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How often do you sit down and calculate the time you spend in front of your computer screen at work? Probably never, right? We already know the answer – it’s too much. But just how much?
The good folks over at ACUVUE decided to find out and the answer was rather alarming. The contact lens company polled 2,000 office workers and unsurprisingly found the amount of time spent in front of computer screens is wreaking havoc with our eyesight, concluding that the average office worker spends over 1,700 hours per year gazing into the pixelated abyss. Keep in mind, that doesn’t include any time you’ve spent staring into your phone or tablet, hoping a magical vortex out of the office will randomly appear.
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Additionally, nearly 40 percent of workers admitted they need to enlarge text on their computer screens just to see it, while 25 percent said they can only read the monitor if the screen is a few inches away from their face.
Katie McGeechan of ACUVUE says the strain on our eyes is continually worsening as time passes.
“Computers are a relatively new concept – for millions now, staring at a screen all day is the norm. However if you look back just a few decades, far fewer of us would have spent the day looking into the same glowing rectangle, and when you add mobile phones into the mix, we’re putting our eyes through a lot every day,” stated McGeechan.
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So what can you do to relieve the dryness and pain? One way is to simply take breaks. Over 40 percent of people polled admitted they don’t take time away from the computer screen, with 37 percent of workers stating they often experience headaches due to excessive squinting and straining. Eye exercises will also aid in your pupils experiencing quicker recovery times, but few actually have the time for such.
And if those options don’t help? You can completely alleviate the problem by throwing your monitor out of your fourth story office window to a gratifying, plastic shattering, death.
