Did you know that about 12 million Americans over 40 have some kind of eye disorder? There are currently around 4.2 million adults in the U.S. that live with an eye disorder that can’t be corrected. The CDC suggests that this number will increase to 8.96 million by the year 2050. Around 93 million U.S. adults are at risk of losing their vision. Reports from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health show that around 2,000 employees suffer eye injuries while on the job each day. 90% of these injuries are preventable by following the right safety measures. If you suffer an eye strain headache at work every day, there are ways to prevent it. Keep reading to find out how.
Changing the Lighting Might Help
You want to avoid lights that create glare; this can cause major strain on your eyes and lead to those troublesome headaches. Don’t set up your work area with bright lights as this can bother your eyes. Never place your light source where it can shine into your eyes. Make sure you keep it at a distance from the screens you use at work. Low-intensity light bulbs are your best option for reducing eye strain. Sunlight can also cause you to strain your eyes. If you work near a window, close the shades to avoid that bright light. You also want to make sure that the window is not directly behind or in front of you.
Rest Your Eyes
Staring at a computer screen for eight hours a day isn’t good for anyone. Make sure you’re resting your eyes when they start to feel tired. Eye doctors recommend taking a break every 20 minutes and looking away from the screen for 20 seconds at an object that’s 20 feet away. At a minimum, you should be taking a 10-minute break each hour to get up and stretch and rest your eyes. This will help avoid digital eye strain headaches. You can also try gently covering your closed eyes with your hands to help you relax and rest.
Fix Your Screen
Fixing your screen into the proper position can help you avoid eye strain headaches. You want to make sure your computer screen is about 25 inches away from you and a bit below your eye line. If you are looking between printed paper and a computer screen while working, try placing that printed paper at the same level as your screen. You should use a light that illuminates the paper without creating a glare on your screen. You can also adjust the settings on your computer to help relieve the strain on your eyes. If you need to lower the brightness or enlarge the font, this can prevent you from getting those horrible headaches. Investing in an anti-glare screen for your computer can help as well.
See Your Eye Doctor
Seeing your eye doctor every year is crucial to preventing serious eye disorders. Your doctor will perform an eye exam to see if your eyes are being affected by eye strain from working at a computer. Your doctor will also be able to offer you advice on how to best prevent eye strain headaches.
Use Dark Mode
When you’re staring at a bright screen in the dark, you’re more likely to strain your eyes. If you work in front of a computer and you work at night, this can be the source of your headaches. You can adjust the light from your screen to match the light in the room where you’re working. Night mode can be automatically turned on your computer during the night. This should turn your screens dark after sunset. Some applications on your computer, like Gmail, don’t have automatic night mode. You can turn on a dark mode when needed and turn it back off if you’d like. It’s a pretty simple process if you follow some key directions, https://setapp.com/how-to/gmail-dark-mode. This is another helpful way to find eye strain relief.
Avoid Dry Eyes
If you’re constantly looking at your computer screen while at work, you can suffer from dry eyes. Dry eyes can strain your eyes and lead to unwanted headaches. An easy way to avoid this is to pay attention to your blinking. Make sure you’re often blinking throughout the day to produce the tears to keep your eyes from drying. Another thing that can help with dryness is using eye drops. Artificial tears are sold over the counter at most pharmacies and will keep your eyes moist, apply them regularly. Adjusting the air in your work area can prevent dry eyes, too, believe it or not. It’s as easy as moving to a different space to avoid the AC blowing in your face and drying your eyes. You can also try turning on a humidifier while you work.
Get the Right Eyewear
You might not think you have any vision problems, but you might need specialized eyewear if you’re suffering from eye strain headaches. When you visit your eye doctor, they might suggest using computer glasses that are made to help minimize eye strain when working from a computer. Another great option is to find blue light glasses. These glasses reduce exposure to the blue light emitted from computer or phone screens and will relieve the strain on your eyes.
Make Sure You’re Getting the Right Nutrients
Preventing eye strain headaches is also about getting all the right vitamins and nutrients you need for maintaining healthy eyes. If you don’t feel like you’re getting the proper nutrients from your food, you can always take vitamin supplements specifically for eye health. Vitamins A, C, and E are all great supplements to add to your diet.
The Best Ways to Prevent an Eye Strain Headache
Getting an eye strain headache, especially while at work, can deter you from being productive and cause much discomfort. The list above offers a lot of great ways to prevent these headaches. How long does eye strain last? Resting your eyes and adjusting the light can rid you of eye strain fairly quickly or prevent it altogether. Make sure you check out some of our other blogs to learn more.