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Computer Eye Fatigue
Remember that the eyebone was (eventually) connected to the
hipbone? So when you sit staring at a computer in one position
all day, all those bones of yours are going to get sore. Your
eyes were meant to move and to scan the environment, see the
periphery, focus in and out and even adapt to colors and shades.
Even in deep sleep the eyes move. So you don't get headaches
while watching a sport, walking and other things that require
following moving objects with your eyes. But stare for a while
at the computer screen, and the eyes lock in. The neck and jaw
stiffen. The shoulders and back tense. And soon all of these
conditions lead to a colossal headache. And imagine doing this
hour after hour, day after day. Furthermore, your eyes get dry
and sore from not blinking. People in their late teens to early
30s can become more nearsighted.
So what can you do?
- Set up your computer desk and chair ergonomically.
Make sure your chair is comfortable, with back support and enough
room for your legs, and arm rests at a comfortable height to
lessen tension on your wrists while you are typing.
- Screen characteristics: Make sure your equipment displays
clear, high-quality images, with reduced glare. Keep the screen
clean. The monitor should be at eye level, unless you wear bifocals,
and then it should be just slightly lower. Another option for
those of middle age would be to get a eyeglass prescription for
18 inches to 22 inches away. Try changing the permanent window
background color on your word processing program to a pale pastel
color. The contrast of the letters against the background is
not as stark this way. Larger monitors and more advanced types
of monitors (the new LCD monitors) also help combat eye strain.
- Posture: Be sure you keep your back straight and head
erect. Tilting, for any period of time, will selectively strain
certain tendons and joints and create trigger points of discomfort.
- Rest your eyes: First, and foremost, remember to blink.
Try this: Every time you type a period, blink. Every 20 minutes,
close your eyes for several seconds, and open them and look around
the room in a wide span. Then, stare at a far-away object, if
possible, to rest your focusing; if you are in a confined space
just close your eyes and look into the darkness. Meanwhile take
some deep, slow breaths in order to relax. Set your screensaver
at much shorter time to remind you to get up and focus on other
distances, both near and far. Keep a bottle of artificial tears
at the computer as a reminder to blink to moisturize your eyes.
- Stretch hourly: Massage the tendons in your neck,
both where they attach to the head and where they attach to the
shoulders, while taking several slow, deep breaths. Stand up,
rotate your hips, move your legs and stretch your back. Every
morning and evening, you should do regular stretching exercises,
including lying on the floor and stretching your Achilles and
hamstring tendons in the backs of your legs.
- Battle the risk of nearsightedness: Confined, close
quarters without breaks leads to increasing nearsightedness.
Young sailors on six-month submarine deployments can become nearsighted,
which usually reverses after returning to shore duty. Eskimos
in Alaska did not demonstrate nearsightedness when examined in
the beginning of the 20th Century. When Ronald Young, Ph.D. and
some of his colleagues examined Eskimo schoolchildren in 1969,
he found that 40 percent had developed some amount of nearsightedness.
None of the adults over the age of 40 were nearsighted, however.
Young discovered this came about because the children were kept
in confined spaces, reading and doing their schoolwork, and were
no longer working outside for long periods as the generations
before them had. Close work, computers and confined spaces lead
to excessive focusing of the eyes.
So staring at long distances is one of the most effective
methods you can employ to fight against occupational nearsightedness.
Relax the accomodation of your eyes, in other words, the eyes'
focusing mechanism. Relax your whole body. Remember to take deep
breaths. All these things contribute to your overall eye health.
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