Effective tips for reducing eye strain

Do your eyes water — or feel uncomfortably dry — after a day in front of your computer? Does your vision blur following an afternoon spent with your needlework? Or maybe your eyes feel sore or tired after a long drive or a couple of hours spent scrolling on your phone. Fortunately, regular breaks and a few easy adjustments can help keep your eyes comfortable while you go about your day.

What is eye strain and what causes it?

"Eye strain" is not an official medical term or diagnosis. Rather, it is often used colloquially to describe eye discomfort, sometimes combined with short-term vision difficulties.

Long periods of focusing intensely on one task without interruption can lead to symptoms that may be attributed to eye strain. For example, focusing on close work (such as reading small print or doing detailed needlework) for an extended period of time can make it difficult to relax your focus when you look up and try to focus on something further away. Eye discomfort can also come from trying to see in dim lighting or in other situations that force your eyes to work harder.

When eye strain is caused by long sessions in front of electronic screens, it is also called digital eye strain or computer vision syndrome. The discomfort is often the result of our natural tendency to not blink enough when looking at a screen.

Common activities that can cause eye discomfort symptoms when performed for long periods without breaks include:

• spending time on computers, tablets, cell phones, or watching TV
• driving
• reading, particularly from small print or font size
• needlework or other crafts requiring sustained, close focus.

Other factors that can strain the eyes include:

• dim lighting
• glare or very bright lighting
• air blowing directly in the eyes, causing dryness
• dust or smudges on a digital screen
• bad weather when driving
• wearing glasses or contact lenses with an incorrect prescription.

Symptoms that result from computer vision syndrome or using your eyes in less-than-ideal conditions can be uncomfortable but don't damage your vision, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Taking breaks and using artificial tears usually help.

Common symptoms of eye strain

What does eye discomfort feel like? Common symptoms include:

• either dry or watery eyes
• blurred vision or difficulty focusing
• eyes that are tired, sore, itching, or burning
• difficulty keeping your eyes open
• muscle spasms in the eyes or eyelids
• headache behind the eyes
• eye pain from bright light.

Eye strain can also cause problems with concentration, productivity, or reading accuracy (due to blurred vision). Back, neck, or shoulder pain may result from bad posture when trying to compensate for tired eyes.

Tips for reducing eye strain

The following tips can help reduce eye strain.

Take regular breaks

• Follow the 20-20-20 rule for close-up tasks: every 20 minutes, look for 20 seconds at something about 20 feet away.
• Take a break after two hours or 100 miles of continuous driving — or as needed.

Keep eye surfaces moist

• Remember to blink (we blink less often when reading print or viewing digital screens).
• Use artificial teardrops when driving or viewing digital screens for an extended period of time.
• Wear eyeglasses rather than contact lenses for computer use, or use comfort drops.
• When driving, aim air vents away from your eyes.
• Use a humidifier in the winter.

Get a clear view

• Keep digital screen surfaces and eyeglasses clean.
• Reduce daytime glare with polarized sunglasses, particularly when driving.

Creating an eye-friendly workspace

The AAO recommends the following tips for setting up your workspace to avoid dry eyes and eye strain:

• Position computer screens 20 to 26 inches from your face, with the center of the screen slightly below eye level.
• Face computer screens away from glare coming through windows or from overhead lighting.
• Use a matte screen filter to reduce glare created by a shiny screen.
• Adjust screen brightness and room lighting to about the same level.
• Increase on-screen contrast.
• Consider prescription computer glasses designed for focusing about 25 inches away.
• Sit in a comfortable chair that promotes good posture: feet flat on the floor with arms supported.

The AAO does not recommend blue light glasses, as there is no strong evidence that blue light from digital devices causes eye strain.