Technology and Eye Fatigue
I wore glasses since I was a young boy. And despite that, I was always pretty confident in my eye vision.
Until I reached 40s and started to push into mid-40s. That is when things changed. People got used to giving me various bottles, recipients to read the fine print. Now I pass them along or I am the one asking for assistance. Last resort: I use a magnifying glass.
It's a big change. One I was warned about, but disconsiderred in my 30s.
The guys from @liotes asked in their weekly challenge "How much do you spend in front of a screen?". And Achim specified it doesn't matter if it's a computer, phone, or TV.
I've seen some numbers there (12h) that may very well add up in my case too, some days, but not always.
I conciously take steps to reduce that exposure, or at least to minimize impact on the eyes.
One of the first methods I started using a while ago and practically can't do without these days is using a dark theme for the operating system and for the websites. If a website doesn't have one, it is grounds for possibly ditching it.
Another step I take is to filter blue light on the screens that have this option. Blue light from screens can interfere with the body's circadian rhythm (the internal clock). Blue light is interpreted by the mind as a signal to wake up or stay awake, because it's daytime.
Then it's what we do to not stay in front of the screen, which is the most important part.
For example, I don't carry my phone with me when I'm at home unless I expect an important call. Some (most?) people do. But in doing that, they may be attracted by it when they are away from the computer.
I also started using the feature from PeakD that reads me posts. This way, my eyes don't do the effort of reading the text from the screen. I can multitask, as I explained in a different post, but another option is to lay down in bed and just listen (sometimes a good precursor to taking a nap). Rest your body too and your back will be greatful to you after many years.
Another option is to group some tasks together and do them at the same time, possibly less often. Delegating would be even better, when possible. And of course, automation can have its role too. That doesn't even need to be something controversial, can be as little as auto-claiming your curation rewards via the Hive Keychainn.
One of the most important ones that I don't do as often: take short breaks from time to time to rest your eyes and move your body. The important part about the eyes is to change the distance where you focus them. For laptops, computers, smartphones, the distance from the screen is usually 0.5-1m. When you take an eye break, you need to focus them somewhere at a distant point. It's better than keeping them closed.
What are your own tips you use to reduce fatigue of the eyes?
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I had eye surgery and have artificial crystallin which eliminated a lot of problems. By brother tells me I have bionic eyes and can see everything :) Maye you should evaluate also this option as well if it fits you.
One of my fears is imagining a sharp object (I know this is done by laser now) closing my eyeball while I can't move my head. Nope, I don't think this is for me, at least not unless I get rid of this image imprinted in my mind.
@behiver what is artificial crystallin and how is it applied to your vision? How interesting :)
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That's exactly what the name says, Barb. They replace your damaged natural crystallin with an artificial one. It's done through surgery. But not a complicated one, as far as I heard.
Ok @gadrian I didn't know that was in your eye crystallin. I will have to look it up and read what it is. Ok it's the replacement for cataracts. My mom got that and it really helped her see much clearer. Wait it's spelled like this crystalline is this different than the crystallin? Thank you. Barb 😊 I'll read up on it a bit more. !BBH !CTP
OK I found this @gadrian and I didn't know their names this is crystallin https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17166758/ proteins in the eye that make up the Crystalline lens https://www.lasikmd.com/blog/what-is-the-crystalline-lens#:~:text=The%20crystalline%20lens%20is%20the,at%20near%20and%20far%20distances.
I'm wearing glasses from 8th class, and to be very honest, I haven't any tips, just using the glasses on the regular basis all the day.
Good tip! If you have glasses, wear them!
@gadrian and @itwithsm I can't read without my glasses lol!
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What most people don't know is that the blue light from devices keeps them awake. It is advisable to use an Anti-blue ray glass for such devices. It amuse me to see people use sensitive glasses without consulting a profession.
And lastly, so many computer users don't have good computer ethics, such as sitting posture, time spent, etc which tends to break them down mentally during a long of using the computer.
Great post by the way.
Absolutely. That's very useful to have on your glasses, prescription or not.
Some devices allow you to filter out (or at least reduce) the blue light though.
I agree. The worse is when you know about them but ignore them or say: "just a little more"... and that turns into more hours.
Most of the things we use in our day to day is related to a screen (depending on your work) its hard to control that, but those options your are mentioning seems to be useful, its worth trying them
Unfortunately, yeah, we are quite dependent on screens these days and I was since I was a kid.
I do 12 hours because of my job nature. I have change my glasses to those with special coating to take care of the blue rays from the pc. So whenever I put on these glasses, I felt ok
Yes, I should have mentioned that in my post. Wearing glasses with anti-blue ray coating for those who spend a lot of time in front of screens is a must even for people without eye vision problems.
Firstly, thanks for the mention of @liotes! That was a good mission and an "eye-opener" for many people, including myself... We spend way too much time in front of different screens... I wore glasses too, but I try to not do it while I'm out on a walk, or not reading, writing, etc... I can see "enough" without them, and I have a feeling that my eyes are resting without the glasses!
I try to do the same, but I do forget about my eyes... stretching the body, but not the eyes... Will try to do what you said... maybe to go out on the terrace and look into the distance...
Thanks for the tips!
That's what I do... when I remember. It would be better to have a wider space to look toward from my terrace, but I find ways. Luckily the neighbor in front of us has a big green area up to the house. Do you see the sea from where you stay? That would be something great to focus on during breaks.
Unfortunately, I don't... From the terrace, I can see the pool and the other building, but also, I do see a hill that is near me...
On the other side (entrance of apartment), I have mountain views, which would be great to have on the other side... lol... But, you can't have it all... 😂
The newest effort would be to do 2 daily walks... As summer is coming, I will try to do early morning walks (while it's not that hot), and probably night walks... Today, I did my first early walk! :)
The hill could be a good spot to look toward. Although, sometimes, if you don't want to take a break, you could just take your eyes off the screen for a minute or two and point them in a different direction.
How hot are the summers where you live during the day?
It's not that crazy like in Andalucia (Sevilla, Cordoba, etc. where it goes often over 40), but it is more around 30... But, the problem is nights as the temperature doesn't go down as for example, where you (and I were) living...
So, the next day, it's around 30 almost in the morning... lol...
Thanks. I don't know if I could adapt to weather where nights don't get a little cooler than days. But you did, so it's possible, lol.
Oh, I will never change back to cold nights and days... It's a struggle sleeping on hot nights, but better than freezing your ass... 😂
I mean, you get used to both, but if I would have to choose, it's warm over cold... always... 😂
Since we haven't been having too much good weather this year, I tend to agree with you. :)
I try to do that as well. I need some time every day away from screens. I do this for my eyes but also for my brain. I believe a good way to do it is to get out and go into some green evironment. That's where I can slow down and refill my batteries :-)
You shared a panoramic picture of your town once. Very beautiful place to refill your batteries! :)
I sometimes go for a walk, but I have a more green environment in my yard and my neighbor's yards than in many places where I could walk to and through.
May is the month when the smell of linden tree flowers fills the air throughout the town. I need to start walking more often, now that I'm finally getting better.
I'm really lucky for that. I can get out of the house and in 5 minutes I'm in the forest. I love it there :-)
That sounds awesome. We have a little bit of forest and I sometimes go there during summer. But it takes about half an hour of walk to get there from where I live, which is still fine.
I haven't really bothered to reduce my fatigue but maybe I am hoping that technology becomes good enough to solve these issues. I should try to take more breaks away from a screen though.
You might be right, tech advancements solve many things. Do you remember how scary it was to go to the dentist 30+ years ago? :)
I am also working on it because sometimes it's easier said than done! Haha!
Some of the tips I have are: spend more time outdoors, engage in an activity like sports, meet up with friends, or just sleeping more. Lol!
Good tips! I apply all of them to various degrees, except sports. Good weather also helps, and it hasn't been too good this year.
Ah yeah, weather is kinda scorching over in my country too. Used to be around 30 degrees Celsius but the past weeks have been consistently above 35 degrees Celsius.
Strangely, it has been colder and rainier in these parts of the world than usual. But I've heard there are places where it's hot like in the summer already.
I'm still finding the good balance between time spent using technology like my phone and laptop, and activities in my life. I'm staring at screens a lot. Taking breaks and refocusing on other things periodically is necessary. 😁🙏💚✨🤙