Working on a computer, checking your cell phone, surfing the net from your tablet, screens are an integral part of our modern lives. But looking at a screen and reading a book do not require the same effort. Spending more than 8 hours a day behind a screen can strain your eyesight. Wearing adapted glasses is good but maybe not enough. Here are some tips to prevent digital eye strain.

Digital eye strain or computer vision syndrome (CVS) is manifested by the onset of symptoms usually occurring after 3 hours of use but which are likely to disappear once digital activity interrupted :

• visual or postural discomfort (neck, shoulders, back tension...)
• headaches
• dry eyes
• eye pain
• change in color vision
• accommodation difficulties, i.e. difficulties in adapting one's vision when switching from near to far vision. According to Carole Desharnais, an ophthalmology nurse at the Jewish General Hospital's ophthalmology clinic in Montreal, "the accommodation problem, which causes blurred vision, is due to fatigue of the ciliary muscles, which normally modify the lens to focus. On the other hand, dry eyes also make the image blurred, because dryness distorts the surface of the eye.

Adjust screen settings to avoid eye strain

• Brightness and contrast should be adjusted according to the brightness of the room, especially if the room is bright, the walls are light or the computer is near a window.
• Choose a light wallpaper.
• Prefer indirect lighting that does not point at the screen. Avoid placing screens under a ceiling light.

Take breaks to prevent digital eye strain

• Click often. of the eyes to moisten them. Indeed, when you work on a computer, you blink much less often than in normal time. In addition, the fact that you constantly have to adjust your vision between the screen and a paper document means that your eye can quickly become tired.
• The Canadian 20-20-20 tip if you can't leave your post: take a 20-second break every 20 minutes by looking in front of you from a distance of 20 feet (about 6 meters).

Anti-glare glasses to rest your eyesight when working on a computer.

There areblue anti-reflective glasses to relieve vision and prevent dry eyes. However, these do not improve reading or contrast sensitivity.

For those at risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy, they are instead advised to wear yellow-tinted anti-reflective eyewear.

Eye Yoga to prevent and relieve digital eye strain

Eye yoga is an eye gymnastics inspired by Ayurvedic medicine and developed by an American, Dr. Bathe, and an Indian, Dr. Argawal, in the 1920s.

It allows, thanks to series of exercises repeated several times, to work the different muscles of the eyes as well as to stimulate the blood circulation in this area. For those who have been able to benefit from orthoptic sessions, eye yoga comes very close, without the holistic approach of the latter.

Example of exercises to practice as often as possible:

• Without moving your head, look to the left and then to the right while breathing calmly and deeply. Start slowly and then pick up the pace as you feel it.
• Do the same from top to bottom, then diagonally and finally drawing large circles while keeping your head straight.
• Stretch your arm out in front of you, fix your index finger and then, while following its trajectory and insisting on keeping a clear vision, slowly bring it back between your eyes and finally move it away by going back and forth. The principle is to work on accommodation by stimulating the muscles that improve the mobility of the eyeball.
• Blink your eyes, close your eyelids and, with the palm of your hands, gently massage it.

All of these tips should not replace a consultation with an ophthalmologist or occupational medicine if your job needs to be redesigned. However, all experts agree that the best trick to alleviate and prevent digital eye strain is to regularly interrupt your activity, look out the window into the distance, move around and even better, get out for some fresh air...