After working at the computer, are your eyes irritated? Approximately 33
to 37 percent of people experience eye irritation such as, itching,
burning, dry eyes or difficulty focusing on the distant objects after
computer work. Look to your health and increase CLEAR VISION.
Blink frequently when looking (or is it staring?) at the monitor. This
helps because our blinking rate decreases approximately 70% when
concentrating versus when we are relaxed. Remember to blink the end of
every paragraph or with every mouse click.
Adjust the top of the monitor screen so that it is equal or lower than the
height of your eyebrows. When looking straight ahead or upwards at the
monitor, our eyes tear less and the corneal surface dries. When looking
slightly down, our eyelids will usually sweep down the whole eyeball when
you blink. This moistens the cornea instead of only the upper eyeball.
Look out a window (if possible) at a distant tree or lawn when taking a
break to think or talk on the telephone. Green is a soothing color for the
eyes. If you don't have access to a window, decorate your work area with
green plants that you can look at during your vision breaks.
Adjust and correct other factors that influence vision such as glare,
reflections and wearing the correct prescription glasses.
Copyright 2002 Erik Peper, Ph.D. and Katherine Hughes Gibney