How to Keep Your Eyes Healthy at Work

How to Keep Your Eyes Healthy at Work Did you know? When we get home we also use: In an office job you're likely to stare at a computer screen for 7 hours per day. That's 35 hours per working week. Televisions Smartphones 1820 hours per year! Tablets Laptops • Hours per week awake and looking at a screen at work Consequently, the average person in the UK looks at a screen for almost 12 hours in total every day! That's 4380 hours per year! Computer Vision Syndrome Staring at a computer screen all day can cause a whole host of problems for your eyes. This is commonly known as CVs. Symptoms of CVS can include: VISION Neck pain Dry Eyes Headaches Blurred Vision Tired Eyes Excessive Tearing Eye Irritation Long hours in front of a computer screen can even lead to short-sightedness or scarring of the cornea! Percentage of people 80 A graph to show the percentage of symptoms found in patients diagnosed with CVS 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Headaches Eye Strain Eye Fatigue and Tired Eyes Irritation Of Eyes Neck / Shoulder Pain General Fatigue Back Pain Itching / Burning Of Eyes Tension Blurry vision Tearing Arm / Wrist / Shoulder Pain Ergonomics Having a bad desk layout is one of the most common causes of CVS in the workplace, yet it's actually one of the easiest problems to fix! Top of monitor at eye level or just below 20-30 Inches Monitor Back straight arm's length away Minimal bend 90°. at wrists Elbows close to body 120° Backrest supporting lower back 90°. 120° Front of seat not - pressing on back of knees Adjustable swivel chair Feet flat on ground or resting on footrest Your eyes should be level with the top of your They should also be 20-30 inches away from the top of the screen. Your screen should be unaffected by glare from sunlight or ceiling lights. computer screen. Relax! Take a Break When staring at a monitor all day, it's important to give your eye muscles a chance to relax. Take short breaks to get away from your computer: Make a cup of tea Walk to the printer Get away from your computer at lunch! Go for a walk! Remember the 20-20-20 rule: 200 20 20 for 20 seconds. Every 20 minutes, take your eyes off your and look at something 20 feet away... screen... The importance of a break! 48% of people feel their productivity levels plummet in the afternoon if they don't take a lunch break. 48% 50,000,000 UK companies are losing close to £50 million a day in lost productivity as workers fail to take a lunch break. Over a third (34 per cent) of employees experience pressure from managers to work through their lunch hour. 34% In fact, a fifth (21 per cent) consume 21% five caffeine drinks a day. Having Six million UK employees are chained to their desks as just three in ten (30 per cent) take a lunch hour. large amounts of caffeine on a daily basis can lead to insomnia and dehydration. Brightness Your monitor should not seem any brighter or any darker than the lighting in your office. If you're struggling to read what's on your screen or your screen is an obvious light source, you need to change the settings. You can also use anti-glare screen filters to reduce the amount of light reflected off your screen. Before changing the brightness of your monitor, take a look at the image below and see if you can see 21 different shades in the picture. If you are not able to distinguish between the later shades then adjust the brightness on your monitor to do that. Blinking This may seem obvious, but when you stare at a screen for a prolonged period of time you often forget to blink! Blinking helps lubricate your eyes. This stops them feeling dry or irritated, which in turn helps to prevent CVS. Did you know? It is believed that females blink more than their male counterparts, blinking When tested in flight simulators, it was found that air force pilots blink less when flying over 'enemy territory'. On average, people blink 12-15 times per minute. When focusing on a screen, this reduces to 4-5 blinks per minute! almost twice as often! Eat Well As well as helping to prevent dry eyes, eating the right foods can help protect you from macular degeneration and cataracts. Omega-3 Fatty Acid Selenium Lutein & Beta Carotene Zeaxanthin Zinc Vitamin D Vitamin E Vitamin C Vitamin A Contact Lens Users Some people may need glasses or contact lenses prescribed for computer use, even if you don't usually need to wear them! Looking after your contacts! Always wash and dry your hands before handling contacts! Don't sleep in your contact lenses, unless it's prescribed by your eye doctor. Keep water away from your contact lenses. Avoid showering, bathing and swimming while wearing them. Rub and rinse your contact lenses with contact lens disinfecting solution every time you remove them. Never use water or saliva. Rub and rinse your contact lens case with contact lens solution, never water. Empty and dry with a clean tissue. Replace your contact lenses as often as prescribed by your opticians. Replace your contact lens case at least once every three months. Use only fresh contact lens solution in your case, never mix fresh solution with old or used solution. Only use the contact lens solution recommended by your opticians. www.esure.com/media_centre/nation_of_square_eyes.html www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/caring-for-your-vision/protecting-your-vision/computer-vision-syndrome www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-joyce-od/eye-strain_b_1591414.html www.health.com/health/gallery/O,,20680738,00.html www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/nutrition/6-foods-for-healthy-eyes?slide=1 www.aoa.org/patienwww. www.bupa.co.uk/reclaim-lunch www.clickonf5.org/3846/adjust-brightness-contrast-monitor www.thinkaboutyoureyes.co.uk/assets/eatwell_plate.jpg .computer-vision-syndrome.org/statistics/ FeelGood Contact lenses www.feelgoodcontacts.com