You eyes are a pretty valuable tool in the workplace. However, eye strain is becoming an increasingly large problem in the workforce. Many workers experience the symptoms, but aren’t sure of what to do about them. In fact, there are many steps they can take to help reduce and prevent this kind of strain…
Eye Strain: How To Reduce It
Identifying strain
The first part of handling eye strain is identifying the signs. There are many different symptoms one could experience which could all fall under strain. For example, this could include dry eyes, blurred vision, and redness in the eyes.
However, eye strain could also lead to more serious symptoms. This can be things like feeling a burning sensation in the eyes, and increased sensitivity to light. It’s also not uncommon for people to feel symptoms in other parts of their bodies. Headaches and pain in the neck, shoulders and back are also pretty common along with these other symptoms.
The causes
Eye strain can be caused by a wide variety of things. Poor lighting and posture can both quickly cause eye irritation in a worker. So can very bright lights, like welding sparks. The air quality can also be a major cause of eye issues. Things like dry or dusty air, as well as very windy weather, can quickly lead to irritation, especially when working outside.
Perhaps the most common cause these days is computer and phone screens. Glare from these screens can quickly cause eye strain after continued usage. So can having to squint to read small text or view small images on these screens. Combined with other causes like poor lighting, and strain can quickly come about.
Reducing strain
While they may be a lot of things that cause eye strain, there are also plenty of steps you can take to reduce it. For instance, it helps to ensure that you have proper lighting around you while working. You’ll also want to adjust any settings on your monitors or screens to ensure that they aren’t too bright, but not too dim either.
Eye protection is also a good resources to use. This can include sunglasses or goggles when working outside, or special anti-glare glasses for computer screens. Make sure to take breaks from computer screens as well. Many doctors recommend using the “20-20-20” rule when taking these breaks.