Reduce your eye strain at work

Posted on: June 14th, 2019 onPlatinum

Eye strain occurs when the eyes become tired from intense use. Many office workers experience eye strain from using computers all day. Eye strain can cause physical fatigue and headaches, resulting in decreased productivity and an increase in errors made at work.

Here are four ways to reduce eye strain and feel more productive at work.

Minimise glare

Glare from the area surrounding your work station can have a significant impact on your eyes. This includes glare from bright walls, windows, and reflections on your computer screen. If possible, face computers away from windows and use anti-glare screens on your monitors. If you wear glasses, purchase lenses with anti-reflective coating to minimise light reflecting off your glasses lenses as this will cause eye strain.

Use proper lighting

One of the most significant sources of eye strain is bright lights. Eliminating exterior light will help to reduce eye strain at work and can be done by closing blinds or shades. Overhead fluorescent lighting doesn’t help with eye strain either. Reduce the number of overhead lights or switch to special “full spectrum” fluorescent lights that more closely approximate the colour spectrum emitted by the sun.

Adjust your display settings

Many people do not realise that you can adjust the display settings on their computer monitors at work, either on the display or in the computer’s settings. There are several settings that you should adjust to reduce the strain on your eyes while working:

• Display brightness: set the brightness of your display to match the brightness of your work environment. It helps to test your brightness on a white background, so get up a blank page and see if your screen is appearing as a light source.
• Text size: make sure that the text is large enough that you can read it comfortably without straining, squinting or leaning forward. Additionally, reading black text on a white background will minimise eye strain and increase comfort.
• Colour temperature: Blue light is associated with eye strain at work. Warmer colour tones have less effects on the eyes when viewing screens for long periods. Your eyes will feel much more relaxed if you can adjust the warmth of your screen to a yellow hue. 

Take frequent breaks and exercise your eyes

It’s important to take regular breaks from your computer to reduce tension and fatigue throughout the day. Experts suggest following the “20-20-20” rule – every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Doing this exercise will significantly reduce eye strain and help your eyes with focusing throughout the day. It also helps to blink frequently to minimise dryness and irritation.

Have routine eye tests

Having regular eye tests is the best way to prevent or treat any eye strain problems that arise from using a computer all day at work. It is recommended that you have an eye test every two years to monitor the health of your eyes.