Are you one of those people who glance at your phone at least 100 times a day? There is a high chance that your eyes are paying for the price of your screen addiction. Staring at your phone for too long can lead to tired, itchy, dry eyes, as well as headaches, blurred vision, and light sensitivity.

Here are 3 reasons why your eyes hurt when looking at your phone:

1. Having Poor Neck and Body Posture

Your posture affects your eye strain or headaches. Did you know people with migraines report that neck discomfort is at least a symptom of attacks and could function as a trigger?

2. Spending Too Long Continuously on Your Device

The more you use your phone, the more you likely you are to develop ocular symptoms. The earliest sign of eye strain develops about an hour of extended exposure and become even more severe after four hours.

3. Staring at a Bright Screen in the Dark

You’ve probably noticed that your eyes struggle to adapt to a bright screen in the dark. In about 20 minutes of exposure in the dark, we can experience significantly more symptoms of eye strain.

How Do I Stop My Eyes From Straining?

Here are 5 tips to save you from smartphone eye strain:

1. Blink Often

Keep your eye moist by blinking often to reduce dryness and irritation. Did you know we blink a third less than we normally would when starting at our phones?

2. Take Breaks

Follow the 20-20-20 rule. This rule is to help you take a break from look at your screen every 20 minutes for 20 seconds while looking at something 20 feet away. This will help to relax your eye muscles in order to avoid smartphone eye strain.

3. Adjust Your Brightness

Is your screen too bright or too dark? This stresses your eyes out and cause problems maintaining focus. You can easily avoid this by adjusting your screen brightness the same as the light level in the environment you’re in.

4. Annual Eye Exams

Don’t forget to book an annual appointment with your optometrist. This will help you protect your health and wellness. Eye exams can help to detect eye disorders and diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration, as well as other health problems such as diabetes, brain tumours, and high blood pressure.

5. Keep A Clean Screen

Keep your clean screen by routinely wiping down your smartphone with a dry cloth to remove dust, grime, smudges, and fingerprints. And if you don’t have one already, invest in an anti-glare screen protector to minimize glare.

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