For your visual comfort, ophthalmologist Stéphanie Zwillinger and the entire COP9 Paris team invite you to take care of your visual health. The quality of vision decreases over time: to ensure that it is preserved, we offer you our advice, tips and exercises to protect and rest your eyes at work… but also when working at home!
The importance of resting your eyes
Many professions these days require long exposure to screens, in addition to the screen time spent in the home. This overexposure can cause many symptoms, such as ophthalmic migraine, tired eyes, dryness or eye irritation. To avoid this, the COP9 team suggests the following tips:
Our first tip is to remember to take regular breaks. We invite you to monitor your screen time. Take a break every 20 to 30 minutes, at the very most every hour, for at least 30 seconds. During this relaxation time, close your eyes. Of course, avoid using your cell phone.
Our second tip is to make your eyes focus. From your place from which you are working, we invite you to look at elements located in the distance, in your peripheral vision. You will stimulate your vision and eye muscles. Take the time to blink for a long moment in order to preserve your tear film and avoid any eye twitching or blurred vision.
You can do simple eye yoga exercises. Hold your head still and look from left to right, then up and down, making circles in one direction, then the other. It’s almost like doing a psychomotor re-education session from your desk!
Contact lens wearers should make sure that their lenses are well moisturized with eye drops. In order not to damage the eyes, the globe must avoid any dryness following long hours of intensive work on a screen. If you experience eye strain, you should wear glasses instead.
Some tips for your eyes when working from home
When working at home, screen time can increase. Screens have a real impact on the eye and your vision. People who work on a computer, or a tablet, are less likely to blink. The phenomenon of accommodation is constant, and eye movements are reduced.
To avoid visual fatigue when working from home, the COP9 team and ophthalmologist Stéphanie Zwillinger suggest the following tips:
First of all, we advise you to arrange your working space at home: the computer screen should be big enough not to tire you, and should be at eye level. You will avoid eye and spinal strain.
Be sure to adjust the colors and contrast of the screen according to the time of day you are working. Pay attention to the surrounding light to rest your eyes, whether it is artificial or natural light. Make sure that you have the correct contrast between the brightness of your screen and your light source.
Think of equipping yourself in accordance with your needs: wear anti-fatigue glasses when you are in front of a screen. You can also opt for an eye drop to avoid any dryness of the eyes that could cause you discomfort and eye fatigue.
Since you are working from home, take the opportunity to take real breaks that you can’t always do at the office: give yourself a massage! Rub your palms together to warm them up, and apply them to your eyelids for a few seconds to prevent dry eyes. Eye Strain can cause headaches, so think about massaging your temples as well.
What if the symptoms take hold?
However, if our advice on eye relaxation and changing your work environment is not enough and you are subject to syndromes such as the following: intense migraine, eye pain, burning eyes, difficulty in maintaining focus, general fatigue, we invite you to make an ophthalmic appointment at COP9.