Are you suffering? By Dr. Kandi Moller, owner of Eye Candy Optical and the Myopia Control & Treatment Center in Uptown, Mother to @gumdropthepig
Americans are on computers, phones and tablets at least seven hours a day, and I would bet that most of us are on devices much more. Think about your kids. How many hours do they stare at screens? Not only are they at increased risk of nearsightedness as a result (which is treatable now), but I’ll bet many of them are suffering and not telling you.
Fifty to 90 percent of us experience symptoms as a result of all of this device usage. These symptoms can be headaches, eyestrain, dizziness, neck pain, motion sickness and light sensitivity. It could be a mild feeling of something being “off” to debilitating migraines and neck pain, for which you seek medical treatment.
Desperate for solutions, folks think three things are the reasons:
1. Blue light. They snap up non-prescription blue light-blocking glasses, thinking potentially damaging blue light emitted by devices is the cause. Jury is out on the science, as you probably get more blue light damage from walking out to your car on a sunny day.
2. Ergonomics. “Experts” recommend the monitor be at eye level. I’d argue it should be below your line of sight, but also watch for lights reflecting off the monitors and the distance of the monitor: farther is better.
3. Next on the list is to get an eye exam and some glasses. No one wants lined bifocals these days, so they elect for progressive lenses. The problem is that most get regular progressive glasses because they can do “everything,” and they don’t want to get a pair dedicated for the computer. That’s like saying I only need one coat for the entire year. Or one pair of shoes. That coat may work half the year, but the other half you are either sweating or freezing in it, but you struggle to make it work because you don’t want to have to buy another coat when one should do it all. Just break down and get premium glasses designed for the computer. Trust me.
In reality, for most of the folks, the actual cause is eye misalignment. No type of blue-light blocking technology, or arrangement of your workstation, or type of progressive glasses, is going to make a difference with eye misalignment.
Stay tuned … My next article will discuss eye misalignment and a simple life-changing solution. In the meantime, take the quiz at HS.Neurolens.com/the-test to see if this may help you.
Discussing topics related to eyeballs and eye health is essential for our overall well-being. While it may seem unusual to some, engaging in conversations about our vision and eye care can lead to valuable insights and knowledge sharing.
In addition to traditional forums and articles, another great way to spark these discussions is by chatting with people on random video chat. It's surprising how many fascinating conversations and information exchanges can occur in these random chats. You might even come across individuals with unique experiences or expertise related to eye health.
Interesting article! It's essential for game development to consider these eye health factors when designing games, especially as screen time increases. Balancing engaging gameplay with health-conscious design is crucial in responsible game development.