Digital eye strain is estimated to affect over 50% of people, including both adults and children alike. This number has risen considerably, which reflects the increased amount of time that people are spending using digital devices. While it would be easy to say to spend less time looking at digital devices, the truth is that many people can’t really help how much screen time we experience on a daily basis, especially if we are using digital devices for work or learning.


Fortunately, there are some things that we can do to help minimize our risk of developing digital eye strain.

 

What are The Symptoms of Digital Eye Strain?

Digital eye strain causes a variety of different symptoms. These can vary between patients, but typically include the following:

 

• Neck/shoulder/back pain
   

• Eye strain
   

• Headaches/migraines
   

• Blurred vision
   

• Dry eyes
   

• Difficulty focusing
   

• Excessive watering of the eyes
   

• Sore, stiff eyes
  
   

If you are experiencing digital eye strain, you should speak to your doctor about treatments that can help. One of the solutions that they may suggest you try is blue light lenses.

 

How Can Blue Light Lenses Help with Digital Eye Strain?

The sun is our principal source of blue light. However, virtually every digital device also emits blue light meaning that when we spend extensive hours using screens, we receive constant exposure. Blue light has been shown to penetrate deeper into the eyes than UV light, meaning that persistent exposure may damage cells further inside the eyes, and more specifically, the retina. The retina is the patch of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eyes that receives light and turns it into signals that are sent to the brain to tell us what we can see. This damage is thought to increase our risk of developing serious eye problems such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

 

Too much blue light also has an effect on our day-to-day ability to function. Overexposure has been shown to:

 

• Interrupt our sleep-wake cycle
   

• Make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep
   

• Negatively affect our productivity levels
   

• Cause mood swings, anxiety, and depression
   

• Cause the symptoms that we associate with digital eye strain
  
   

Blue light lenses, as their name suggests, contain special filters to prevent all of the blue light being emitted by your digital device from reaching your eyes. There are lots of different types of blue light lenses, and exactly how much blue light they filter out can vary, but for optimal benefit, we recommend that you choose a variety that prevents as much blue light as possible from reaching your eyes.

 

In wearing blue light lenses, you can significantly reduce the levels of blue light that you are exposed to, and this could help to prevent many of the effects of overexposure. You could also potentially protect your eyes against cell damage caused by prolonged and cumulative blue light exposure.

 

Learn more about blue light lenses and how they can help with digital eye strain, contact Inclima Eye Care in West Haven, CT at (203) 694-0418.