Digital eye strain: the 20-20-20 rule to help your eyes

While technology is doing a great job in making our lives easier, our eyes are quite disturbed about this. You are staring at your computer screen for the whole day; did you think your eyes were happy?

RSI or Repetitive Stress Injury is an eye strain that is common among those using computers for long hours. There are no real ways to avoid this strain, no ointment or drops that will make your eyes super strong. However, there is a very simple and effective method that can be adopted by you. It is known as 20-20-20 rule, and which basically expects you to take breaks at regular intervals.

How Computer Screen Affects your Eyes

People who regularly use computers often complain of eye strain and this is obvious given the fact that they spend so much of time looking at the monitor. Eyes develop problems over time and these include:

•  Discomfort to the eye
•  You can experience headaches
•  Your eyes would feel sore, burning, and itchy
•  You may have difficulty in focusing
•  Your eyes would go watery
•  You may have dry eyes
•  You may experience blurred or even double vision
•  Your eyes will have an increased sensitivity to light

The good news is that although eye strain can make you uncomfortable, this situation is not so serious and usually goes away once your rest your eyes. This is why you are to give your eyes as much rest as possible in between your work. You may not be able to change the amount of time that you have to dedicate in front of the computer, because after all it is work. You can very well take steps to reduce the strain that makes your eyes feel so much discomfort.

The 20-20-20 Trick

The 20-20-20 rule is very simple, but it has been found to be very effective. Look at a distance to let your eyes relax, and that is it. This rule expects you to do this every 20 minutes you spend staring at your computer screen. This is very easy for you to remember and can reduce eye strain to a great extent.

The rule says that you should spend 20 seconds looking at objects that are at least 20 feet away after every 20 minutes of computer time. This is why it has been termed as, 20-20-20 rule. The idea is that your eyes should not be burdened to focus; it should be easy on them.

You should try to make this a habit every time you are working on your computer, and surprisingly, once you have started to make use of this rule, you will find that it is getting easier to keep up with your work, because your eyes feel happy! You could also tweak the rules and set a schedule which suits you. You could also blink often to refresh your eyes, and do not keep staring at the screen for long without blinking.

Image Source: gettyimages.in

Read more articles on Eye Disorders.