You only get one pair of eyes, so it’s important that you take good care of them for as long as you can. As you spend so much time staring at a computer screen, whether it’s for work or play, it can do serious damage to your eyes if you’re not careful. It’s likely you’re already suffering from eye strain, headaches or blurry vision. To keep your eyes healthy and functioning efficiently, here are a few things you can do to save your vision.

The 20-20-20 Rule

To deal with eye strain that commonly occurs from staring at a computer screen or reading for too long, this is a quick exercise that takes less than 30 seconds. Focus your gaze on an object about 20 feet away from you. Do this for 20 seconds every 20 minutes and your eyesight will thank you.

Palming

An exercise that requires very little effort on your part and works to help your eyes relax. Just rub your hands together until they’re warm and place your palms over your closed eyes. Leave them there for a few minutes as the heat radiates through your eyes.

Rolling Your Eyes

You can perform eye exercises anywhere, so there’s really no excuse. An easy exercise to do is briefly crossing or rolling your eyes every few seconds. This is very helpful to release tension felt from staring at a monitor for too long.

Adjusting Text Size and Colour

Both the size and colour of your font have a major impact on your vision, particularly if you’re staring at them for a long time. You ideal text size should be three times bigger than the smallest size you can read. Low contrasting text and background colours are also factors in destroying your vision.

Adjusting the Glare

Depending on the lighting conditions in your environment, your display could be too dim or too bright. Squinting is a key sign that something’s amiss with your screen. Your eyes can handle brighter screens in bright rooms, and dim screens in low light rooms.

Reorganize Your Desk

While this might not seem like an efficient step towards improving your eyesight, it’s definitely necessary. If your computer monitor isn’t at least 20 inches away, or one arm’s length, then your eyes are in for a rough day. It’s also important that the monitor is four to six inches below eye level.

Schedule Regular Visits

If you’re staring at a computer screen for hours on end, then you definitely need to keep up with your regular eye exams. Your optometrist will be able to spot any early onset eye diseases, as well as improve your prescription so your eyes aren’t strained more than necessary.

At BC Vision Care, we offer our patients the best eye care possible. Our Langley eye care centre has trained optometrists who are more than capable of performing eye exams, vision therapy, laser eye surgery and more. Walk-ins are always welcome or feel free to give us a call to book an appointment.