection can be added to your prescription lenses.

Payne Glasses

Payne Glasses offers prescription and non-prescription blue light glasses, with prescription glasses starting at $21.90 and non-prescription starting at $13.99. Compare that to a $40 to $60 upcharge for blue light glasses at Lens Crafters and a $47 to $125 upcharge at Pearle Vision. Our prescription blue light glasses block 90 percent of HEV light and are available in progressive and single-vision prescriptions. We have blue light glasses for women, men and kids. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us anytime! https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/prevent-digital-eyestrain https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side