This article is about how safe it is to sit at the computer for hours, what it is fraught with and how to avoid it, but first things first. Our vision is a perfect and amazing mechanism. The eye has a complex system of adjustment-accommodation, which allows you to quickly and imperceptibly move from distant vision to looking at the smallest objects up close.
Introduction
The first threat to eyesight was literacy. Humanity has buried itself in books, newspapers, accounts and statements. Distant vision more and more often turned out to be unnecessary, the accommodation mechanism weakened, the first young bespectacled people appeared. The second catastrophic war with the eyes was almost universal computerization.
The problem is this: many of us spend up to 8 hours a day in front of a computer, at work, at home, or in a gaming club. Even this material you are now reading while looking at the monitor. And it all starts very harmlessly – with ordinary eye fatigue …
Binocular vision is not needed to perceive a flat image. The central nervous system instantly adapts to the situation when it is irrational to work with both eyes. This phenomenon was confirmed by photographing the eyes of the RS operators. It turned out that by the end of the shift in one eye, the lens becomes more convex, the pupil narrowed, and the axis of the eyeball is turned slightly inward – that is, one eye works with all its might. And the other does not participate in the work at all. All this tells us, my friends, that their eyes are simply “turned off.”
Symptoms
How can we tell if our eyes are overworked? How to prevent the worst thing?
There are several ways:
• Redness of the mucous membrane • Pain in the eye area • Visual disturbances (veil, double vision) • Tearing or dry eyes • Syndrome of pseudo presence of a foreign object in the eye.
Blink or not?
I’m more than sure that about 55% of users, if not more, forget to blink when they are focused on performing a task on a computer. Do you think this is not so? When I began to take special care of myself, I had to literally force myself to blink, because when you blink, your eyes are moisturized and cleansed, which contributes to clear vision. Also, the muscles of the face and forehead relax, you do not wrinkle your forehead and do not feel tension. Blinking infrequently can lead to eye redness, burning, itching, and gritty eyes, especially for contact lens wearers. All this is due to the fact that the mucous membrane of the eye, which acts as a lubricant, dries out rather quickly. Learn to blink correctly. Make sure your forehead is relaxed. Blink regularly, every 3-5 seconds.
Correct monitor installation and setup
Everything is banal here, it has been said a thousand times and is known to everyone. But since users do not really comply with the well-known requirements, I suppose it will not be superfluous to remember them:
1. The recommended minimum distance to the eyes is 1-1.5 diagonal of the display.
2. The center of the monitor should be (10-15 cm) below eye level.
3. The brightness of the monitor should be dimmed, ie. slightly darker than you think is normal. 4. Light from a desk lamp should not fall between you and the monitor – this distracts peripheral vision, ideally, the monitor should stand next to a wall that will be illuminated by a lamp, preferably bluish in color with a brightness approximately equal to the brightness of the screen. Make sure no light hits the screen. You should also avoid high contrast between the brightness of the screen and the surrounding area. Under no circumstances should you work with your computer in a dark or semi-dark room. Your vision should be “open”. This means that, looking at the screen, you should also see the objects around you – a table, walls, people sitting next to you, etc. Pay more attention to what you see with your peripheral vision – this will significantly reduce eye strain, physical and mental fatigue … When you look at an object, remembering to see what is to the left and right of it, the field of peripheral vision gradually expands.
Prevention
There are many tips, but the most optimal of them are the following four rules:
1) Do not wait for pain in the eyes – it is better to take short breaks regularly . It is widely believed that a 5 minute break from work every hour gives the eyes enough rest – it is not ! Short visual breaks every 2-3 minutes are more effective and useful, and they will take less time in total. It is recommended to do 3 switching of focus from a near to a distant object, it helps to relax the muscles of the eye. 2) Close your eyes tightly for 3-5 seconds , and then open them wide for 3-5 seconds. Repeat 6-8 times. This exercise strengthens the eyelid muscles and improves blood circulation. 3) Place your thumb at a distance of 25-30 cm from your eyes. Look with two eyes at the end of the finger for 3-5 seconds , close one eye for 3-5 seconds, then look with two eyes again, after that close the other eye. Repeat a few times. Exercise strengthens the eye muscles. 4) Rotation . Moreover, all possible: circular, to the sides, up and down. 5) There are a huge number of programs that, after a certain period of time (usually 30-45 minutes), offer to carry out gymnastics for the eyes. Such programs, for an amateur, I did not have the patience – I deleted it.