Your eyes can feel absolutely terrible after nine hours of staring at a computer screen. The short term pain can turn to long term damage if you aren’t careful. For those not intrigued by the possibility of receiving blurred vision for your 43rd birthday, there are some measures you can take. To subvert, or otherwise halt, the effects of diminishing vision due to the necessity of using a PC for long hours, observe some of these precautions.
As you sleep, only a portion of your brain shuts down. As you dream of the cute guy or girl in the next cubicle, your mind is hard at work undoing whatever damage you’ve done in the last twelve hours as well as taking steps toward damage control from the upcoming twelve hours. For those that spend extended time looking at a bright computer screen, this is absolutely necessary.
In terms of practicality and security of health, 12 hours of a person’s day should be devoted to work or errands, two hours should be allocated to meals, two hours should be put toward bodily functions and personal maintenance, and finally eight hours should be secured for sleeping.
Failure to meet these requirements causes your eyes to neither get their natural rest, nor receive the extent of aptly named ‘repairs’ which your brain would otherwise be able to at night. Repeated incidents of lessened sleep can be even more detrimental to this cause. Want to insure future optical health? Get plenty of sleep.
Sleep, natural ocular resting, and mentally achieved bodily maintenance are all important- but not all precautions for your sight are naturally occurring. There are times when it falls to you to directly take measures to protect your eyes. The most common effort you can make is taking a break every 45 minutes or so. Doing so gives your eyes time to collect- to reestablish themselves. And, more importantly, it gives them the opportunity to relax without the bombardment of light.
Some people will consciously turn away from the screen every hour, though this isn’t as beneficial. Partly because this happens because of the mild headache that is felt after an hour or so of staring at the screen. This is your body’s way of letting you know that it is suffering- albeit slightly. By performing the action prior to the pain, you protect your body from the discomfort and eventual damage.
For severe cases, as in you find pain and headaches to be frequent and quickly induced, you really don’t have many options. Seeking out a doctor or ceasing the activity are unlikely possibilities for most- usually for economically reasons in both cases. One can’t simply quit their job or spend a great deal of money on medical expenses.
Alternatives can be taking repeated breaks throughout time on the PC, lowering the brightness of your screen, or wearing a pair of sunglasses to physically diminish the light entering your corneas. Taking these steps will at least decrease the amount of strain and stress on your eyes. You’ll appreciate the effort someday.
