Protecting Those Peepers

Eyestrain has become increasingly commonplace in this digital world we live in. The American Optometric Association, courtesy of Parenting.com, had great suggestions recently on how to ease eyestrain without having to put away all of our devices:

Late-Nights With Facebook
– The Issue: The drastic contrast between the room and the screen makes your eyes work harder to focus.
– The Cure: Keep some type of light on to reduce the contrast.

Powering Through A Project
– The Issue: Your eyes are strained from focusing at the same distance for hours.
– The Cure: Every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Hunching Over Your Handheld
– The Issue: Holding a handheld device too close to your face makes your eyes work harder to focus.
– The Cure: Hold it 18 inches away or roughly the distance from your elbow to your knuckles. Too hard to read? Increase your device’s font size.

Note: Suggestions listed above are from Parenting.com’s “Protecting Those Peepers” piece in May 2012.