Why Too Much Phone Time Can Damage Your Eyes
Most people have their phones glued to their hand for the majority of the day. Yet, excessive screen use especially phone time can damage our eyes. This article will talk about why this happens and how people can avoid eye strain.
Are Your Eyes Starting To Hurt? Your Phone May Be To Blame
Do you ever remember your parents telling you not to sit too close to the television screen because it would hurt your eyes? Well, maybe they were on to something. With most people owning at least three digital devices now, it is no wonder why we’ve become so dependent on them. Our smartphones, in particular. These devices are never far from our reach and usage time for these devices have skyrocketed in recent years. Yet, this hasn’t come without its consequences. If you have noticed that your eyes have begun to feel strained or are getting dry, your phone could be to blame.
Phone Time: Why Too Much Can Cause Eye Damage
As we spend more and more time scrolling through apps and content on the small screens in our hands, it is hard to ignore the risks that this could cause for our health, especially our eyesight.
Digital eye strain is not a new term but many have only associated it with computer use until now. As our phone time increases, so do our chances of developing digital eye strain related symptoms. Digital eye strain occurs when we stare at a screen for more than two hours. It causes temporary discomfort such as irritated eyes, blurred vision or eye fatigue. However, with prolonged exposure to a phone screen on a regular basis, we can develop longer lasting eye damage such as dry-eye disease.
When looking at a screen, our eyes have a tendency to blink far less than when we are looking around in our environment or speaking with another individual. Blinking less reduces our eye’s ability to produce moisture leaving the surface of our eye more susceptible to irritation. Over time, this can cause many eye health implications.
There has been much debate about the risks that the blue light, also known as high-energy visible light (HEV), emitted from our phone screens pose to our eyesight. It has been found that HEV is not filtered by our cornea or pupils, meaning that it is shone directly onto our retina. Although there is no way to avoid this, it is the length of exposure to this light that can cause the most harm. Too much phone time and HEV exposure may put our eyesight at risk of retina tissue damage and macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss.
Protecting Your Eyes: Ways To Avoid Damage From Phone Screen Use
There is no denying that spending too much time on our smartphones can cause our eyesight to deteriorate but the good news is there are steps that you can take to protect your eye health.
One of the best ways to avoid eye damage is to stop using our phones completely. But we all know that isn’t a realistic solution. Otherwise, if you are required to spend a lot of time looking at your smartphone screen, invest in specially designed glasses that are built to filter our HEV and are anti-reflective. Making sure that you hold your smartphone at arm’s distance when using it and reduce any glare can also significantly help with any eye strain and damage.
Keeping Your Phone And Yourself Healthy
Our eye health is vital but with phone and digital device usage on the rise, it is constantly being compromised. Another factor that many individuals forget about that can increase our chances of developing eye damage is a dirty phone screen. When our phone screens collect dirt and fingerprint smudges, it can make it harder for us to see the text on our screens clearly. This will inevitably lead to increased eye strain. Keep your smartphone screens shiny on a regular basis by using a microfiber cloth and a phone screen cleaner.
By keeping your phone screen healthy and taking the correct precautions to limit your screen exposure, there should be nothing stopping you from great eye health.