Health, Eyesight
New research shows that British workers are spending on average 182.5 days a year starting at screen. That’s 12 hours a day! Ophthalmologist, Dr Colin Parsloe says, “our increasing obsession with screen-time is affecting every area of our lives with impact on eye health”.
The alarming figures emerged in a report, which investigates the screen habits of adults, considering how long they spend looking at computers, tablets and smartphones. The report shows the average person will pick up their smartphone up to 20 times a day, spend 7-8 hours a day on the computer, 2 hours watching television, plus another 2 hours on a tablet. All this screen time amounts to 12 hours of ‘on-screen’ time every day.
Out of the 2000 people surveyed, nearly half agreed with the statement that they ‘have days where it feels like I am looking at a screen from the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep’. 47 per cent of those surveyed admitted that the first thing they do the minute they wake up is jump on their phone, whilst one fifth said they even look at their phone while eating. Visit any restaurant or social gathering and you’ll see this happening.
It’s thought that women are particularly susceptible to smartphone addiction and it’s affecting their mental and physical health. Research carried out by The Eye Doctor, a medical device to treat dry eyes, validated these findings confirming that people would rather give up guilty pleasures like chocolate, sex, fast food and alcohol rather than part with their smartphones.
The survey also revealed that people are now shying away from personal contact. Three quarters said they would rather text people than have to pick up the phone and the same goes for calling people to invite them out; it’s now done with a quick text message. This means we are engaging less and less by voice or face-to-face.
Eye health is becoming a concern for 40 per cent of those polled, they admitted to reoccurring headaches, tired eyes, dry eyes and fatigue because of their compulsion to spend time on some sort of screen device.
More than three quarters of those surveyed agreed that that they were spending far too long looking at screens and were worried about the impact on their eye health. As well as notching up the font size to read on all devices, many have had to seek medical advice due to headaches, migraines, dry eyes and failing eyesight.
Dry eye disease happens when there is a shortage of water being produced by the eye, or when the oil layer is of poor quality or quantity. Evaporation results in the remaining tears becoming concentrated, salty and acidic, causing inflammation and damage to the surface of the eye.
We normally blink to refresh our tears every 10 seconds. When you concentrate, or read from a computer screen, your blink rate reduces and some people may only blink after two minutes. If you’re not blinking then the tears will evaporate from the surface of the eye leaving dry spots resulting in inflammation, redness and pain.
We care for our skin and teeth daily but often overlook our eyes. To start a regular health care routine for your eyes, start by using this 20-20-20 exercise. Every 20 minutes, focus your eyes 20 feet away from the screen for 20 seconds to relax the eye and encourage blinking. Build into your daily routine something to soothe the eyes such as a gentle eyelid massage to encourage healthy oil production by the Meibomian glands, and use a hot compress therapy such as The Eye Doctor, a microwavable and reusable hot eye compress to provide instant relief from irritated, dry and sore eyes. It can also help to moisten the air at home or in the office with a humidifier. Eating a diet rich in Omega-3 essential fatty acids from oily fish also benefit oil consistency.
If your symptoms do not improve after 30 days it’s important to consult your GP who can refer you to an ophthalmologist.
The Eye Doctor Hot Eye Compress is available from Boots and The Body Doctor £19.95
