Why look at a computer screen tires your eyes (and how to rest)

Consult your emails, read online items (for example, totally randomly, on Numerama): these activities only take a few minutes.Put end to end, they quickly come to represent hours of our time spent fixing a computer screen.In the United States, the American Optometric Association estimates that a worker spends an average of seven hours a day in front of his computer, at work and at home.In France, INSEE noted in 2011 a clear progression of the time spent in front of the screens.

And our eyes, in all this?Should we worry about their health when we feel tired after a day in front of a computer?Worse, would it be possible to lose your sight because of the screens?Do not panic, you are not going to become blind if you spend too much time in front of a computer.On the other hand, it is likely that you suffer from the Computer Vision Syndrome, known in French under the name of artificial vision syndrome.

This is simply the fatigue generated by the prolonged use of a computer screen.Symptoms are undoubtedly already familiar to you: a blurred vision, headache, the feeling of having dry eyes, or on the contrary too wet, or even simply tired.The good news is that they are generally temporary, and go if you stop watching a screen for a while.The bad news is that these symptoms can arise after just two hours.Needless to say, we are all concerned with writing.

20 seconds of break every 20 minutes

But why do computers have this effect on our pupils?Simply because in front of a screen, we tend to click much less.The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has observed that our rate of nication (in other words, blinking) decreases by a third party when reading on screen.As for the American Optometric Association, she adds that fatigue comes from the contrast of characters, which are more clearly distinguished from the bottom on a paper medium.Add to that a poorly placed angle compared to the screen, and you have the winning combo to exhaust your eyes.

Ideally, you should look at your screen slightly at the bottom (following an angle of 15 to 20 degrees, to be very precise) and place it at a distance of 50 to 71 centimeters of the eyes.The duration of use, it must be accompanied by 20 seconds of break every 20 minutes, looking at an object located six meters from oneself.After two hours of uninterrupted use, 15 minutes of break become necessary to rest their eyes.

The simplest remains, as in many areas, not to abuse good things, which includes technology.But rest assured, the day you lose your sight because you are fixing a screen has not yet arrived.