There are a number of ways you can manage digital eye strain in addition to prescription computer glasses that manage refractive correction, blue light absorption and have anti-reflective coatings. These include:

• The 20-20-20 rule which is to take a 20-second break from the digital device every 20 minutes to look at an object 20 feet (about 6 metres) away.
• To keep your computer screen about 60 to 70cm away from you
• Position the top edge of the screen lower than your eye level and tilt the top edge slightly away from you.
• Blink regularly and completely
• Reduce glare from bright room lights or sunlight. Bright light can reflect off the screen and worsen symptoms.

Digital eye strain encompasses a range of eye and vision-related symptoms caused by the prolonged use of digital devices such as computers, smartphones, e-readers, and tablets and is quite common. The Digital Eyestrain Report based on a US study involving 10,000 adults found:

• Up to 65% of adults report symptoms of digital eyestrain; 69% for women and 60% for men on a subjective measure which is probably linked to the increased prevalence of dry eye found in women.
• 37% of people over the age of 60 use computers or other digital devices for five or more hours a day
• 85% of people between the ages of 20 and 25 years use two devices at the same time.

A European study reported that by the time a child is three, 68% are already using computers and more than half undertake online activities.

Digital eye strain has two distinct sets of symptoms - dry eye and defective accommodation (binocular vision stress).

• Dry eye symptoms include tired or burning eyes, irritation, dryness, tearing and sensitivity to bright light while defective accommodation and
• Binocular vision stress includes aches and headaches behind the eyes and difficulty moving focus between the distance and nearby objects, or vice versa.

The average person blinks between 15 to 20 times a minute, but when people use digital devices this reduces to between four and seven blinks per minute, and that increases the symptoms.