healthy lifestyle/ tips

Digital Eye Strain: Unraveling the Impact of Remote Work

Computer Vision Syndrome and Digital Eye Strain

I work remotely for an American company and spend many hours in front of a monitor. Writing on Medium has become a delightful hobby, fostering a wonderful community. I decided to write this informative article as a result of my experiences. Join me as we delve into the impact of prolonged screen time on our eyes and discover ways to protect our eyesight in the digital age!

Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is the term for the digital eye fatigue that results from prolonged exposure to screens like those on computers, monitors, laptops, tablets, phones, and televisions. The level of discomfort and impact on vision during screen exposure varies from individual to individual, escalating as people increasingly engage with these devices.

Screen exposure as a part of professional activity

For professionals in IT software, telecommunications, procurement, consulting, finance/accounting, marketing/graphics/E-commerce, and many other industries, work involves at least 7 hours a day in front of a screen. Besides work hours, additional screen time is often devoted to entertainment, such as social media and video, either during the commute or leisure time at home. The use of the internet on mobile devices has led to an increase in online activities, including shopping, services, and information searches.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, in 2021, 94.3% of individuals aged 16–74 in France used the internet in the three months preceding the INS survey, classifying them as current users. Of these, 82.3% reported daily or near-daily internet usage, while 15.6% reported weekly frequency.

In terms of occupational status among individuals aged 16–74, the highest proportion of daily or near-daily internet users was observed among employees, accounting for 58.1%. Men aged 35–54 (45.4%) and 16–34 (39.3%) exhibited the highest daily internet usage, while women showed the highest usage within the 35–54 age group (44.8%).

Corporate health subscriptions

Private health subscriptions provided by companies as an extra employee benefit include access to preventive and treatment services addressing these emerging eye-related issues. For individuals with prolonged screen exposure, Medicover recommends HealthCore and HealthGuru corporate health subscriptions tailored to the IT industry’s specific medical risks and conditions, considering remote work, extended laptop use, and sedentary behavior.

Corporate subscriptions offer a dual advantage: employee loyalty and the attraction of valuable potential candidates, while overall health directly influences workplace performance.

Digital eye strain: symptoms and diagnosis

The ocular fatigue prevalent in many contemporary professions often manifests through:

1. Difficulty focusing on objects
2. Neck pain
3. Burning or itching sensation in the eyes
4. Blurred or unclear vision
5. Watery or dry eyes
6. Headaches and dizziness

Diagnosing computer vision syndrome involves an ophthalmological examination, which may include:

1. Patient history: considering other health issues, environmental factors, or specific treatments for other diseases to determine the relationship between symptoms and excessive screen use.
2. Visual acuity testing is used to assess the degree of vision impairment.
3. Refraction tests, corneal topography, or other procedures recommended by the ophthalmologist to diagnose refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism.
4. Ocular motility testing.

Upon diagnosis, the doctor may recommend wearing glasses or contact lenses with computer protection, even without prescription lenses. If the patient already wears glasses for another eye condition, these may lack a blue light filter, offering no protection against screen-induced damage.

Preventing eye strain

The American Optometric Association (AOA) provides recommendations for preventing visual strain. According to the AOA, proper screen positioning is crucial in preventing and reducing discomfort caused by prolonged exposure to screen light. Although many find it comfortable to look downward at the monitor, the optimal position for both the spine and eyes is when the computer screen is 15–20 degrees below eye level, approximately 10–13 cm from the center of the screen.

It is advisable to position the laptop or computer to avoid direct reflection of bright light from other sources (overhead neon lights, bulbs, or sunlight). If the configuration does not permit avoiding light reflection, a special filter can be used to eliminate glare from the computer screen.

Regular blinking helps prevent dry eyes. While blinking is a spontaneous reflex, people often “forget” to blink when focused on their tasks. To counteract eye fatigue, short breaks every 2 hours of computer use for 15 minutes are recommended. Additionally, every 20 minutes, shift your gaze away from the screen and try to focus on distant objects for 20 seconds.

Eye health is crucial, and while some eye conditions are beyond patients’ control (such as myopia), adopting long-term protective measures and regular check-ups with an ophthalmologist can help prevent certain vision problems.

Reference:

• Computer Vision Syndrome
• Damage of photoreceptor-derived cells in culture induced by light emitting diode-derived blue light: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep05223?report=reader
• Computer vision syndrome, American Optometric Association (AOA) https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/computer-vision-syndrome?sso=y