When your 9 to 5 includes staring at the computer screen you are no virgin to tired red eyes. A quick look in the mirror is enough to see the damage. Black circles, and dry, bloodshot eyes aren’t the best look walking into that swanky happy hour! And yet, the zombie look is only half the battle. Long hours spent a foot away from the computer screen, driving, watching TV, and even reading, put undo strain on our poor little peepers. Causing mental fatigue, headaches, and increased tension in the body.
In today’s tech savvy world, where people spend more time glaring at their miniature iphone/blackberry screens then actually speaking to others, eye strain has become quite a hindrance to productivity and overall well being. As natural hunter-gatherers the human eye evolved to see best at long distances. So it’s no wonder all of our nearsighted video game playing, and internet surfing (for hours on end!) causes stress on the eyes.
Luckily there are a plethora of ways to soothe and calm those dazzling baby blues. Try these today and finally find some eye relief:
1.) Check Your Ergonomics: How close are you to your computer screen? To ease undue strain make sure the screen is at least an arms length away from your body.
2.) Take Eye Breaks: Every half hour un-glue your retinas from the box and look out the window. Look as far into the distance as possible. Keep the gaze for about 5 minutes. This allows the focus to relax. Also play with looking at a close object then flip to looking far away. Go back and forth, near and far.
3.) Screen Glow: Fiddle with the contrast and brightness of the screen. Too much light is shocking to the eye and not enough contrast between a background and it’s text can have you squinting to read. You want the screen light to match your environments. No surfing in the dark!
4.) My Secret Weapon: I have to share my secret, eye yoga! I found this eye exercise sequence on YouTube and boy has it worked wonders. Follow along and feel the difference. Instantly refreshes. It’s seriously the only thing that allows me to sit and write Epicself for hours.
