Protect Your Vision for a Lifetime Against Computer Vision Syndrome
Modern science still marvels at the miracle of eyesight. Still, exposure to modern technology has created dangers to our eyes that Da Vinci could not have imagined: the problem of blue light.
Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is a marvel of the Italian Renaissance. Her smiling eyes seem so lifelike that they invite us into a dialog, even today. To Leonardo, the eyes were a Divine work of art.
Computer Vision Syndrome
Human eyes cannot filter blue light efficiently, and nearly every light source, natural or artificial, emits blue light. Worse, our reliance on technology means exposure to blue light from digital devices begins in infancy. As a result, eye injury from technology is so widespread it has a medical name: Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).
Your eyes are a precious resource, and small decisions over time significantly impact your long-term eye health. The key is to develop simple, repeatable daily eye care routines. Follow these practical steps to help safeguard your vision for a lifetime.
Block out the Blue Light
Computer Vision Syndrome symptoms vary, but CVS causes headaches, strain, slow focus recovery, dry and scratchy eyes, and reduced night vision.
Unfortunately, screen time is increasing worldwide. We are all studying, working, and teaching on screens. For example, screen time is up more than 80% in the US compared to just three years ago. This increased screen time showers our eyes with high-energy blue light, proven to lead to damage.
5 Computer Vision Tips
Here are some practical habits you can develop to reduce exposure and help manage your symptoms.
1. Reduce Screen Time
First, reduce your screen time and keep devices like laptops and mobile phones at least sixteen inches (16″) from your eyes when possible. Then, look away from devices every 20 minutes and focus on objects farther away for at least 20 seconds before returning your eyes to the screen. It’s called the 20-20-20 rule, and the American Optometric Association developed it to help reduce exposure.
2. Watch Children’s Habits
Next, if you’re a parent with younger children, you may already be concerned about your child’s amount of time on devices, and with good reason. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry makes the following screen time recommendations by age. Do your best to limit your child’s screen time to the suggestions below: (2022) https://cdn.allaboutvision.com/screen-time-by-age-chart-678×529.gif
3. Blink Often
When we work on devices, we often forget to blink. People usually blink about 18 times per minute, but computer users blink only one-fourth as often. Reduced blinking increases the chance of developing dry eyes. Reminding yourself to blink often and refresh your eyes periodically with lubricating eye drops will help with the symptoms. Some people put a sticky note near their screen to remind them.
4. Humidify Your Home
If you live in a dry environment, consider purchasing a humidifier and keeping the humidity in your bedroom to 40% while sleeping, as it will reduce the risk of developing dry eyes.
5. Reduce Contrast
Finally, set your work or viewing area up for success. Text on a phone or computer screen is often not as clear as letters printed on a page. Reduced contrast between background and letter or glare on the screen makes your eyes work harder. If you can’t change the environment you’re working in, consider a glare filter for your screen.
Use Eye Protection Outside & Inside
Protecting your eyes in the digital age is a two-step process. First, you must consider maximizing protection to both the front and back of the eye. You can develop several practical habits to help shield your eyes from overexposure to blue light, but your vision care regimen is not complete without supplementation.
First, let’s talk about some practical protective steps to protect your eyes, followed by a brief discussion of the benefits, including supplementation to your total vision care routine.
First, always wear sunglasses outside. Maintaining this habit is one of the most impactful, simple ways you can protect your eyesight for life. Wear shades that block 99 percent of UVA and UVB rays. Sunlight is blue light. Although we perceive it as warmer looking, it’s high-energy blue light that, if not filtered correctly, travels directly to the back of your eye, where it can cause oxidation and create free radicals that damage the sensitive macular cells.
Continued exposure to high-energy blue light can eventually result in AMD or Acute Macular Degeneration, a devastating disease. AMD causes the patient to lose their central vision rendering them unable to see anything in the center of their visual field.
Wearing blue-blocking glasses inside is another habit that can help save your long-term vision. Blue blocker glasses are clear neutral or prescription lenses that filter UVA and UVB the same way as sunglasses. Wear them anytime you look at your computer or phone, significantly reducing your blue light exposure.
Computer Vision Supplements & Foods
Now for supplementation. Science has clinical proof that supplementing with ingredients and foods can help protect your eyes from damaging blue light, reduce eye strain, and diminish age-related eye conditions.
So which foods and natural supplementations are clinically proven to build optical pigments that block blue light and reduce the symptoms of CVS? First, we look at carotenoids.
Carotenoids in Foods
Carotenoids are common in nature (think the reddish-yellow color in Fall leaves). Many vegetables contain beneficial carotenoids like broccoli and carrots. Salmon and shrimp are also excellent sources of carotenoids (thus their pink coloration).
Dark leafy greens like kale, broccoli, peas, Brussels sprouts, and even avocado contain two carotenoids called Lutein and Zeaxanthin, proven in the AREDS 2 study conducted by the National Eye Institute to help prevent the progression of eye diseases like AMD.
Foods like salmon and shrimp also contain high levels of Astaxanthin. These elevated levels of Astaxanthin provide in vivo protection to the omega-3 fatty acid in salmon during their arduous upstream journey to spawn. Astaxanthin is the most potent antioxidant in nature-6000% more powerful than Vitamin C. Look for Astaxanthin derived from natural sources as the synthetic version that does not offer the same benefits.
Unfortunately, significant levels of these beneficial carotenoids cannot be obtained solely from our diet. For example, you would need to eat 20-plus pounds of salmon or broccoli each week to build up enough of these substances inside your eyes to provide blue light protection.
Fortunately, it’s easy and effective to supplement your eye-healthy diet. The following natural ingredients are available and backed by numerous scientific studies.
Bilberry
Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) is one of the richest sources of anthocyanins known to have anticancer, wound healing, and anti-allergic effects and has also demonstrated efficacy in supporting healthy tears secretion. The effect of anthocyanins in improving vision has been validated by “computerized perimetry,” which suggests that a standardized bilberry extract containing 36% anthocyanins can play an essential role in improving retinal sensitivity (night vision), promoting healthy tear secretion, improving vision, and may help prevent common eye issues as we mature. In addition, more than 50 positive studies, including at least 25 controlled or double-blind studies, have validated bilberry extract’s efficacy in vascular health.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E (d-Alpha Tocopherol) is a must-take nutrient for your eyes. This natural form of Vitamin E is highly bioavailable and is retained in the body longer when compared to the more widely used synthetic form available in most supplements. In addition, it supports vision with its ability to neutralize oxidation and protect certain eye parts known to be susceptible to oxidative damage.
Amazingly, ”d-Alpha Tocopherol” has been shown to help subjects with moderate age-related macular degeneration and reduce the risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration by 25% in subjects who already demonstrated evidence of early signs of macular degeneration.
Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin (Haematococcus Pluvialis) is a naturally occurring carotenoid and a potent antioxidant that helps protect the front of your eyes. Found in many foods, Astaxanthin is the most powerful antioxidant known to science; it also has potent anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, Astaxanthin protects your eyes against free radicals generated by UV radiation. As a result, it strengthens the eye muscles we use to focus, reducing eye fatigue and strain common to Computer Vision Syndrome.
Lutein & Zeaxanthin
Lutein & Zeaxanthin are two types of carotenoids found in food, mainly vegetables and fruits. They work together to improve eye health and combine antioxidant functions that guard your eyes against the damaging effects of free radicals.
Lutein & Zeaxanthin protect the back of your eyes by working as light filters and antioxidants. As a result, they improve visual performance and reduce the progression of certain eye conditions as we age. These natural ingredients specifically increase the macular pigment optical density (MPOD) or the fluids inside our eyes that are critical to filtering harmful blue light before it can damage the macula.
DHA
Docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, is a polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid (PUFA) found throughout the body. It’s a central structural fat found in the brain and eye, accounting for up to 97% of the total omega-3 fats in the brain and up to 93% of the omega-3 fats in specific parts of the retina. It is also a vital component of the heart. Numerous research studies confirm that everyone, from infants to adults to the elderly, can benefit from a regular intake of dietary DHA.
Blink, and You’ll Miss It
You may read this article and think, “When was the last time I had my eyes checked?” You’re not alone. Our eyes are one of the most delicate and complex structures in our bodies (a direct extension of our brains), but we expect them to work without any maintenance. We get yearly physicals and monthly facials and buy gym memberships to strengthen and tone, but we neglect our eyes until something happens.
Get in the habit of seeing your eye doctor once a year. If you’re on devices as much as most people, you’ve experienced symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome: dry, itchy eyes, slow focus recovery, reduced night vision, strain, and headaches are all signs of overexposure to blue light from digital devices. But you don’t need to live with these symptoms. World-renowned dry eye disease expert Dr. Paul Karpecki OD, FAAO, believes that adopting these simple habits and supplementing them with natural ingredients can dramatically reduce CVS symptoms and protect your eyes for a lifetime.
