Staring At The Screen All Day? Read These 6 Ways To Relieve Office Eye Syndrome ASAP

According to a study in the Philippine Journal of Ophthalmology, eye strain, headache, and blurred vision were among the top complaints of heavy computer users. These users don’t blink as often as they should, leading to a condition called 'office eye syndrome'. When you forget to blink, the tear film (a thin layer of tears on the surface of the eye that keeps it healthy) loses quality. On average, a person needs to blink every 10 seconds to give eyes a fresh coating of tears, and prevent unnecessary eye discomfort.

If your job compels you stare at screens and monitors all day (which is now quite common), make these simple adjustments to improve your overall eye comfort. 

 

 

1. Check Your Lighting

Make sure that the room has sufficient light and does not cause obscuring shadows. If there are windows, it is best to use adjustable blinds. 

 

2. Dim Your Screen

A too-bright screen can cause glare that is painful to the eyes. Adjust the brightness and contrast appropriately and place the monitor parallel (but not directly below) the overhead lights. Angle it away from lights and windows. 

 

3. Increase Font Size

To avoid leaning toward the screen just so you can read text, adjust the font size and make it bigger—12-point type is the average. Or zoom in up to 150% to be able to read better. 

 

4. Get A Copy Stand 

If you need to type and copy text from a page or book, place it on a copy stand beside the monitor so you can easily look back and forth from the monitor to the page better. 

 

5. Sit Like A Lady 

Crouching and putting your weight to one side to avoid the screen’s glare can lead to an awkward position and cause body ache later on. Scoot your chair a little left off center so you can look forward instead of shifting your gaze left (since most word processors are aligned left). Also, back up and extend your right arm so that the tip of your middle finger can almost touch your screen—this is the perfect distance to avoid eye irritation. 

 

6. Adjust Your Gaze

Eye level should hit near the top of your monitor. Most people unconsciously gaze downward 10 to 15 degrees, so this angle will help make you look comfortably at the screen. 

 

 

 

Cover photo by Amanda Dalbjörn on Unsplash

Illustration by Mawee Borromeo 

This article was first published in Working Mom magazine April 2016 issue