Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

As the world underwent quarantine due to COVID-19 and we all became dependant on our electronic devices such as Smartphones, Desktops, Laptops, and TV for our office work, entertainment, online classes, etc.

Due to COVID-19 all of us are forced to use our devices and we can't help but spend most of the time of our day staring at the screens of our devices.
Using electronic devices and spending extended hours staring at the screens can pose an adverse effect on your eyes.

Staring at screens for an extended time continuously can result in -
Eye strain, Blurred vision, Eye redness, Dry eyes, and Headaches, etc. Effect of damage done by Displays of our devices may seem short-termed but they can pose a long term effect on eyes such as creating vision problems and also affecting the activity of eye muscles.

The following are some steps that you must consider to Protect your Eyes from displays of your devices - 

Most important keep blinking your eyes, yes it seems normal but when we are fully indulged in our movie or show or deeply connected with the game we are playing we often keep our eyes more than normal to fully enjoy the content and we don't even realize it and this leads to problems such as Dry eyes and Eyestrain because of lack of lubrication in the eye.

1) Use Glasses with Blue-light and Anti-glare filter -
Screens of our devices emit Blue light with the shortest wavelengths (400 to 500 nanometers or nm) and with the highest energy, hence it is often referred to as high-energy visible (HEV) light. This can cause Eye strain when exposed to for a longer time and especially at night as blue light gives brain indication of daylight and can result in disturbing your sleep cycle. So, use Blue light filter glasses which protect your eyes from high-intensity blue light.

2) Use these Eye Care apps -
If you can't afford or don't wanna buy blue light filter glasses you can also download apps such as F.lux  (Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone) and Twilight (for Android) which controls the emission of Blue light from your screen according to the time. You can also use apps such as Awareness (Mac, Windows) which reminds you to take a break after every 20 minutes.

3) Use the rule of 20/20/20 - 
For every 20 minutes of screen time, look away from your screen, and focus on an object located 20 feet away for a minimum of 20 seconds.

Gazing at an item in the distance gives the tiny muscles in the eye a much-needed break — think of it as the cool-down lap after running a mile.

You should also take longer breaks with addition to this so that your eyes can properly relax and also a little body movement so that blood flow in the body remains normal.
You can also use apps such as Awareness which reminds you to take a break after every 20 mins.

4) Eat healthy - 
Eat healthy food which includes "Eye healthy foods" which includes Vitamin A such as Carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, broccoli, and spinach.
Zinc helps in absorbing Vitamin A in the body so include Zinc in your diet. To get more zinc in your diet, be sure to add things like shellfish, beans, meat, and nuts to your grocery list.

Foods with omega-3: Fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, and tuna are abundant in EPA and DHA — the dynamic duo of omega-3s. Flax seeds and flaxseed oil have similar benefits for vegetarians but lack EPA or DHA of fish.

Foods with antioxidants: Dark chocolate with a high percentage of cacao (or cocoa), blueberries and artichokes have many health benefits, especially for eyes.

Foods with vitamin E: Whole-grain cereal, almonds, hazelnuts and most of other nuts and spinach are high in vitamin E

5) Maintain a Proper distance from Screen -
Using the 1/2/10 rule — keep mobile phones ideally 1 foot, desktop devices, and laptops at 2 feet, and TV screens at roughly 10 feet (depending on the size of the screen) away from your eyes.

6) Maintain proper lighting -
Match the brightness of your screen with the amount of light you have in your room so that your iris doesn't have to work hard to control the amount of light entering your eye and also imbalanced brightness can result in Eyestrain.

7) Clean your eyes twice a day with normal water to get rid of debris and revitalize your eyes.

8) Do Eye exercise -
You can prevent dry eyes and eye strain by doing eye exercises such as blinking eyes and doing several eye movements. See our exercise post here.

9) Use Eye drop - 
One shouldn't use the medication without consulting the doctor. But if you use computers or smartphones heavily we advise using Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium eye drops as Carboxymethylcellulose is used in the treatment of dry eyes. It is used as a lubricant to relive irritation and discomfort due to the dryness of the eyes. But if you have any allergy or and prom please consult your doctor first.

Extra tip- Try putting on refrigerated cucumber slices on your closed eyes for 5-10 mins as it will relax your eyes and your mind.

Thank you for reading our articles. Have a nice day.