Computer Vision syndrome

In today’s world of technological revolution, the stress and strain that we subject our eyes to is unavoidable. While we cannot eliminate those tasks that need to be done, they can definitely be carried out in a manner that minimizes stress to the eyes.

A few tips that will help your eyes to see more comfortably, more efficiently and without strain are given here. These are basically measures that if followed would help improve your visual skills by minimizing the stress and strain of prolonged visual tasks and thus improve visual potential.They are logical, rational and more importantly, simple to follow.

  1. Posture: It is important that one maintains an erect, comfortable posture with feet flat on the floor,whilereading and writing. This not only prevents the eyes from straining to focus on the print in front of us, it also prevents neck and back muscle strain. Reading or writing while lying down and other inappropriate postures lead to shortened viewing distances and cause severe stress and strain on the eyes.
  2. Working distance: The recommended reading distance for adults is16 inches and for children about 12-13 inches. This can be measured practically as ‘Knuckle to elbow’ distancefrom the book in front of us.This is the optimal distance from the eyes to the working surface. It is the distance from the elbow to the first knuckle. This can only be assured with a proper chair height to desk relationship.
  3. The books should be tilted at about 20 degrees and notplaced orheld flat in front of us. It also helps to take a break of a few minutes after every 45 minutes of focusedvisual activity. This helps in easing eyestrain and hence more efficient work.
  4. Proper lighting: : Light should be sufficient, without glare over the working material. Illumination should ideally be from the left or back of the table or work area. Provide for adequate general illumination, as well as good central illumination, at the near task. The illumination on the task should be at least three times that of the surrounding background. Avoid the use of fluorescent lighting.
  5. Avoid Avoidreading in a moving vehicle. It causes an undue strain on the visual system
  6. Computerwork: Should ideally be done in adequate light, without any glare on the screen. Follow the 20-20-20 rule i.e after every 20 minutes of work, relax the eyes by looking at a 20 feetdistance for 20 seconds.
  7. Television viewing: Sit at least 6-8 feet away from the screen. Lighting in the room should be of normal ambience- neither too light nor too dim.
    It is believed by some eye specialists that television is responsible for impairing a childs visual development and a major cause of damaging childrens reading and learning abilities. Top eye doctors in the US are so concerned about this growing problem that they have warned parents to limit their childrens exposure to television and ensure their eyes are checked regularly. Many doctors are convinced that children need appropriate visual stimulation for sight to develop normally and this is definitely not provided by television viewing. Some doctors are of the opinion, that parents should limit TV and computer games, especially in children under six whose sight is still developing, though the effects occur in older children too.
  8. Outdoor play Last, but not the least,physical activities should be encouragedfor global development of the child.

Remember

Visual skills improve or deteriorate with age depending on the way you use your eyes.

So use your eyes intelligently and ensure optimum vision.