Did you know the average American spends about seven hours staring at a screen every day? The culprit might be a phone, a computer, or a tablet—likely some combination of all three throughout the day. That’s a lot of screen time. And even though staring at the screen of a tech device isn’t exactly the same as staring at another light source, such as a lamp, it can still be tough on our eyes. It affects our mental health and our sleep. There’s even a term for it, screen fatigue, also known as digital eye strain, which refers to the physical and mental exhaustion we feel from prolonged exposure to digital screens.
UCLA Health explains the reason behind screen fatigue lies in pixels, the tiny dots that make up images on our screens. Keeping pixelated images in focus requires a lot of work from our eyes, which is why it can be so tiring.
Screen fatigue might manifest itself in different ways, but you’ll usually experience one or a combination of:
- Blurry vision or difficulty focusing
- Dry, irritated eyes
- Headaches
- Difficulty concentrating
- Irritability
- Trouble falling or staying asleep
The big problem: Screens are an inevitable part of life. We use computers all day for work. We rely on our phones for crucial communications in our personal life. It’s practically impossible to swear off screens, even if we try to minimize our use.
But that doesn’t mean we should resign ourselves to screen fatigue as part of life. Yes, it would be great to use our devices less—and doctors recommend we do that, aiming for less than 2 hours of screen time a day if it fits with our jobs and lifestyle—but even if we carry on with the same amount of screen exposure, we can still take steps to improve our mental and physical wellbeing.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Think 20-20-20. Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break to look at something 20 feet away. This will reduce eye strain.
2. Adjust your visual settings to put your device in dark mode and increase the text size.
3. Blink more often or use eye drops to offset eye dryness.
4. Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, which can exacerbate dry eyes and fatigue.
5. Put devices away at least 30 minutes before sleeping to prevent interferences with your circadian rhythm.
