As society has become more and more technology-driven, our everyday lives have changed. Do you spend most of your day hunched over a keyboard and staring at a computer screen? You’re not alone. Approximately 143 MILLION Americans spend each day working on a computer, and 70% of those 143 million suffer from computer eye strain, commonly known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).

What is Computer Vision Syndrome?

Chances are your eyes are feeling a little tired as you read this.  Looking at a computer screen is different than looking at a physical magazine or book. Words on a computer screen aren’t made of dense black lines with defined edges, like in printed material; they’re created by tiny pixels of light that are brightest in the center and fade towards the edges. What does this mean for your eyes?  The lack of contrast and definition – not to mention the glare from bright office lights – makes it more difficult for our eyes to focus, and so your eyes have to work harder. This is why you find yourself rubbing your burning and tired eyes– the eye’s focusing muscles are constantly working overtime.

There are other symptoms that can be associated with CVS, including headaches, blurred or double vision, loss of focus, and neck and shoulder pain.

How Can You Avoid Computer Vision Syndrome?

There are several steps you can take to help ease the symptoms of CVS.  One of the easiest is to adjust the angle of your computer monitor. Experts recommend that you place the monitor directly in front of you, not off to one side. Make sure it’s not too high or too low – many people find that the most comfortable viewing position is when they are looking slightly downward at the monitor.  Try adjusting the screen so that the center is about 4 or 5 inches below eye level, and make sure it is 20-28 inches from your eyes. This will help to reduce the movement and focusing required by your eyes.

Another adjustment you can make is to position any reference materials you are using so that eye movement is limited. If you find that you’re often moving from computer screen to paper, try using a document holder so that you do not need to move your head to look from one to the other.

Take rest breaks. Look away from the screen every 10-15 minutes and briefly focus on an object in the distance. Studies show that people blink less when they are using the computer, which can lead to dry eyes; taking breaks reminds your eyes to blink and reduces eyestrain.

Reduce glare. Try lower watt bulbs and use blinds or curtains on windows. Another option is to use an anti-glare screen to decrease the light reflected from the computer screen.

Computer Glasses

If you experience the symptoms of CVS regularly, you might want to consider wearing computer glasses, even if you already wear contacts or prescription eyeglasses.  The typical eyeglasses prescribed by an optometrist can correct distance vision, helping people to see objects far away, or near vision, helping people to view objects close up (as in reading glasses).  Bifocals do both, with a distance prescription at the top of the lens and a reading prescription at the bottom.

However, computer screens are positioned in what’s considered the intermediate zone of vision, so the near vision prescription in reading glasses or lined bifocals doesn’t work.  Reading glasses are designed so that you see best at a distance of 14 to 16 inches from your eyes, but computer screens are best and most comfortably positioned farther away (20 to 28 inches from your eyes). Trifocals and progressive lenses (or unlined bifocals) do include some lens power for intermediate vision, but because they share the lens with distance and near vision prescriptions, the area is not large enough for comfortable computer work.

Computer glasses are designed to help you with this intermediate zone of vision, plus many of them come with an anti-reflective coating that will reduce the glare that causes eyestrain. Some computer glasses, called occupational bifocals, include a top part of the lens for intermediate vision and a bottom part for near vision so that you can see both the computer screen and any printed material you are using comfortably.

Taking steps to combat Computer Vision Syndrome can help you avoid uncomfortable symptoms and further vision problems. If nothing is done to relieve the strain put on your eyes by repetitive computer use, symptoms will continue to come back and perhaps worsen, leading to permanent vision changes.

February 4th, 2010 by Haley in Eye News Roundup, News + Updates | Permalink