What is digital eye strain?
What are the solutions?
We’re living in a digital world, so it should come as no surprise that most of us are spending upwards of 7.5 hours behind a screen each day. From the moment we wake we latch onto our phone screens to catch up on the overnight goss, we then head to work where we are stuck tending to emails behind a computer screen, and each evening we gravitate towards the television to binge-watch our favourite tv shows. Although this routine has become somewhat automatic for society, we are suffering more than we think.
As our screen time increases so too does the strain on our eyes and our digital wellbeing. An alarming amount of people are experiencing blurred vision, dry, itchy eyes, along with insomnia and headaches on a daily basis. These issues caused by digital eye strain are greatly impacting the way we work, the way we socialise, and most importantly the way we live.
Without even noticing it, you may have experienced slight headaches when focusing on your screens, difficulty concentrating on simple tasks throughout the day, or even that your sleep patterns have changed. If this sounds familiar, then today is the day to start your digital wellbeing journey, because let’s face it, who doesn’t want to live well.
Why do our eyes get strained?
You might be thinking, surely screens can’t be that detrimental? Well, let’s take a look at the science. When you look at a screen the muscles in your eyes tighten in order for you to focus
and process information. This is because short wavelengths are emitted from your screens, which is known as blue light. Blue light can irritate your eyes, causing you to squint unconsciously, and in turn leads to blurred vision, headaches, disrupted sleep patterns and poor concentration.
Blue light from screens also has a significant impact on your sleep patterns. The blue light from
digital devices directly affects the production of melatonin in our bodies. Melatonin is the hormone that controls your sleep cycle, so once this starts to deteriorate it becomes much harder to not only fall asleep but have deeper and longer periods of sleep.
We can all admit we’ve become a little too addicted to our screens. However, without taking a proper break from our devices we aren’t allowing our eyes to recover, and as a result people are developing chronic digital eye strain.
The solution
As a whole, society has evolved. Our technological advancements have gotten us to where we are today - and now they have become a part of who we are. We are no strangers to adapting to our environments, so it makes sense that we should start to take care of our digital wellbeing.
From ergonomic chairs to standing desks, there is no shortage of new equipment that’s benefitting our digital experience, with many tacking digital eyestrain head-on by adding blue light glasses to the mix.
With digital eyestrain becoming a prevalent workplace injury, as well as workers being less productive and more irritated at work, it makes sense that blue light glasses have now become a very hot topic of conversation.
Baxter Blues blue light glasses have become a household name. They have been specifically designed to filter out harmful blue light wavelengths, increase contrast and reduce glare, all whilst offering you a fashionable option to make a statement on your zooms.
Bring relief to your eyes
See our full range
Tips to avoid eye strain
1/ Take short eye breaks
2/ Blink often to refresh your eyes
3/ Adjust your monitor's position - a simple tweak can often help your eyes
4/ Use the 20-20-20 rule - Every 20 minutes spent using a screen; you should try to look
away at something that is 20 feet away from you for a total of 20 seconds.
5/ Wear your blue light glasses whilst using screens
Don’t wait any longer to take control of your digital wellbeing. Don’t suffer in silence if you think you may be experiencing digital eye strain. Look for the signs, and invest in a pair of blue light glasses to ensure your eyes are always protected.
