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Eye Health

How Does Prolonged Use of Technology Impact Your Eye Health?

Technology is ubiquitous in today’s world. It’s so commonplace that it’s hard to go anywhere or do anything without interacting with it to some degree. Is that healthy though? Because you use your eyes to absorb the information presented to you via technology, it’s important to understand the impact that prolonged technological use can have on your eye health.

Blue Light and Your Eyes

You may have heard that blue light is damaging to the eyes. Blue light is a high-energy visible light that digital devices emit. Some studies suggest that prolonged exposure to blue light can damage the light-sensitive cells in your retina. That may cause age-related macular degeneration over time. Children tend to be more susceptible to this than adults, but it can impact you regardless of your age.

Digital Eye Strain

Digital eye strain is a much more common and short-term effect of prolonged technology use. It’s a term used to describe the increased stress of vision (particularly near vision) brought on by using digital devices. You may experience headaches, blurred vision, eye strain, and dry eyes. Part of this is because most people blink less when using digital devices. Less blinking means less fluid being distributed across your eyeball, leading to drier, more irritated eyes.

Protecting Your Eyes

It doesn’t make sense to simply quit using technology, so you have to take steps to protect your eyes when using it for long periods. Take regular breaks using the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Remember to blink frequently. Use blue light filters to reduce the blue light your eyes are exposed to. Keep screens at least 25 inches away from your face and angle the screen so you look down slightly. Remember to get your eyes examined yearly too! It’s the best way to monitor your eye health.

Eyes are so much more than just a beautiful part of your face. They’re one of your main senses, one that most people rely on heavily to obtain an understanding of the world around them. While there’s no denying that technology is beneficial, there’s also no denying that you should take measures to keep your eyes from becoming harmed by prolonged use of technology. Call us if you have concerns about how your technology use is impacting your eye health.

Prolonged technology use can affect eye dryness. If you’re experiencing dry eye disease, Jenkins Eye Care can help. Click here to learn about treatments we use for dry eye disease today!

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