For SEO consultants or anyone who works with computers and mobile devices 24/7, eye health may seem not as important as finishing a project, meeting deadlines, or marketing a product. Yes, we ignore eye health. And even if we know how essential our eyes are in our careers, most of the time, we take them for granted.
When you think ahead of what your future dependence relies on, most of us don’t consider our vision. Healthy eyes mean we’re more capable of doing things we love. Whereas, poor eye health could be a hindrance. Nobody wants poor vision, of course. In recognition of Workplace Eye Wellness Month, here are some tips to protect your eyes.
1. Adjust your screen’s text size to a comfortable level. Clear and readable text for others may not be the same for your eyes. Adjust the size of the letters on your computer or phone to the point where you’re comfortable reading them. This will minimize the effort that your eyes have to strain to read.
2. Avoid excessive screen light. Reduce glare from your monitor by positioning it so it doesn’t reflect light from your overhead lights or natural light from windows. You can also try minimizing the blue light emitted by your screen. One clever solution is an app called f.lux. According to research, too much exposure to blue light may affect your eyes and even cause sleep troubles.
3. Keep a distance from your monitor. Make sure your monitor is a good 20 – 30 inches away from your eyes. Avoiding positioning yourself too closely to your monitor will help prevent your eyes from adjusting to too intense of screen lighting and eye strain.
4. Follow the 20-20-20 visual break rule. The idea is to take a 20-second break after 20-minutes of work to focus your eyes on something that is 20 feet away. While this may not work for everyone, most practitioners of 20-20-20 technique say that it reduces eye strain, making them more productive.
5. Let eye experts do their job. Visit an eye doctor on a regular basis and have them examine your vision and eye health.
