We spend most of our waking hours in office. We do realise the importance of taking care of our health and resolve to pay more attention to our bodies. But the lack of time causes all our resolutions to be tossed out of the office window. Here are a few tips that will help you take care of your eyes while you are in office. We may not have the time to specially go out of the way for our health, but we can at least be careful, not to do additional harm.

 

  • Increase the font size

Smaller the font size, the more your eyes have to strain. If your work involves reading long documents or spending long hours at the computers entering or editing data, your eyes stand a chance of getting fatigued at the end of the day.

(To increase the font size on your computer screen, go to ‘Start’ and Type ‘Text’ in the ‘Search’ option. You will be directed to the display settings in your Control Panel from where you can increase the Font Size. To change the font size while browsing the internet, you can press down on the Ctrl key and use the + or – keys.

 

  • Work in Good Lighting Conditions

Try to angle your computer screen away from light sources and windows to ensure that there is no light reflecting off your monitor screen. So do good lighting conditions mean that brighter your computer screen, the better? Experts say that the optimum brightness of a computer screen is such that it matches your surrounding environment. So if your room is bright and sunny, keep the brightness to match the room. But if your room tends to be anything else, it will do you well to reduce your screen’s brightness.

 

  • Don’t let the AC dry out your eyes

WHO says that the incidence of dry eyes doubles in the summers among workers who stay in enclosed places in air conditioning without ventilation or adequate humidity. Avoid exposing your eyes to direct drafts of air from the AC or fan. Open the windows of your cabin frequently to humidify the air in your room. If you stay in a region where the air is naturally dry, you can use humidifiers along with the Air Conditioner.

 

  • Take frequent breaks

We often get so engrossed in our work that we may forget to blink while looking at documents or the computer screen. Give your eyes regular breaks by following the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes look at an object that is 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. If you tend to forget you can set little reminders on your computers… there are plenty of free softwares available on the internet.

 

  • Choose suitable eye wear

If your work involves handling chemicals or substances that my harm your eyes, wear protective eye glasses that cover your eyes from all sides. If you are required to spend long hours at the computer, consider getting an anti-reflective coating (ARC) for your glasses. You may consider getting a different pair of spectacles for office use depending on your work profile, type of vision correction required and off course, your own personal choices.