How to prevent tired eyes from the computer - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Life How to prevent zoom eyes By Emily Cleary - February 7, 2022 If there’s one thing we will all connect with Covid lockdowns it’s the rise of the Zoom chat. Be it team meetings, Friday night fun with friends, or family calls, the past two years have seen us spend more time in front of our screens than ever before. And between working, Zooming, Netflix marathon sessions and endless scrolling, the average adult will spend more than 30 years of their life staring at screens. It’s no surprise that with this increase in screen time comes an increase in complaints of dry eyes and eye strain, also known as Computer Vision Syndrome. This results in tired eyes, blurred or double vision as well as head, neck or back aches. Getty So how do we prevent a nasty case of tired eyes from the computer? UCL’s Professor Dawn Sim is an ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital and co-founder of eye health brand MTHK. How to prevent tired eyes from using a computer Remember to blink Most of us blink less frequently when we’re concentrating or staring at a screen. If you blink less, your protective tear film evaporates, drying out your eyes. Avoid this by blinking consciously, keeping your eyes closed for half a second before reopening. Repeat this about 20 times and you’ll notice that your eyes start feeling fresher as they rebuild their natural hydration. Use an eye spray or drops Digital screens reduce blink rate by two thirds, which in turn impacts the health of the surface of the eye and may cause discomfort such as dry eye syndrome. Take care of the front of the eyes by making sure they’re well moisturised and lubricated with the intermittent use of refreshing teardrops and eye sprays. But avoid those that have preservatives as they can start to irritate your eyes after a while. Getty Roll your eyes Sit with your back straight and, without moving your head, slowly and purposefully roll your eyes in a clockwise direction, starting with the left, then to the ceiling, then to the right and finally look at the floor. Repeat this 10 times. And then reverse the roll (going anti-clockwise). This exercise will help with eye fatigue. Try the 20-20-20 rule Look away from your computer screen every 20 minutes at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds helps to reduce strain and fatigue on your eye muscles. This is known as the 20-20-20 rule. Stay hydrated Dehydration makes dry eye symptoms worse. If you’re sitting in front of a screen all day, not drinking enough water will make your eyes feel even worse. Make sure you take water with you wherever you go and remember that coffee has a mild diuretic effect – so if you’re drinking several cups a day, make sure you’re topping up with water. Getty Adjust your screen brightness If your screen has a background so bright that it looks like a light source, it’s time to turn down the brightness. If the screen feels grey or dull, you may need to increase the screen brightness. Try adjusting your screen’s refresh rate to between 70 and 85 Hz. Most computer screens will refresh at a rate of 60 Hz (which can cause flickering or rolling of the screen). This helps with eye strain if you’re going to be using the screen for a long time. Try palming Place the palms slightly cupped over your eyes, without applying pressure. Let your fingertips overlap, resting on the forehead and try to not let any light through and breathe deeply for about a minute. This exercise is known as ‘palming’ in the yoga world and it’s good for your eyes, as well as relaxing you. RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Everything we know about The Crown season 5 Aldi s exercise equipment is on sale with up to 50% off The best Halloween events for 2022 across the UK Popular in Life The You magazine team reveal their New Year s resolutions December 31, 2021 Susannah Taylor The TLC tools your body will love January 23, 2022 How to stop living in fear February 6, 2022 Susannah Taylor My pick of the fittest leggings February 27, 2022 Women’ s Prize for Fiction 2022 winner announced June 17, 2022 These BBC dramas are returning for a second series June 30, 2022 Susannah Taylor gives the lowdown on nature s little helper – CBD April 17, 2022 The baby names that are banned across the world April 27, 2022 The Queen has released her own emojis May 26, 2022 Sally Brompton horoscopes 27th June-3rd July 2022 June 26, 2022 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved