Modern Technology And Digital Eyestrain

With the growing availability and constant utilization of electronic equipment, both at home and in workplaces, the health risks associated with their use become a serious concern. The most obvious “victim” of new technology is our vision. 

Visual eyestrain is very common

Americans spent on average 6 to 9 hours a day in front of digital devices. Although this brings a number of benefits, it also poses numerous problems for the eyes.

Studies suggest that eyestrain and other important, inconvenient visual symptoms occur in 50 to 90% of computer workers, making this a major job-related complaint.

What are the symptoms and who are the most affected?

Symptoms of digital eyestrain are multiple and include: back and neck pain, physical fatigue, dry eyes, headaches, red or irritated eyes, blurred vision, problems focusing, and, less commonly, binocular vision problems, such as words moving on the screen due to underlying eye alignment issues. Digital eyestrain may be worse in people who wear prescription eyeglasses, because regular eye wear lenses (like bifocals and progressive lenses) are generally not suited for reading on the computer.

Unsurprisingly, this problem affects anyone whose job requires a long-term use of digital devices. Radiologists, for example, have suffered from the fact that imaging studies have been routed over digital networks. A study conducted in the US showed that reading diagnostic images from digital displays fatigues the accommodative response (i.e., the focus response) in radiologists. The degradation seems to be worse for near vision. It is also the main problem – reading radiology imaging studies is near work. If the muscles required to do such an exercise become fatigued as the day progresses, the radiologist will have a harder time focusing on the display properly. Consequently, it may be more difficult to read images, which may reduce accuracy or increase reading times.

See Also: Eye Exercises for Healthy Eyes

Reading from paper is less stressful for eyes

One could pose the question of these symptoms being a specific consequence of operating with computers or simply a manifestation of performing a sustained near-vision task for long periods of time. For example, one recent study compared the performance of an editing task when the material was either presented on a VDT or in hard copy form. They observed that subjects made fewer errors and performed the task quicker with the hard copy presentation. In another research, scientists compared ocular symptoms immediately following a sustained near-task viewed either on a computer monitor or in hard copy format. Identical text was used in the two sessions. Significant differences in median symptom scores were found with regard to blurred vision during the task and the mean symptom score. In both cases, symptoms were higher during computer use.

Digital Eyestrain Reduces Productivity And Worsens Existing Eye Problems

As mentioned above, individuals who already have some sort of eye problem are typically more affected by digital eyestrain. In a series of experiments, researchers examined the effect of uncorrected astigmatism while reading material from a computer screen. In both studies the authors observed that the presence of 0.50–1.00D of uncorrected astigmatism produced a significant increase in symptoms.

In addition to the visual discomfort experienced, symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome may also have a significant economic impact, namely because they can increase the number of errors and individuals need to do more frequent breaks, thus reducing their productivity. Researchers estimated that provision of an appropriate refractive correction alone could induce an increase of at least 2.5% in productivity, which would also be equally beneficial for employers and employees.

Disrupted night sleep is known to cause the loss of work productivity. It is also associated with various health problems ranging from relatively mild (such as headaches and chronic fatigue) to much more severe (for example, increased risk of cancers) in the long term.

What can be done to reduce damage?

To help prevent or lessen digital eyestrain, there are some recommendations that must be carefully considered by those who work regularly with digital devices:

1. Get a routine, comprehensive eye exam, at least once a year
2. Use proper lighting, ideally at least half as bright as the one usually found in offices
3. Minimize glare, both from the surrounding environment and from the computer screen. For those that use glasses, an anti-reflective coating of the lenses is advised
4. If possible, choose LCD screens, as they tend to be easier on the eyes
5. Adjust the settings of the computer screen, so that it presents with the most comfortable brightness, text font and size and color temperature
6. Blink more often, to prevent eye dryness
7. Take frequent breaks
8. Adjust the workplace, so that it is more comfortable and less demanding on the body

See Also: Eye Problems You Are Very Likely To Face When You Age

The use of electronic devices to view small type for many hours, frequently at close working distances, has become commonplace in modern society in patients of all ages. Many individuals use multiple devices such as a desktop and laptop computer as well as one or more hand-held devices. Digital eye strain is not a permanent condition, but it can have a strong and lasting effect on individuals who rely on electronic technology for education, social interaction and, most commonly, work. Learning how to interact safely with these technologies and, most importantly, developing healthy eye habits is paramount.