We spend more time staring at screens than ever before. We spend more than 10 and a half hours a day looking at computers, phones, and tablets.
That amounts to a significant portion of our lives. We spend most of the day focusing on a computer screen at work.
That time can have damaging effects on our eyes, too. Too much time in front of screens can result in eye strain and other eye problems.
Read on to find out how to take care of your eyes while you’re at work.
1. Take Breaks
When you’re working on an important project, you just want to plow through it and get it done. That intense focus on the screen can cause your eyes to strain. Think of your eyes as a muscle in your body.
When you use the same muscle over and over again, it doesn’t get stronger. Instead, it can get weaker due to repetitive use. That’s why you see so many cases of carpal tunnel syndrome in the office, too.
Eye strain is essentially a repetitive use injury, so you want to do everything you can to prevent it.
Every 20 minutes, change your focus of attention. For 20 seconds, look at something else that’s roughly 20 feet away. That will be enough to keep you productive and limit the strain on your eyes.
2. Good Nutrition Counts
The office is full of junk food, whether that’s at the vending machine or someone bringing in a cake to share.
Your nutrition isn’t just about your weight. Your eyes also depend on good nutrition. Vitamins E and C are vital nutrients for eye health. You can find them in leafy greens, citrus fruit, salmon, oysters, and tuna.
Staying hydrated also has an impact on your eyes. Dehydration causes your eyes to become irritated and dry.
3. Have an Ergonomic Set-Up
An ergonomic set up can go a long way to preserving your eyesight. One way to do that is to make sure that your computer screen is at arm’s length from you.
This can be hard if you’re working on a laptop because you need to have your keyboard close to you. You can work around that by having a separate monitor that’s larger at arm’s length and use a Bluetooth keyboard for typing.
4. Get Regular Eye Exams
You can also keep our eyes healthy by getting regular eye exams. You may be wondering why exams matter.
They matter because they give you insight into your overall health.
They’ll also tell you how to take care of your eyes while you’re at work. They may recommend glasses or safety goggles to wear when you’re at work.
How to Take Care of Your Eyes
Think of where you’d be without eyesight. It’s something that we can take for granted, but once your sight declines, it’s hard to regain it.
That’s why it’s so important to take care of your eyes now. Learning how to take care of your eyes takes practice. Once you make it a habit, you’ll do things to make your sight last.
Do you want more healthy tips? Head over to the Lifestyle area of the blog for more great articles.
