Eyes Wide Open: Protect Your Vision in the Digital Age
Unveil the truth behind blue light glasses and the power of the 20/20/20 rule
Like my teenage nephew, who passionately engages in video games in a dark room, mere feet away from a 50-inch TV, many of us spend considerable time in front of screens. Despite my efforts to guide him on eye care during screen use, he, like many, may find advice more compelling when it’s backed by professional insight.
One evening, while watching an old episode of Dateline on YouTube, an episode featuring Dr. Sunir Garg, an ophthalmologist, introduced me to the 20/20/20 rule. This simple yet effective guideline suggests that every 20 minutes, you should focus on an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This practice helps adjust your eyes’ focus, combating the fatigue that stems not from the blue light emitted by screens, as commonly thought, but from the strain of focusing at a fixed distance for extended periods.
Interestingly, the episode debunked the necessity of blue light glasses, labeling them more as a fashion statement or a psychological tool to project seriousness in a job interview rather than a protective need for our eyes.
This revelation also shows why playing video games in a completely dark room can be detrimental, as my nephew does. It’s not the light from the TV that’s the issue but the lack of alternative focus points, which encourages our eyes to over-concentrate on a single distance, leading to strain.
Introducing ambient lighting into your space, like a strategically placed lamp, can mitigate this by providing additional points of interest for your eyes to shift focus periodically. This simple change can significantly enhance eye comfort by preventing them from being fixed on the screen too long.
Moreover, the effect of screens on our sleep patterns and alertness levels is more closely related to the content we consume and its capacity to stimulate our brains rather than the specific hue of the light emitted. Discussions around cool versus warm light and their impacts on sleep are ongoing, but the primary takeaway is the importance of varying our gaze distance.
So, the next time you notice the text on your screen starting to blur, take a moment to glance at something across the room. This gives your eyes a much-needed break and offers a moment to reflect on whether there’s something more productive or restful you could be doing away from your screen. Incorporating regular intervals to stretch and move around is a holistic approach to care for your eyes and overall well-being.
