Helpful Ways to Protect Your Eyes from Computer Radiation

When you are staring at the computer screen for most of your day, you probably must be familiar with dry, red and tired eyes. Yes, I know that feeling! When using your computer for a prolonged period of time, for whatever reason, either work or pleasure, it's important to protect your eyes from long-term damage. Most of the time we don’t really feel it’s important to protect our eyes from the computer, or perhaps, many of us don’t know the damages that the screen can cause our eyes. Well, the good thing is that there are things you can do to protect your eyes from getting destroyed from computer screens. Here are a number of things you can do to help protect your eyes:

Always ensure that you clean your computer screen periodically to remove dust and dirt. This can make it easier on your eyes, so you do not have to focus harder to see what is on the screen, especially if there is text to read.

Keep the monitor a few inches away. Like about 20 to 30 inches away from your face. This range has been found to be the best distance for proper viewing and for reducing eye strain.

The use of anti- glare filter on your monitor is very good, because this will help to prevent glare and reflection from lights in the room.

Use larger fonts and icon sizes that are easy for you to view and read. Avoid using small fonts and icon sizes as it can cause eye strain.

Adjust the height of the monitor so that the top of the monitor is just below your eye level so that you are looking down slightly when viewing the screen.

Always ensure there is proper lighting in the room. Because over dim lighting or over bright lighting can cause strain to your eyes, making you feel not too comfortable.

Use a document holder for placing documents that you look at regularly, and place it at the same distance as the monitor.

The most important things you can do to protect your eyes is to take regular breaks. Be sure to keep blinking, and look away every now and then to avoid constant stare at the monitor.  This is always advisable. Taking several minutes to get up and not look at the monitor can greatly help in protecting your eyes and reducing any strain. Another good recommendation is to use an LCD monitor (aka flat panel display). The older CRT monitors are harder on the eyes, due to the lower refresh rates and general design of the monitor. LCD monitors feature higher refresh rates; high enough, such that most people are unable to see the refreshing of the screen. LCD monitors in general are easier to view for longer periods of time and cause less strain on the eyes. It is better to go for the LCD monitors which are less harsh to look at than CRT monitors. So with the new discoveries nowadays of harmful rays, we should be more careful than ever when it comes to protecting our eyes.

By: Rifkatu Yusuf