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Computer Vision

By Dr. Elise Brisco

Computers put a tremendous amount of strain on your eye muscles, yet it is impossible to avoid using computers. We have become so dependent on computers at work and home for e-mail, internet access, word processing, number crunching, and graphic design.

As computer usage has increased, so have related vision problems. One reason is because your eyes need to work harder to focus on the computer screen for a prolonged period. Computers are more visually demanding than printed material because the image on a monitor is not stable like printed text in a book. It is composed of pixels of light that are continually being refreshed. Therefore, your eye muscles must constantly adjust to keep the flickering screen in focus. Because of this intense focusing demand, even low amounts of uncorrected astigmatism or farsightedness make your eye muscles work harder. Studies have shown that prescription glasses, designed specifically for computer use, will decrease eyestrain and physical fatigue, and improve productivity.

Muscles that control eye movement and eye coordination, also get a workout at the computer as you scan the screen or surf the web for hours. Inefficient eye tracking can make it difficult for you to analyze spreadsheets and keep your eyes on the lines of text. Poor eye coordination can slow you down while reading the screen. Eyes that tend to drift apart create symptoms such as eyestrain, intermittent double images and headaches.

Another cause of computer-related eyestrain is dry eyes. We tend to blink less frequently while concentrating which diminishes eye lubrication. Dry eye symptoms include burning, itching, intermittent blur, or a "heavy eyes" sensation. This can usually be improved by using artificial tears, a humidifier , or nutritional supplements to increase tear production.

If you or your employees spend an hour or more each day using a computer, having the fastest computer and latest hardware is not enough. An up-to-date computer prescription, and correctly balanced eye muscles, are necessary to optimize your comfort and productivity.

Computer User's Comfort and Productivity Checklist

Headache associated with computer use

Eyestrain

Irritated eyes

Blurred vision

Slow to refocus on objects around the room after prolonged computer or desk work?

Difficulty seeing clearly at distance after prolonged computer use?

Vision goes in and out of focus

Words appear to move on the screen?

Frequent loss of place when looking between copy and screen?

Double vision at any time?

Neck ache or blurry vision with current prescription?

Frequent visual mistakes? i.e. inverting letters or numbers, or while proofreading?