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Screen Time
and your
Eye Health

Screen time is slowly increasing in our daily lives. While this lets us work more efficiently or manage our daily schedules it may have a negative impact on our overall eye health.

Thankfully, there are a few simple things you can do at home to limit eye strain and keep your eyes healthy.

Eye Health
At Home

Visual Hygiene

Working at home or spending too much time on your devices can damage your eyes. A good tip is the 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes look at an object 20 feet away (6 metres) away for 20 seconds.

Dry Eyes

We blink less when we use our digital devices. Blinking is important as it helps keep your eye surface moist and minimise irritation. Make sure you still blink frequently and avoid rubbing your eyes as this can cause further irritation. If you do experience irritation, lubricating eye drops may help.

Eye Hygiene

Wash your hands and glasses regularly to prevent cross contamination and allow your glasses to work as they should.

Late
Nights

Proper Lighting

Dim lighting can put unnecessary strain on your eyes. Light your space well to minimise eye strain.

Phone Safety

Digital device usage at night may cause eyestrain and impact on your sleeping patterns by affecting melatonin production. Turn down your brightness settings and set your device to dark or night mode to put less strain on your eyes.

Lenses

Look to update the lenses in your glasses as your eyesight may change overtime. There are a range of lenses available in-store depending on your prescription needs. These may help reduce light emissions from your environment and can include Blue Light and harmful UV wavelengths.

Children’s
Eye Health

Researchers believe that the rise in cases of short-sightedness or myopia may be linked to the increased time children spend doing near related tasks including using screen devices.

Take Regular Breaks

Try to make screen breaks a part of your child’s routine.

Get Outdoors

In countries where children spend more time indoors the rate of short-sightedness is significantly higher. Researchers aren’t entirely sure why this is, but many theorise that the bright light and ability to focus on objects that are far away stimulates our eyes and helps keep our eyes healthy.

If you’re concerned about your vision, you can book an appointment with an optometrist at an OPSM store near you here. Or, download OPSM’s free Eye Check App and complete a quick and easy eye test to evaluate your eyesight. If it’s the right time for a check up, you can book one instantly, via the app. The OPSM Eye Check App is not a substitute for a full eye exam with an optometrist.

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