Tips For Those Who Use Computeres All Day
We interviewed Dr. Richard Norden of Norden Laser Eye Associates in Ridgewood, NJ to find out what we could do to reduce the strain on our eyes while we’re sitting at the computer all day.
There are many folks that work in offices, glued to a computer screen all day and this can be stressful for your eyes. Check out the tips below from Dr Norden on how to lessen the negative effects to your eyes.
Tips for those who sit at their computers all day:
- Wear your glasses or contact lenses and don’t read “naked eye” as it could cause eyestrain. If your eyes feel fatigued on a regular basis, you could wear a light pair of reading glasses (+1.00) or have “computer glasses” made up for you.
- Take frequent breaks. You should plan on taking at least five minutes for every hour on the computer. This will allow your eyes to blink a bit and rehydrate whether you wear contact lenses or not.
- Keep contact lens eye drops at your desk to use once or twice an hour to hydrate your contacts. Prolonged staring without blinking at a monitor can cause evaporation and dryness.
- If your eyes are still feeling dry, you can put a small personal humidifier on your desk to improve the ambient humidity.
- Adjust the font size on your computer so that you’re comfortable and not straining. Also consider turning the contrast down a bit.
As much as all this can be a nuisance, there is no harm that will come to your eyes if they are dry, strained and “overused” – just a temporary discomfort. You will not make your prescription worse permanently.
Richard A Norden, MD
Thank you to Dr. Norden for offering those great tips for our readers! Not only is he a good looking man, but he’s smart too. :-)
It’s also good to have your eyes checked at least once a year to make sure you are wearing the proper prescription for your eyes. I personally like Lens Crafters. I was most impressed with their eye exam process, I didn’t feel rushed and I felt like they actually cared about my vision (unlike Wal Mart).