Common symptoms
- Tired, aching or burning eyes
- Dry or watery eyes
- Blurry vision, especially when looking up from a screen
- Headaches
- Neck and shoulder tension
What causes it?
- Constant close focusing keeps the eye's focusing muscles working hard for hours.
- Blinking less: we blink much less often while concentrating on screens, so tears evaporate. That's a big deal in Arizona's dry air.
- Glare and poor lighting from windows and overhead lights.
- An outdated or uncorrected prescription, including mild astigmatism or early presbyopia.
- Screen position: a screen too close, too high, or off to the side.
The 20-20-20 rule
Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds. It gives your focusing muscles a break and reminds you to blink.
More ways to reduce eye strain
- Keep your screen about an arm's length away, slightly below eye level
- Reduce glare with lighting adjustments and anti-reflective lenses
- Increase text size instead of leaning in
- Blink fully, and use a humidifier if your eyes feel dry
- Make sure your prescription is up to date
Do computer glasses help?
Computer or office lenses are designed for the distance of your screen, which can make a real difference, especially for people over 40. Anti-reflective coatings cut glare. Blue-light-filtering lenses are popular, but research on whether they reduce eye strain is mixed. The bigger factors are usually focusing effort, blinking and an accurate prescription.
If symptoms persist, a comprehensive eye exam can uncover focusing problems or dry eye that make screen time harder.