Top tips to keep your eyes healthy in front of a screen - Part 4

* Keep your screen free of dust and fingerprints.

* Use an adjustable chair that enables you to sit at a proper angle and distance from your computer monitor screen.

* If your work involves prolonged data entry use document holders to secure any reading or reference material. Placing them close to the monitor and at the same distance from your eyes as your monitor, will enable your eyes to remain focused as they look from the monitor to the reading material.

* Use a character size that is visible. The character size is an important factor since it determines the distance at which you prefer to view the monitor.

* Make sure your workstation is set up comfortably; avoid poor posture which can lead to neck, back, arms.

by Bronte

Concluded

Top tips to keep your eyes healthy in front of a screen - Part 3

The College of Optometrists has top tips to keep your eyes healthy in front of a screen :

* Make sure that if you need spectacles to look at a screen, you wear them!

* Blink regularly. When focusing on a screen your reflexes will slow down, tear production will reduce, and you will blink less, causing dry and uncomfortable eyes.

* Remember the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds to give your eye muscles a break and help increase the rate of blinking.

* Keep the distance of the monitor from your eyes between 16 to 30 inches. Most people find a distance of 20 to 26 inches comfortable.

* Make sure that the top of the monitor is at a level at or slightly below your horizontal eye level.

* Tilt the top of the monitor away from you at a 10- to 20-degree angle. This will enable you to create an optimum viewing angle.

by Bronte

Top tips to keep your eyes healthy in front of a screen - Part 2

The majority of people of all age groups (64%) are now spending between one and four hours a day on the computer outside of work, and “ combined with longer working days that means that the majority of UK workers who use computers spend seven hours in front of them.

Dr Rob Hogan, President of The College of Optometrists, says : We are reaching a critical point, with more and more people spending an increasing amount of time in front of a computer screen. At work employees should at least be encouraged to take regular breaks from their screen, but with leisure time now also being spent on computers thers even less chance that people are looking after their eyes properly.

While using a computer cant permanently damage your eyes, if you dont take regular breaks and use the correct vision aids for your eyesight, you can strain your eyes, and may experience headaches, blurriness, tired eyes, and focus problems. This can be painful and uncomfortable, as well as making your time both in work and out of work tiring and inefficient.

Its crucial for everyone, but especially for those using a computer screen for a significant amount of time during the week or weekends, that you take regular breaks and visit your local optometrist regularly who will be able to pinpoint any problems you may have with your eyes.

by Bronte