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Digital Eye Strain Relief in Okotoks

Find the Comfort Your Eyes Need

If you are struggling with your eye comfort while spending long hours doing highly focused work, you may be experiencing digital eye strain. Thankfully, managing digital eye strain is easier when you visit our team for help.

All you have to do is book your appointment, and our team will help with the rest.

What Is Digital Eye Strain?

As we spend more time on our smartphones, computers, and tablets, our eyes find themselves under an increasing amount of strain.

Despite the name, digital eye strain is not exclusively tied to digital device use, as digital devices are not the cause of this issue; an intense focus on detailed tasks or close objects for long periods is typically the cause of eye strain for many patients.

Some common symptoms of digital eye strain include:

Wateriness
Irritation
Redness
Dryness
Sore neck, shoulders, and back
Blurry vision
Double Vision
Light sensitivity
Poor concentration

What Is Blue Light?

Whenever digital devices and eyes are mentioned together, one of the most common subjects to come up is blue light and its role in eye comfort.

Recent studies have shown that blue light has less to do with your eye comfort and more to do with your regular sleep schedule. While many devices produce blue light, the largest producer is the sun, and your brain interprets these signals as a cue to be awake and active.

Because your brain interprets blue light in this way, extended use of digital devices has shown to interrupt your circadian rhythm, leading to sleep loss.

Blue light lenses can help mitigate this effect, especially if you like to watch television or use your phone before going to bed.

Management Techniques

The 20/20/20 Rule

To avoid digital eye strain, it is important to follow the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and focus your gaze on an object at least 20 feet away. This gives your focusing muscles a chance to relax.

Workplace Ergonomics

A common symptom of digital eye strain is also neck and shoulder pain. One way you can avoid this happening is to readjust the ergonomic posture of your workstation. Consider:

Setting your monitors at arm’s length and just below your natural line of sight.
Adjusting your brightness settings to ensure they’re not brighter than the room you’re in.
Angling your screen away from light sources to reduce glare.

Eye Drops

One of the most common ways to alleviate eye strain is to use eye drops or artificial tears. However, please speak with our optometrists before purchasing any over-the-counter products to ensure the eye drops are right for you.