Rathores blog

Bloggers by their nature sit in front of a computer screen for large parts of the day and blog. If they didn’t do this, then they wouldn’t be bloggers! I think most people would at least have some idea that spending excessive amounts of time staring a computer screen is not exactly ideal for your eyes! OK, so just how true is this and is there anything I can do to at least minimize the effects of spending so much time glued to the screen?

The first thing to say is that your eyes are there to be used. If they weren’t, you wouldn’t have them, simple as that. The second thing to say is that you cannot wear your eyes out or damage your eyes in anyway by spending time in front of the computer screen. Fact!

Bloggers who are reading this are probably at this very minute breathing a huge sigh of relief as they are contemplating their eighth straight hour in front of their laptop! However, although I say this, staring at a screen sitting all day is almost certainly to give you eye strain amongst other symptoms.



Below are the most likely eye related symptoms bloggers can have. See how many of them you say yes to:-

1. My eyes sting when I blink after staring at the screen for a while.
2. My eyes feel itchy and gritty and I find myself rubbing them a lot.
3. I get a frontal headache/ache around my forehead and between my eyes.
4. I get a dull ache behind my eyes.
5. My distance vision seems blurred when I look up from my screen.
6. My vision seems blurred at night when I’m driving home from work.

Now, give yourself a score out of 6. I guess most of you will probably take maximum points here and score 6 out of 6! OK so you scored 100% but remember, this is not something to be proud of; the best score possible was zero! So what can be done about it? Are there any tips that can help my blogger eyes? There sure is and below are my top 5 tips to help you reduce the amount of symptoms you get:

1. Get your eyes tested: One of the reasons you may be experiencing all those symptoms is because you might need to wear glasses or contact lenses. Our vision tends to change very slowly, meaning things could be out of focus without you actually realising it.
2. Take enough breaks: Ideally you need to have a five minute break every hour that you are on a computer screen. And a break doesn’t mean watching the TV or reading for five minutes! When you are taking a break, try to look into the distance for as long as possible as it helps relax the muscles in your eyes.

3. Don’t stare, blink: Try to make sure you blink regularly. When we are staring at a computer screen we only tend to blink about half as much as we normally do. Blinking helps provide your eyes with oxygen and also gets rid of any dust etc that can blow into your eyes. Not blinking enough is the reason our eyes can feel gritty and sting sometimes.

4. Avoid Glare: Make sure you don’t have any reflections in your computer screen. It makes it more difficult for your eyes to remain focused and is likely to give you a headache.

5. Keep your distance: Don’t sit too close to the computer screen. Sit back from your computer as much as you can as this will mean less exertion for the muscles in your eyes. The closer the distance you are looking at something, the greater the muscles have to work in your eyes. If you find sitting further back from your screen means you can’t see it as well, then you can always increase the font size.

In summary, sitting nonstop in front of your laptop is not going to do your eyes any harm but it may leave you with eye strain and a bad head! Follow these simple pieces of advice and you will probably find you can blog more comfortably than you are at present.