Preventing Computer Vision Syndrome

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Preventing Computer Vision Syndrome

Many people in today’s world experience a number of discomforts in relation to spending too much time in front of a computer. These discomforts are especially common for students at Iowa State University because computer technology is used for most of the classes taught here. Many students are unaware of the damage that they are doing to themselves by staring at computer screens for extended periods of time.

This paper will describe some of the effects that these students may experience which include: dry, burning eyes; blurred vision; delayed focusing; altered color perception; headaches; tired eyes; eyestrain; sore eyes; red eyes; contact lens discomfort; glare sensitivity; excessive tearing; neck, shoulder and back pain (intersights). Collectively, these symptoms have been termed Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) by the American Optometry Association (eye2eye).

The purpose of this paper is to make students aware of some of the effects of long hours spent in front of a computer, and what they can do to prevent these effects. This paper will cover the causes of common effects of Computer Vision Syndrome in detail so that students are aware of the causes as well as the effects of extended amounts of computer usage. When the students know that their computer is the source of the discomforts described below, they will be able to easily prevent these discomforts. Ultimately, this paper will help students become much more efficient in their computer work when they know what causes the effects of Computer Vision Syndrome are and how they can prevent them.

What Are the Causes of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)?

When a person is looking at a computer screen, that person is processing information at a very rapid rate. The human eye is designed to see clearly at distances of three to twenty feet away without any accommodations, and at this range our eyes traditionally experience no discomfort. When the average person is looking at a computer screen, that screen is usually around twenty inches away from the eyes. The eyes must continually expand and contract to continually refocus to compensate for this small distance. The eye is just not designed to be able to handle staying contracted for any amount of time, and the result is tired, dry, and very sore eyes (eye2eye).

The images and text on a computer screen are composed of pixels. Pixels are tiny dots that are bright in the center and fuzzy on the edges and are usually accompanied by backgrounds that do not lend a strong contrast to the written text.

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