With the big game approaching, many fans are preparing to watch their favorite football teams on various screens. Dr. Masih Ahmed, an ophthalmologist at Baylor College of Medicine, provides insights on how to protect eyesight during prolonged screen time.
"If you stare at a screen for prolonged periods, especially at a close distance, you can get eye strain," said Ahmed, assistant professor of ophthalmology at Baylor. "It doesn’t cause any permanent damage, but it can be uncomfortable and cause headaches and blurred vision."
Ahmed suggests using the 20-20-20 rule during the game: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break to look at something 20 feet away. "If you’re watching the game on your laptop, every 20 minutes, you can look off and look at something to un-focus your eyes, let those muscles relax a bit for 20 seconds, and then you can focus again," he explained.
Sitting or standing too close to the TV should not harm eyesight either. However, if children are getting very close to the screen, it might indicate they need glasses.
For dry eyes caused by extended screen use or reading without blinking enough, Ahmed recommends using eye drops regularly. "When I have patients who come in for dry eye for spending a lot of time using screens for their career, I tell them to use eye drops before they sit down at the computer or other screens and then remember to put them in every 20 or 30 minutes," he advised.
Watching in dimly lit rooms will not damage eyes but may lead to strain due to focusing on bright screens surrounded by darkness. In such cases, Ahmed suggests backlighting the screen with softer light to reduce strain.
