Screen Side Effects on Eye Health: Nowadays smartphones, laptops and tablets have become a part of not only our personal life but also our professional life. Many important tasks cannot be completed without a screen. From waking up in the morning till sleeping at night, our eyes remain glued to some screen or the other. Looking at the screen for hours is having a bad effect on your eyes. Often people feel that excessive use of the screen for a long time can take away the eyesight. The question is, can screens really make people blind? Let us know the truth about this from the doctor.

Dr. Tushar Grover, Medical Director of Vision Eye Center, New Delhi told News18. That just looking at the screen does not completely destroy the eyesight. So far, it has not been proved in any research that screens can directly cause blindness. However, using the screen for a long time can weaken the vision and cause many other problems. Screen overuse can cause digital eye strain or computer vision syndrome. In this, symptoms like dryness, burning sensation, blurred vision and headache are seen in the eyes. Watching the screen tires the eye muscles and increases the risk of vision loss. Using screens in the long term can also cause damage to the retina of the eyes.

The doctor told that the blue light emanating from the screens is harmful not only for the eyes but for the entire body. This light is not completely filtered by the cornea and lens of the eyes and reaches directly to the retina. Retinal cells can be damaged due to prolonged exposure to blue light. This is called photochemical damage. Excessive blue light can accelerate the process of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which can lead to loss of central vision in old age.

According to experts, nowadays children are wearing glasses, a major reason for which is screen time. The eyes of small children are more sensitive than those of adults and their pupils absorb light better. Due to focusing on the screen, children blink less, which reduces lubrication in the eyes. Looking at nearby objects for a long time significantly increases the risk of myopia in children, which is worrying for their vision.

Blue light affects not only the eyes but also our brain. Using screens at night prevents the production of a hormone called melatonin in the body, which is responsible for sleep. When melatonin is produced less, the sleep cycle gets disrupted. Incomplete sleep not only causes dark circles under the eyes and fatigue, but it also reduces the recovery ability of the eyes, making them less ready to withstand the strain again the next morning.

The doctor told that to protect your eyes from digital dangers, you should follow the 20-20-20 rule. After every 20 minutes of work, look at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Apart from this, keep the brightness of the screen according to the light of the room and use blue light filter or night mode. Blink frequently while working and drink enough water, so that the eyes remain hydrated. Get your eyes checked at least once a year.