Have dry eyes from looking at screens all day? Some suggestions. I used to get dry eyes from looking at a computer screen all day helping people and then watching TV or playing games at night. It seems that if you look at a screen more than 12 hours a day your eyes don’t blink enough and they get dry. Here are some suggestions that I have found to reduce that problem for me.
Break it up. Break up what you are doing on the computer or looking at a screen by taking breaks to do other tasks. Even if you don’t need to do something else, taking a short break even a few minutes help refocus you. I like to do tasks that are simple and don’t require looking at the screen during this time like calling someone back or looking at a book.- Close your eyes. Close your eyes when you are typing. It is kind of fun to type and not see what you are typing. I find it to be very relaxing. Most programs come with auto-correction and honestly, my typing improves when I am not looking at it. I find myself typing faster because rather than reading and thinking about what I want to say, I am just thinking of what I want to say.
- Drink water. I tend to have my cup of water at my side when working at the computer and find that if I drink fairly often like at least every 30 minutes, I don’t get dryness. By the time you feel thirsty your body is already significantly tired.
- Move around. I like to stand and move around when I am working. By doing so you don’t cause the passive staring at the screen that you do when you are just zoned out and looking at it. When I see people work at their computers they seem like they are in a trance and don’t move for significant periods. I wonder how often they get dry eyes?
- Look away and blink. Look away from the screen and blink rapidly now and then. It moistens up the ‘ol eyeballs and keeps things working well. It is fun to pretend you’re in a disco and you see the strobe effects when you do this. You have to find fun in small things in life.
- Use a high-quality monitor. The higher your refresh rate and the bigger your monitor is the less your eyes have to struggle. Getting my 55 TV has been incredible for my eyes. It is the single best thing I have done.
- Connect to that monitor using a HDMI cable. I tried to use wireless connections to my TV display but it limits the refresh rate which is key to helping your eyes be comfortable. I am using a 120hz refresh rate and a high-quality HDMI cable and it is fantastic.
- Limit the AC that you use. AC usually also dehumidifies and by limiting AC my eyes feel better as well. I only use AC when it is so hot that I can’t stand it.
- Don’t use contacts. I tried contacts but even using disposable dailies didn’t work for me. Some people are just too sensitive to use contacts effectively. I couldn’t use any kind of contact and not have dry eyes.
- Don’t touch your eyes or rub them. The less you touch your eyes the happier they are. In dusty environments like work, I touched my eyes more to rub the dust out and that would make them dry. Working from home has eliminated that problem.
I went to a doctor and they said that after 12 hours it’s normal that eyes become dry. These suggestions might get you a few extra hours but it still helps to take as much of a break from the screen as possible. Life has so many fun things to do!