Blog post by: Eye Physicians of Long Beach
Whether it’s for work, leisure, or school, screens have become an integral part of our everyday routines. While computers, smartphones, tablets, and TVs have brought much convenience, greater ease of communication, and unlimited entertainment, spending long hours in front of screens can affect your vision and eye health.
Keep reading to learn more about 11 ways too much screentime can damage your eyes.
How Does Too Much Screentime Damage Your Eyes?
Excessive screen time can cause disruptive symptoms that affect your focus, productivity, and quality of life.
Your eyes work harder when you’re staring at screens. They focus and refocus, moving back and forth repeatedly as you read and view images on different parts of the screen.
The longer you look at screens, the harder your eyes work. As a result, you may develop digital eye strain, also known as computer vision syndrome.
The symptoms of digital eye strain typically occur when the high visual demands of screen viewing surpass your visual capabilities. They can include:
1. Eye Strain and Eye Fatigue
The most common symptom of computer vision syndrome is eye strain. Staring at screens for long periods can tire your eye muscles, leading to eye fatigue and eye strain.
2. Blurred or Double Vision
Your eyes are not designed to look at screens for prolonged periods without breaks. Too much screentime puts a strain on your visual system, which can lead to blurred vision.
Blurred vision can make things look unfocused or fuzzy at different distances. In some cases, you may experience double vision, where you see two images of the same object rather than one.
3. Foreign Body Sensation
A foreign body sensation is a common symptom of digital eye strain. It may feel like there’s something in your eye, although there isn’t.
Usually, tears keep your eyes moist and comfortable. But when you spend long periods on screens, you tend to blink less.
This can cause your tears to evaporate rapidly, creating dry spots on the eye’s surface. Dry spots may cause friction with every blink, which can make your eyes feel gritty or sandy.
4. Dry Eyes
Another sign of digital eye strain is dry eyes, often caused by insufficient or incomplete blinking. Blinking spreads tears evenly across the ocular surface, keeping your eyes lubricated and preventing dryness.
On average, you blink about 17 to 22 times per minute. However, screens alter your blink rate.
Your blink rate can decrease by over 50 percent when concentrating on screens. Less blinking could lead to dry eyes and irritation.
Screen use can also cause incomplete blinking, where your lower and upper eyelids don’t fully meet, leaving parts of the eye’s surface exposed. This may make your tears evaporate faster, resulting in dry eyes.
If you already have dry eyes, too much screen time can exacerbate your condition. You may have the following symptoms due to dry eyes:
- Blurred or double vision
- Sensitivity to light
- A stinging or burning sensation
- Eye redness
- Strings of mucus around or in your eyes
- Difficulty with nighttime driving
- A feeling of having something in the eyes
- Eye fatigue
- Trouble wearing contact lenses
- Watery eyes which is the eyes’ reflex response to dry, irritated eyes
5. Eye Discomfort
Persistent eye discomfort is a tell-tale sign of digital eye strain. This can feel like irritation, itching, or soreness after extended screen time.
6. Red Eyes
You can develop red or bloodshot eyes because of digital eye strain. This often occurs due to irritation and dryness from too much screen time.
7. Light Sensitivity
Sensitivity to light, also called photophobia, is an intolerance to light that causes discomfort or even pain. You may find yourself blinking a lot, squinting, or using your hand to shield your eyes from the light in bright environments.
8. Headache Behind the Eyes
Straining your eye muscles and the constant refocusing that happens when viewing screens can trigger this kind of headache. It may present as a sharp pain or dull ache.
The pain can begin behind your eyes and radiate to the back of your head.
9. Difficulty Keeping Eyes Open
It can be hard to keep your eyes open when you’re experiencing eye fatigue, headaches, and eye strain. This can affect your ability to perform routine tasks such as reading and driving, and prevent you from doing the things you love.
10. Trouble Concentrating
Recurrent symptoms of digital eye strain can impact concentration levels, making it difficult to focus at work. When you’re often battling blurry or double vision, headaches, light sensitivity, dry eyes, eye fatigue, and other persistent symptoms of digital eye strain, productivity can suffer.
You may make more mistakes, read slower, and require more frequent breaks, making it challenging to continue working effectively.
Combat Digital Eye Strain
Your eyes don’t have to suffer because of too much screen time. Our expert ophthalmologists can accurately diagnose your condition and tailor a treatment plan to alleviate your symptoms and help you maintain clear, comfortable vision and healthy eyes.
Are you experiencing symptoms of digital eye strain? Schedule your appointment at Eye Physicians of Long Beach today to take your first step towards finding lasting relief. Your eyes will thank you.