Are computers bad for my eyes?
If you are on a computer many hours of the day, you may be wondering if your computer is damaging your eyes. There is lots of talk about blue lights and blue light glasses for sale are all over social media feeds lately. Some people swear by blue light glasses or blue light anti-glare. Some don't really notice any improvement with it.
Well, first let's talk more about that infamous BLUE LIGHT.
First the good... Naturally occurring blue light like that from the sun that we get daily can help suppress the body's melatonin (the body's natural hormone that makes us sleepy). This can help boost your alertness, awareness and some would say concentration during the day.
Now the bad... blue light has been shown to disrupt your melatonin – your body's natural hormone that makes us sleepy – not what you want when going to bed at night. Excessive nighttime exposure to blue light from man-made sources, such as artificial lighting or digital screens, can disrupt the body's circadian rhythm and keep you awake. At night when the body naturally produces melatonin to encourage sleep, bright light stimulation of photosensitive retinal cells can disrupt sleep by as much as 14 minutes, per a 2014 study in the journal Photochemistry and Photobiology.
It is important to remember there is no new evidence to suggest that device-derived blue light exposure increases the risk of actual ocular damage. If anything, the evidence emphasizes the importance of wearing UV-A and UV-B blocking sunglasses when outdoors.
It's long been my professional opinion it is a personal choice - if you like it and it helps you, then keep with blue light filters.
Now let's talk about your prescription or need of one and computer use
Using a computer when your eyes naturally have a hard time focussing - trouble with vision or focusing - can cause excessive fatigue and in some people...headaches. You may need a special prescription for close work even if you are young.
If your eyes are imbalanced - that is if they don't work together well as a team - well as you can imagine, that is really going to cause some eye ache after doing prolonged near work. Solutions can include glasses, eye exercises and prism in glasses.
Most people work many hours a day on the computer suffer from dry eyes. When staring at the screen, our eyes don’t blink as much as they would normally. This dries out the eyes. This dryness can blur your vision and guess what...cause you trouble at the end of the day. Solutions should be personalised but generally involve eye drops, hot compresses and better lid cleaning care.
Best way to tell if your eyes and your computer are working against each other?
Get a routine eye exam! Make sure to mention your specific screen use – working from home or in the office; one screen or multiple screens – as this is very helpful for getting you the right products and plan.
