Eye Strain and Headaches

You’ll strain your eyes!

How often have your heard that? How much truth is there in it?

Nowadays, we spend so much time on computers, playing video games and watching TV. People often complain of a headache that they think is due to their eyes straining. If you need glasses or contact lenses – or your current prescription needs updating, there could be some truth in it.

If your vision isn’t 20/20, the muscles that control your eyes will work harder to press the eyeball into a shape where it can see better. You will feel this as ‘squinting’. Prolonged periods of squinting will make your eye muscles tired and that can give you a headache.

Pixel headache

No – that’s not a real name – but the eye problems suffered by long-term computer users are now so common that they have been given their own name – Computer Vision Syndrome, or CVS.

So what about that pixel headache?

Computers cause more problems than other close work because of the way the letters are formed. Each tiny letter is made up of hundreds of tiny dots or pixels. If you enlarge a picture of a single letter, you will be surprised at how ‘blocky’ it is. We see the letters as smooth because our eye ‘fills in the gaps. The muscles around the eye have to work harder than usual to do this – resulting in headaches. This is not actually damaging to your eyes and after a period of rest, everything should return to normal.

Computer users may also suffer headaches from prolonged periods of bad posture. This puts a strain on the back and neck muscles, which in turn can lead to a headache.

What can I do about computer headaches?

· Take a break. Get up and walk around. Massage your face, neck and head to get rid of any built-up tension.

· Turn down the contrast on your monitor so that the screen is not so bright – or get a monitor shield to cut down on glare.

· Don’t sit too close to the monitor

· Make sure lighting is adequate

Check your posture.

Make sure your computer chair is at the right height and your monitor is at the right level for your eyes. As a rough guide, you should be able to rest your forearms comfortably on the desk to use the keyboard. Your eyes should be roughly at the same level as the top of your computer screen. Make sure you can stretch your legs out under your desk – get rid of any obstructions.

Shedding a little light…

Make sure you have at least some light on in the room where you are watching TV or working on the computer. Many people enjoy watching TV with the lights off – but if you are prone to these headaches, it can make things a lot worse. Your eye muscles have to work extra hard to compensate for the lack of light – leading to headaches.

How do I know if I’m suffering from eye strain?

You may experience some, or all of the following symptoms:

· A headache after working on the computer

· A headache after watching TV

· A headache after reading a book

· A burning sensation in your eyes

· Your eyes may feel tight, itchy or irritated

· Tiredness

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