Maintaining Optimal Vision Health

The eyes are fascinating! They are the fastest muscle in the body. We can blink 5 times in a second. In fact we blink on average every 6 seconds. That’s about 14,000 blinks per day! Another interesting fact; where a fingerprint has 40 unique characteristics, the iris has 256! Hence the shift to iris recognition in security – that’s pretty secure!

How are your eyes? Many of us have are accustomed to the “new norm” of working more regularly from home. But are we set up to be able to do so, safely? The combination of lighting and screen time can have an impact on our vision and have roll on effects to our overall health.  Peter, at Birkenhead Optometrists, is encouraging everyone to take care of their eyes. Here are some top tip’s from Peter for maintaining healthy vision.

1. Symptoms such as tired, dry, red, itchy eyes, neck and shoulder pain or blurred vision which takes time to refocus may be related to eye strain. If one has any of these symptoms it may be worth having a vision examination. As part of examining your eyes an Optometrist looks into your eyes to check on their health. Your eyes and vision may also change over time so even if you have glasses, these may not be doing the job anymore.
2. Good lighting and minimising glare. Excessive bright or poor lighting may cause eye strain. Glare may be caused by natural sunlight, fluorescent lighting and the lighting from computer screens. It may be worth considering an anti-glare screen, anti-reflective coating on your lenses or adjusting your monitor including text size and screen brightness. Blinking moistens your eyes preventing dryness and irritation. Regularly looking away from a computer screen and focussing on a distant object for at least 20 seconds may also help alleviate computer related eye strain.
3. Stand up and stretch! Take a break from your seat and stretch out your arms, legs, back, neck and shoulders.
4. Make your workstation user friendly. Position your seat and screen allowing for good posture. Your screen should be approximately half a metre from your eyes and 10-15 degrees below your eyes. Use a copy stand to avoid significant head movement.

Thank you to Peter from Birkenhead Optometrists for these top tips on how we can take care of our eyes especially when working from home.  To find out more about how you can maintain eye health or have your eyes tested, get in touch with Peter at Birkenhead Optometrists or phone Peter on 09 480 7771.