By Mark Mattison-Shupnick, ABOM

How many of us go to bed thinking not only are you tired but boy, your eyes need a rest too? That happens to most of us today, and for most, digital eyestrain is the culprit.

Working or playing for hours a day on a digital screen can lead to accommodative stress—a fancy way of describing its effect, tired eyes. A way of reducing accommodative stress is to provide some of the accommodative power demanded of your eye, worn in a special spectacle lens, when in front of a digital screen.

TODAY’S VISUAL ENVIRONMENT

Today’s visual environment is much different than it has ever been. Within a blink of an eye, we have brought our world to an arm’s length away and it’s at a critical mass. Personal smartphones came into existence just 10 years ago with the first iPhone. Now, more than 80 percent of Americans own a smartphone! Six years ago, Apple’s first-generation iPad was released in 2010, and now 50 percent of Americans own one. These new devices differ from our traditional computers, not only in their size and portability, but how close we hold them to our eyes. With the barrage of digital media devices in society’s hands and a world of information at our fingertips always comes excessive amounts of eyestrain, even in young eyes.

According to a 2017 review by Nielsen, Americans devote more than 10 hours a day to screen time, half of which is spent on their smartphone. It’s simple; looking at digital screens can cause physical eye discomfort. From The Vision Council, this discomfort is called digital eyestrain, and they recommend individuals and children visit an eyecare provider to discuss their digital habits and the solutions available to relieve symptoms of digital eyestrain. Read more at 2020mag.com/ce.