Eye strain and the importance of vision breaks

Agnes Chan-Yam
Principal Consultant, Team Leader Occupational Services

For many of us, computers are an integral part of our work. As we increase our time spent viewing computer screens, it is of little surprise that the prevalence of eye strain has also increased.

Computer work often involves prolonged viewing of a visual display unit. Our eyes are not designed to focus at a close distance for long periods, as the muscles in our eyes do not get an opportunity to contract and relax. This over-exertion of the muscles in our eyes may lead to eye strain.

Symptoms of eye strain can include:

  • Headaches
  • Burning and itching eyes
  • Double vision
  • Blurred vision
  • Nausea
  • Fatigue
  • Flickering sensations
  • Slow refocussing and frequent loss of position when moving from printed material to the screen.

Although the symptoms could be potentially debilitating, we can easily minimise eye strain with the following work practices:

  • Take a micro break lasting about 10 seconds every 10 minutes. Simply look up and focus on the farthest object from your terminal, breathe and blink easily. Keep your eyes moving while you look at different distant objects.
  • Hourly mini breaks that last about 5 minutes. Stand up and stretch to encourage joint and muscle flexibility. Stretch your eyes also by doing other tasks so that your point of focus changes.
  • A maxi break is usually a tea break or lunch break. The maxi break is a “get up” type of break. Going for a walk gets the blood moving again, decreases muscle and eye tension and increases energy levels.

Simple eye exercises performed at your workstations are also an effective preventive strategy. These are designed to provide your eye muscles with a break and keep your eyes moist.

  • Palming
  • Form shallow cups with the palms of your hands
  • Place them lightly over your closed eyes and keep them there for 1 minute
  • Do not put direct pressure on your eyeballs
  • Deep wink
  • Close your eyes tight for several seconds
  • Open them very wide holding them for a few seconds
  • Repeat

A poorly set up workstation can also contribute to eye strain. Ensure your visual display unit is positioned at right angles to windows to minimise reflections and glare. The screen should be positioned so that artificial lighting does not reflect from the screen.

If you have any questions concerning your workstation set up, speak with the OHS representative at your workplace. An ergonomic assessment of your workstation conducted by a qualified professional can help ensure your work space is suitably set up to minimise musculoskeletal and eye strain.

------------------------------------

Please call 03 9529 6600 to speak to a restore consultant about how we can be of assistance.

Click here to go to the contents page.

© ResolutionsRTK 2008