We are living times in which technology is everywhere and it has a huge impact on our daily life. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, technology certainly has its benefits, like making information easily accessible for us or help us connect with each other, but if we use it more than we need too, our health might be in danger.
How is that? You might ask. Well, I’ll give you a personal example of how bad overexposure to electronic screens is. A few weeks ago my eyes hurt me so bad that I could not even keep them open and I had a terrible headache. So terrible that I ended up seeing a doctor and after the consult, I was surprised to find out that my problems were caused by spending way too much time at the computer and on my phone.
If you’re still wondering what’s all the big fuss about and you’re still not convinced that overexposure to electronic screens can have such a negative impact, you should know that constant exposure to lights on digital screens can damage your retinal cells and lead to long-term vision problems. The retina, which is responsible for processing intensity of light and color, does not have the ability to regenerate or be replaced if damaged.
It’s very easy to get carried away and spend a lot of time online, especially if you’re working in an environment where that is a must, but the good news is that there are solutions that can help you protect yourself from the negative effects that electronic screens have.
What can you do to protect yourself from overexposure?
1. Take frequent breaks – It’s so easy to get distracted and spend more time at the computer or on your phone, but try to remind yourself to disconnect after max 30 minutes. Even if you take your eyes off the screen for 5 minutes, it will be an accomplishment, so do that and observe the difference.2. Don’t stay so close to the screen – I often forget to do that, especially if I am on my phone, so don’t take my bad example. Try to maintain a certain distance from the screen in order to protect your eyes.
3. Use a blue light filter – this is very important because blue lights are especially disruptive to your sleep because they suppress the secretion of melatonin, which is a hormone that influences the circadian rhythm. Use a blue light filter, especially at night time.
4. Check your eyes – It is important that we take care of our eyesight, especially if we work a lot on a computer. So schedule regular checkups just to make sure that everything is fine.
5. Limit your time online – This is very hard to do, but if I did it, so can you! The beginning is the hardest part but you will get used to it in no time and you will actually enjoy it! To give you an example, last week my screen time was up to 90% compared with other weeks and I became really worried. That meant a lot of hours spent online, hours that I could have spent with my family or doing something for me.
What did I do? I took action. I decided that I won't go and check my phone that often and I stayed away from my laptop as much as possible. Result? Well, I am proud to say that this week I barely stayed 2 hours online, which is a new thing for me. See what I'm trying to say here? You just need to say stop and take action.
Vizulize has a very interesting infographic about how much people spend on their phones and what apps are they using the most. It's really useful especially if you're interested in #ScreentimeStats.
These are just a few tips that worked for me and I really hope will work for you too. If you have other tips for me, I would love to hear from you!
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