Do your eyes feel tired and day at the end of the day? Do you experience headaches after working on your computer? You may be suffering from eye strain. Other symptoms include blurred vision, eye pain, watery or dry eyes, heavy eyelids, a burning sensation when you close your eyelids, and a twitch in the eye area. Eye strain is basically strained eye muscles; it happens when you focus on a single object for a long time, by poor lighting, a strong glare and often other vision problems.

Here are some helpful tips to relieve (and prevent) eye strain:

• Move your monitor. Your monitor should be directly in front of you, at eye level. Try using a monitor or desk riser to provide more height; they are easy to install and quickly provide a more comfortable view of your screen. Also, your screen should be a full arm’s length away from your face to allow for optimum focus.
• Eliminate any glare or reflection. Close window coverings or adjust the angle of the lighting to eliminate any reflection or glare on your screen. If you can’t eliminate the glare, try using a glare filter. It can also help to clean your monitor frequently to free of dust or debris.
• Look around. Stop your work every 10 or 15 minutes to allow your focus to readjust. Find an object in the distance to focus on for at about 20 seconds.
• Take a break – If you stop each hour to rest your eyes, you can noticeably ease the strain. Close your eyes for about a minute and allow the muscles to relax.
• Use a document holder – Try using a document holder whenever you need to type from a document or notepad. This can reduce the work on your eyes, neck, and shoulders. Place your document holder immediately next to your monitor and at the same distance from you to reduce the focus changes for your eyes.
• Change your light bulbs – if you are using old-school florescent light bulbs, the flicker will often cause eye strain and headaches. Try changing to a better light bulb, or add a desk lamp to provide better lighting.
• Get an Eye Exam – Resting your eyes over night will effectively relieve eye strain. However, if you continue to feel pain or discomfort in the morning, or if you notice other changes in your vision, schedule an eye exam to ensure that there are not other vision issues causing your pain.

When your work requires extended focus on one task, it is easy to suffer from eye strain and induce a headache. Learn to give your eyes a rest during your day and find the right ergonomic tools to best help you. A document holder can reduce the work load on your eyes and neck, and a desk riser can help you make the most of your desk space. These small changes can help you relieve eye strain and prevent it in the future.

Filed under: Category Business, Health | Tags: document holder,ergonomic desk,eye strain,headache,pain,Tips by emily