If youâ??re one of those people who glances at their smartphone 150 times per day, chances are your eyes are feeling the strain. Â Staring at screens like that of your smartphone or mobile device leaves your eyes feeling tired, itchy and dry and can even cause blurred vision and headaches. Â Minimize digital eye strain with these helpful hints.
- Blink, blink and blink again – blinking often and for more than a split seconds helps your eyes retain moisture and reduces dryness and irritation. Â Keep your eyes wet by blinking about 10 times every 20 minutes. Â Blinking also helps refocus your eyes.
- Minimize glare – this fix is easy and inexpensive, buy an anti-reflective coating and stick it on your smartphone screen. Â These range from about $1 to $20 and are available online or in most mobile service provider stores. Â These anti-glare screen protectors also fend off fingerprints.
- Take breaks – this sounds simple, but sometimes we need a reminder. Â Try the 20-20-20 rule. Â Take a break from looking at your screen every 20 minutes for 20 seconds by looking at something 20 feet away. Â This will relax your eye muscles.
- Adjust your brightness – when your screen is too bright or dim this stresses your eyes. Â If the auto brightness levels leave you squinting take a moment to adjust the brightness to your comfort level.
- Tweak your size and contrast – adjusting your smartphone text contrast and size also provides much-needed relief. Â Make your text messages, email, calendar and everything else easier to read.
- Keep a clean screen – routinely wiping your screen down with a dry cleaning cloth gets rid of distracting dust, smudges and fingerprints.
- Hold your smartphone farther away – most people hold their phones only about eight inches from their faces. Â Increase the distance to at least 16-18 inches away from your eyes and give them the break they need.
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Peter "WebDoc" Martin
Founder & President at Cactus Sky Digital
A digital marketing expert nationally recognized as the â??webdoc,â? and is the technology correspondent for ABC 7 News and SNN6 where he provides technology advice, website reviews and product news.
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