| If you work in an office, do your eyes hurt | | | | work. |
| by the end of the working day? You aren't | | | | |
| alone: about 88% of all people who work with | | | | 5. Make page designs "eye friendly" |
| computers experience a type of eyestrain | | | | |
| known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). | | | | If you have to do a lot of online research, |
| After all, a computer screen isn't exactly | | | | you probably have seen pages that look like |
| the most natural thing to look at. Perhaps a | | | | they were designed to inconvenience the |
| couple of thousands of years of evolution | | | | reader as much as possible. Don't you love |
| would solve the problem ... but I am sure you | | | | those pages with tiny, white type on a black |
| aren't prepared to wait this long. | | | | background? |
| Fortunately there are a few simple things you | | | | |
| can do to minimize computer eyestrain. | | | | Most Web browsers let you change the font |
| | | | size of a page; in Internet Explorer it is |
| 1. From time to time look into the distance, | | | | done by opening the View menu, and then |
| to readjust the focus of your eyes | | | | choosing Text Size. And here is a trick for |
| | | | dealing with pages with dark or busy |
| The human eye has trouble staying focused on | | | | backgrounds: drag your mouse across the text |
| computer images and text. Our eyes | | | | to select it - it inverts the colors, and you |
| involuntary drift away, so we tend to force | | | | will see dark text on a light background, |
| them to remain focused on the screen. | | | | just as nature intended. |
| | | | |
| This flexing of the eyes' focusing muscles, | | | | 6. Whenever possible print pages for reading; |
| all day long, is a real struggle for your | | | | don't read from the screen |
| eyes. So take your gaze away from the screen | | | | |
| as often as possible. The key, here, is not | | | | Reading printed material is much less |
| to take long breaks but to take frequent | | | | stressful, for your eyes, than reading from |
| breaks. Every few minutes look away from the | | | | the screen. And you will be more productive |
| screen and focus on a far away object - out | | | | too - it is a proven fact that people read |
| the window, for example. | | | | printed text 25% faster than they read text |
| | | | from the computer screen. |
| 2. If you wear contact lenses, go for the | | | | |
| best quality not the lowest price | | | | 7. Adjust the light |
| | | | |
| Because computer users blink less often, | | | | When working at the computer you don't need a |
| their eyes tend to dry out, and some contact | | | | very bright light. Direct sunlight and |
| lenses contribute to this dryness even more. | | | | lighting in most offices are way to bright. |
| Ask your doctor to prescribe contact lenses | | | | Put the blinds down on a sunny day. It is |
| that don't dry your eyes. | | | | best to turn your monitor so the window is on |
| | | | its side, not in front or behind it. Soft |
| Acuvue Advance with Hydroclear or Focus Night | | | | light of a desk lamp from the side is also an |
| and Day might work well for you. See | | | | option. If the light in the office is too |
| suggestions on soft contact lenses for | | | | bright, you can wear tinted computer glasses. |
| computer users. | | | | |
| | | | 8. Adjust the brightness of your monitor |
| If money is an issue, find out how you can | | | | |
| get discount contact lenses online. This | | | | The color white, on your computer screen, |
| usually turns out to be 50% - or more - | | | | shouldn't shine like a light source. You can |
| cheaper than buying them from the doctor's | | | | adjust the brightness of your monitor to a |
| office. | | | | little bit below default. However, remember |
| | | | to keep the contrast high, otherwise it will |
| 3. Close your eyes for a few seconds | | | | be even more difficult for your eyes to stay |
| | | | focused. |
| Because looking at the computer is a constant | | | | |
| struggle for the eyes, people concentrate and | | | | 9. Get your eye examined every 12 months |
| tend to blink much less often than normal. | | | | |
| This causes dryness of the eyes. | | | | If you need vision correction it is important |
| | | | that your eyeglasses or contact lenses fit |
| It is difficult to force yourself to blink | | | | your needs. Wearing corrective eyewear that |
| more often, but you can close your eyes every | | | | isn't up-to-date increases the stress on your |
| time you are waiting for your machine to do | | | | eyes. |
| something. | | | | |
| | | | 10. Ask your eye doctor about special |
| 4. Take a short break every hour | | | | computer glasses |
| | | | |
| It is recommended that you take 10 minutes | | | | These are usually multifocal glasses that |
| away from the computer for every 50 minutes | | | | help you to focus better on computer text. |
| spent at it. Move around the room, stretch | | | | They can also be tinted, which helps if the |
| your back and do a few simple exercises. | | | | lights in your office are too bright. |
| | | | |
| If you can teach yourself the habit of | | | | Follow these simple rules and you will notice |
| closing your eyes often, looking away to | | | | that, by the end of the day, you won't feel |
| readjust your focus and taking short but | | | | so exhausted and your eyes won't hurt nearly |
| frequent breaks, your eyes and your head will | | | | as much, if at all. |
| feel much better even after long hours of | | | | |