A condition known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) could be affecting your quality of life and job or academic performance. This condition could be causing pain or discomfort and isn’t merely associated with computer use.

Many health worries could be directly related to the amount of time you spend staring at any type of screen: handheld device, laptop, or full-sized monitor. There is hope, however, for those plagued by CVS.

Woman With LaptopScreen Time

Responsible parents have been trying to limit their children’s screen time since household computers became an affordable reality and spread through middle-class homes. Many such parents already limited children’s TV time, especially on school nights. Something about staring at a screen for hours didn’t sit right with them.

Part of the problem is that TV watching and playing video games becomes addictive as seen in changing behavioral patterns, sloppy and incomplete school work, lack of social engagement, poor fitness, and isolation. Parents also worry that too much screen time isn’t good for a child’s eyes and they are right.

Computer Vision Syndrome is particularly bothersome for youngsters who are focusing hard on a screen, which is why it’s worse than watching TV. One can lose concentration, listening from the kitchen while making a sandwich and a cup of tea, for example.

Video games on a small screen, however, require minute focus and use a lot of eye muscles, especially when the screen is particularly tiny as on a regular-sized smartphone. Most kids have access to one, at least in the western world.

They also spend more time on the computer conducting research for school projects and writing essays depending on a project’s length and the child’s grade level. Whether it’s a school computer or a household laptop, kids in their pre-teens and teenage years are expected to obtain a lot of their graphics and information online.

Adult Addiction

Many of these children’s parents are also seemingly chained to a screen, frequently because they hold desk jobs or their work revolves around computers much of the time. A lot of adults would also confess to their own abuse of screen time; addiction to social media. They spend hours gazing at photos of family members and long-lost school friends or watching top 10 videos and losing themselves in the wacky worlds of strangers.

There are even parents who prefer to play Candy Crush than to read a book when they need down time. Computers aren’t all bad: consumers who can’t afford a gym pass follow exercise channels on YouTube in order to complete their daily exercise programs, but that’s another period of screen time.

Computer Vision Syndrome Symptoms and Support

Usually, your eyes don’t have to focus on one thing all the time. They can roam around and are easily distracted by things on their periphery. Eyes can relax more even when reading a real book on real paper than when reading the same text off of a screen.

A screen glows brightly; its glare is harsh on the eyes. Books don’t glare unless you try to read from a page reflecting sunlight. Most consumers don’t even try to set their computer screens for better eye health.

As a result, they suffer from sore, dry eyes. Their surface feels like it’s burning and the only relief is to close them for a period of time. Headaches are common. While taking an OTS painkiller or using eye drops might assuage the discomfort, a better idea is to rest your eyes regularly to prevent the onset of a CVS headache in the first place.

Take a break and walk around to relieve sore eyes, a sore head, and pain caused by sitting in the same position for a long time, often the wrong position. Set your computer station so that you are at a comfortable angle and adjust the glare for a softer setting.