Blink During Your Quarentine
Everyone is settling into their mandatory quarantine differently, but it’s inevitable that we’ll be glaring at our laptops more than usual due to Zoom meetings, streaming movies and taking online courses.
Your eyes can become strained from a few things: the brightness of a screen, looking too close to a screen instead of using your glasses, and even reading due to the pixilation of the words. Our eyes go dry so quickly when we are in front of a screen because we forget to blink enough while watching videos or reading articles. So it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give yourself reminders on your phone to “blink now”. We have all felt the eye fatigue from working too long at our desks, but did you know there is a medical diagnosis for it? It is called computer vision syndrome. The symptoms are dry eyes, eyestrain, and headaches.
The number 1 way you can combat all of this is to simply take breaks from your screens. This is why some streaming services have a reminder after a few episodes to ask if you are still watching. It breaks you from the continuous cycle and can come as a reminder to take a moment. Another helpful way to alleviate these symptoms is to use artificial tears, or eye drops. This helps to keep the eyes hydrated.
When it comes to headaches, that normally happens when you need reading glasses to help focus the words on the screen. Most people find relief when they have the proper prescription and remember to wear them. Streaming and working do not have to come at a cost if we just remember to take care of our bodies, eyes included. Lastly, streaming services are making even more money with so many people around the world being stuck at home. The thing is we also need to make sure we are not overdoing it with our computers, smartphones, and television.
