Tina Patel, optician at Feel Good Contacts, offers tips on keeping your eyes healthy when you’re getting too much screen time
Blink more
Staring at a screen for long periods of time can cause your eyes to become dry and sore. This leads to discomfort and severe problems further down the line. Every time you blink, your eyes are replenished with moisture, which they need to function at their best.
Use bigger fonts
Smartphone screens are much smaller than regular laptop screens, which means reading text on them can be trickier. Increasing the size of the font on your smartphone will make reading from your phone easier. This can be done in the Settings tab, with many phones providing the option for large fonts that are tailored to those with poor vision.
Keep the screen at eye level
Holding your phone at eye level or just below will feel more natural for your eyes, making it less likely that you’ll experience eye strain.
Keep your distance
A phone should be held at about 35cm away from your eyes in adults. That’s usually arm’s length away with a slight bend in the elbow. The distance gradually increases as we approach our early 40s and most people will require reading glasses from around the age of 45.
Take regular breaks
Just like with all digital screens, taking regular breaks is important to keeping eyes happy. Practise the 20-20-20 rule — every 20 minutes look 20 feet into the distance for at least 20 seconds.