Hello! I’m Emily, the Help Desk Operator at Sight Support Derbyshire. For National Eye Health Week, let’s dive into something we all can relate to: the digital world and its impact on our eyes.
It doesn’t take long, after you’ve been concentrating on work, for fatigue and headaches kick in. This shouldn’t be brushed off as work stress; prolonged screen time can really mess with our focus.
Wendy, our Eye Clinic Liaison Officer in Chesterfield, has an eye exercise routine to keep our eyes comfortable in front of screens:
- First start with flexing: sitting straight, without moving your head, look up and down 10 times then again looking to the left and right 10 times.
- Exercise your eye muscles by putting your thumb about 10-inches away from your face and focusing on it, then shift your focus to something else about 10-20ft away and keep switching for 2-3 minutes.
- Finally, stare at a blank wall and imagine a figure 8 lying on its side. Trace this path of the figure 8 with your eyes without moving your head, then reverse for a minute.
These eye exercises stretch our unseen muscles and act as a little holiday for our eyes!
I have been questioning our team on some of their eye care rituals. Our team here find a midday walk refreshing for their eyes, even when it is raining! Such as Nic, the Office Manager, “My screen breaks are making sure I have a break at dinner away from the office, tea breaks and then other work tasks I do away from the screen” and Helen, our Living Well Project worker, “I try to move around and leave my desk and also have a walk outside in nature if possible!”
Heather uses an eye mist when her eyes feel dry while Victoria, the Social and Leisure Co-ordinator, uses yoga face relaxation to offer her eyes a break as well as the yoga technique, palming: covering your eyes with fingertips on forehead and palms on cheekbones, allowing the eyes ultimate relaxation.
Our CEO, Claire, “adjusts the blinds as the sun moves around the building to stop any glare on my screen. I also try and eat a healthy lunch, including fresh fruit – all good for good eye health.” Incorporating fresh fruit and vegetables into your meals can enhance both eye health and overall well-being, reducing issues like headaches and eye strain.
Abi, our Fundraiser has two beautiful trees outside her window that she focus on from afar, “There’s also something very calming about trees so it helps to keep things in perspective too!”
Personally, I found relief by making a trip to the opticians for screen-related headaches. With a new pair of glasses and a mixture of techniques to relax my eyes, eye strain is no longer a bother.
Let’s spread the word about the screen-eye connection and how tiny tweaks can save us from the strain. Why not chat with your colleagues about it – together, we’ll conquer eye fatigue!
