Taking Care of your Vision
With so many monitors, TVs, and smart phones, it's much more important than ever to take care of our vision. Additionally, our eyes are subject to an endless number of bacteria, virus and parasites that can easily lead to eye infections or worse. In this article you will learn how to protect your eyes and enjoy the vision you deserve.
Eye Strain
We all know that staring at the computer for too long is harmful to our vision. The reason why you shouldn't use the computer for prolonged periods of time is because it will strain your eyes. In the short term this may lead to fatigue, blurry vision and headaches. In the long term something much worse may happen: you can lose some of your visual acuity.
You now hopefully understand why you should take care of your vision while using the computer for a long time. Follow these steps to help you reduce eye strain:
- Choose your working area carefully:
In a well-lit place. Never use the computer in the dark, this will increase eye strain.
Away from noise and distractions.
With comfortable equipment (desk and chair).
With one or more windows. If sunlight falls directly onto your monitor, close the blinds slightly. Avoid any reflections on your monitor.
Buy a good monitor. Learn how to choose the right monitor to prevent eye strain.
- Sit upright. Bad sitting positions while using the computer can lead to fatigue and back problems.
- Always situate your computer below your eye level. You must be looking down to your computer. Same applies to the TV.
- Use bigger font sizes. Most operating systems give you the option to choose a font size. Choose a big one that you're very comfortable reading. Additionally, you can adjust the font size of all websites from most web browsers.
- Take breaks often. It's a good idea to take a break at least once per hour.
- Look away every couple of minutes. If you have a window look outside briefly. If a page is loading, look outside. If you can type without looking at the monitor, look outside.
Protect your Eyes from Invaders
Much more dangerous than eye strain are the invaders that want to settle in your eyes. They include: virus and bacteria. Although some people's natural defenses keep them at bay, it's still always a good idea to protect your vision; otherwise your eyes might suffer from an eye infection. The following tips will help you protect your eyes:
- If you use contact lenses, make sure to clean them properly. With the new daily disposable contact lenses there's no reason why your contacts should ever be dirty. It might be a good idea to buy those (if bought in bulk, they cost around a dollar each).
- Protect your eyes when doing certain activities. For example, if you go swimming always wear goggles. It's very important to keep your eyes away from everything. If you ride a motorcycle, always use a helmet that offers eye protection. Lastly, make it a habit to wear sunglasses whenever you're outside.
- Don't rub your eyes. You should never rub your eyes for any reason. If something is stuck inside your eye, remove it with the help of plenty of water (the shower often works best for this). As your hands carry so many bacteria, rubbing your eyes can lead to an infection. Additionally, it may lead to the creation of new floaters.
- Keep away from others when you have an eye infection. Remember that eye infections are highly contagious and doing something as simply as shaking someone's hand can lead to an infection. If everyone did this, many infections would be far less common.
Keep your Eyes Healthy for a Long Time
It's very important that you take care of your vision in order to prevent certain vision problems such as macular degeneration and glaucoma.
Taking care of your vision is pretty simple. All you really need is to have a healthy lifestyle. This includes:
Have a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
Sleep properly and rest when needed.
Avoid stressful activities.
Do exercise. Avoid heavy weights.
For more information about taking care of your vision, please read the tips for vision health article.
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