5 ways to look after your eyes when you work from home
Remote working is becoming a way of life for many. No long commute, no office politics, and a better work-life balance. There are so many great things about it. But there are aspects that you might be missing out on too. Many people notice after a time, that their eyesight starts to deteriorate, or they are getting more eyestrain and headaches.
This is because employers go to a lot of trouble to ensure that when you’re working in an office environment, you have the right equipment and lighting to be able to do your job safely. Then suddenly you’re working from home and the days of working too close to your screen, for too long, with bad lighting start to take their toll.
It’s not only people who work with screens that experience this. If you have to read a lot of documentation or work on small, intricate designs.
There are a number of small changes you can make to take care of your eyes when working from home.
Get an eye test
Regular eye tests are vital for the long term health of your eyes. Not only do they assess whether you need contact lenses or glasses, but they can also tell you if you need a change to your current prescription. It can also spot the early signs of other, more serious problems with your eyes too. Early intervention is often the key in these cases.
Keep hydrated
Dehydration can cause so many health issues. It affects energy, concentration, digestion and your eyes too. Dry eyes can hurt and affect your ability to work. Keep hydrated both inside and out. Plenty of fluids as part of your diet and some eye drops or sprays to keep your eyes moisturised.
Take breaks
Staring at screens for too long can cause eye strain and headaches. It’s easy to spend hours looking at your screen without taking a break when working. Use the 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes, stare at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Even better, get up and have a walk around, away from your screen.
Reduce blue light exposure
Too much exposure to blue light can cause all sorts of issues, such as migraine, photophobia and eye strain. You can reduce your exposure to blue light by turning on the dark mode on your computer or app or wearing special glasses that filter out blue light before it gets to your retinas.
Get your lighting levels right
The right lighting levels are important. You should aim to have as much natural light in your workspace as possible. However, not everyone lives in a place with a lot of natural light or works during the day, so try and compensate with a good LED desk lamp. Tilt your screen so that there is no glare on it.
Takeaways
It’s easy to fall into bad habits when you’re working from home. However, our eyesight is a precious thing and you should do your best to take care of it for as long as possible.
