Online classes harm our eyes adversely due to continuous screen exposure. Important steps need to be taken for proper healthy eyes. Let’s agree. COVID-19 has indeed changed our lifestyles in unimaginable ways – how we work, cook, work out – why even our eating and sleep routines.
And while much has been written, said, and discussed all these aspects, the young population is tackling significant changes in their own world – that of how they study.
The new academic year has started. And the indefinite closure of primary educational institutions and higher-level universities, in India and across the globe, has shifted knowledge transfer and acquisition, from a traditional classroom setting to entirely virtual gatherings it has become almost impossible to prevent glasses of online classes.
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Why are Screens Harmful?
The first aspect to look at is why are screens harmful to the eyes? The answer to this is multifactorial. Firstly, most people use smartphones and tablets, all of which require you to place the screens near your eyes. Among children, it has been seen that such prolonged tasks can cause an increase in myopia (nearsightedness).
The second factor is that when we are watching screens, our eyes are focused at a fixed distance for a long time. While in everyday life our focus keeps changing from far-off objects to nearby objects. When watching a screen, everything is happening at a fixed distance. This can cause eye muscle fatigue and weakness.
Thirdly, when watching a screen, we get very engrossed in the moment and forget to blink enough. This is particularly true for children and it causes the eyes to become dry which results in watering of eyes as a reflex.
Fourthly, the blue light coming from a screen can cause harm to the retina, particularly when the screen is being seen in a dark room. This has the potential to cause macular degeneration. All these factors chime in and make it impossible to prevent glasses.
Online Classes
The situation prior to the pandemic was totally different. Screen exposure was limited to a certain number of people. Moreover, it was not at all compulsory to sit in front of the screens for 6-7 hours straight and do the needful work. After the pandemic struck the world, all our activities and proceedings got confided to screens thereby increasing our screen exposure time.
Speaking of children attending their classes through online mode, the screen exposure time has obviously increased. Such screen exposure due to online classes has caused a number of problems in children. Some major problems being found in the children as a result of continuous screen exposure due to online classes are as follows:
Dry-eye Syndrome
As explained above, looking at the screen continuously without blinking one’s eyes can cause faster evaporation of tears from the eyes and hence making the eyes dry and deprived of tears. Such a situation leads to a condition called dry eye syndrome.
Increased Muscle Strain
Continuous exposure to screen because of the online classes results in increased strain on the eye muscles. Because of this, the eye muscles weaken and hence students start experiencing problems like headaches, blurry vision.
These are just two eye ailments among the ones students are facing because of the online classes. Developing these types of problems at such a young age is not at all good for the health of the students. Hence, some important measures should be taken while attending online classes to maintain good and healthy eyes.
Effects of Continuous Screen Exposure
Spending too much time in front of the screens can affect our eyes in an adverse manner. Staring at the screen for too long may cause our eyes to not blink for long which can lead to dryness in our eyes. Some major effects of the increased screen exposure on our eyes are as follows:
Fatigued Eyes
Due to the long and continuous exposure to the screens of computers and other devices, our eyes may get tired sooner than usual. This might result in double vision, headache, and lack of concentration.
Weak Eyesight
We work on the screens with a very short distance between the screen and our eyes, because of which the harmful radiations emitted by the device affect our eyes directly. They weaken our eyes and hence our ability to see. As a result, it becomes difficult for us to view objects properly.
We would then need spectacles of appropriate power to view the nearby and the faraway objects, as per the situation. And once you have them it usually snowballs from there onwards, if you cannot prevent glasses you can at least incorporate habits that won’t worsen the situation Certain tips to avoid glasses and this predicament have been mentioned in the next section.
Dry Eyes
The more time we spend working on the screens, the more our eyes remain open. While working on the screens, our eyes do not blink frequently which causes faster evaporation of the layer of tears formed on the surface of our eyes. Since these tears are responsible for keeping our eyes moisturized and protecting them from any sort of foreign substances; their evaporation results in a condition called dry eyes.
Muscle Strain
Keeping our eyes focused in the same position for too long might result in unnecessary strain on our eye muscles which can consequently lead to weak eyesight.
Tips to Prevent Glasses
Following a Healthy Diet
To avoid many of the eye problems caused due to continuous screen exposure in online classes, it is important to follow a healthy diet plan with an adequate amount of all the nutrients that are essential for healthy eyesight. A healthy diet may not be able to completely prevent glasses however it can lessen the damage. Hence, your diet for maintaining healthy eyes should include:
- Antioxidants like beta-carotene, lutein, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and E.
- Fish and eggs if you are a non-vegetarian. Fish contains healthy fats and vitamins which help in the healthy development of the eye and take care of the retina at the back of the eye. The yolk of the egg contains vitamin A which safeguards the cornea.
- Increase the intake of almonds in your diet. Almonds contain vitamin E that protects our eyes from any macular degeneration or cataracts.
- Try to consume more dairy products. They contain vitamin A as well as zinc. Vitamin A is good for the eyes and zinc helps in transporting this vitamin to other organs of the body such as the liver.
- Carrots and oranges are also proven good for healthy eyes. Carrots contain vitamin A and beta-carotene and oranges contain vitamin C, all of which are good for our eyes as explained before.
Blinking Motions
People usually blink about 12 – 14 times in one minute. However, when engrossed while reading textbook chapters or watching educational videos on screen, the rate of blinking reduces tremendously, resulting in itchy, dry eyes.
Opening and closing the eyelids gently, 10 times every 30 minutes, helps to moisten the exterior layers of the eyes with tear gland secretions, thereby preventing withering and irritation.
Palm Massage
Since laptops or tablets are placed quite close to the eyes while following e-tutorials, the eye muscles are stretched extensively, apart from being exposed to bright light for a prolonged period of time.
Pressing the palms against one another to generate some warmth and placing them on the eyelids is a wonderful exercise that reduces viewing strain and soothes the eyes.
Adequate Lighting
Although it is home, apart from a quiet room, with a comfortable study chair and desk, sufficient natural illumination is absolutely essential, for averting vision-related exhaustion. This is probably the best way to prevent glasses. An adequate amount of lighting while doing any work is really crucial.
The best solution for this is morning lessons, with loads of sunshine filtering in through the windows. And if enrolled for evening classes, avoid the glare from the white LED or fluorescent bulbs and opt for warm light sources instead.
Distancing Devices
Looking closely at a monitor for lengthy phases leads to a gradual decline of the retina and optic nerve.
Make sure that electronics are kept at least 18 – 24 inches away from the eyes. Keep in mind to sit in an erect posture and place the device at eye level. Adjust the brightness and contrast settings of the gadget, to make viewing effortless and help preserve ocular operations and prevent glasses.
- To improve near and far focus
- Hold your thumb approximately 10 inches away from your face and focus on it for 15-20 seconds.
- Locate an object 10 feet away from you. Similarly, focus on it for 15-20 seconds.
- Return your focus to your thumb
- Repeat the same process 5-6 times.
Important Eye Care Tips
Do’s
- Always keep an appropriate gap between your eyes and the screen (at least 30-35 cm)
- Try to take a break from screen exposure after every 20 minutes. Taking considerable breaks from time to time will allow your eyes to take proper rest and function more effectively for a longer time. Moreover, this reduces the chances of getting your eyes harmed because of continuous exposure to the screen.
- If, due to the online classes, you feel any kind of discomfort in your eyes consult a doctor and ask him to examine you for the eye problems that have a chance because of the screen exposure. Take the eye drops and the medicines prescribed to you by the doctor without fail. Taking medicines and eye drops at the proper time will also help in speedy recovery of any sort of abnormality or discomfort in the eyes because of the online classes and help prevent glasses.
- You cannot reduce the amount of radiation emitted by the devices through the screens but you can minimize the amount reaching your eyes. Try using an anti-glare screen/matte screen protector for your device to minimize the radiation.
Don’ts
- Do not put too much strain on your eyes while operating on electronic devices. Avoid reading pages and sites with small font sizes. Prefer enlarging the size of the font. It makes it easy for you to read and hence decreases the amount of strain on your eyes.
- Always keep your screen display adjusted in such a manner that it is neither too bright nor too dull to operate. Too bright screen displays often result in weakening the eyesight and too dull screen display strains our eyes to a great extent
- Avoid using the screen in dim light or dark rooms. Ensure proper lighting around you whenever you are sitting for long and continuous exposure to screens.
- If your eyes are already weak i.e. you already have a pair of spectacles to wear, do not fail to use them while sitting in front of the screens. Wearing them won’t help much to improve your eyesight but it will surely help to prevent the condition from worsening.
