The Eye Practice

Eye Strain (or Asthenopia) and productivity at work are inversely related. In other words when people work too closely at their computers without appropriate breaks and proper measures to minimize eye strain, productivity plummets. When people take breaks and use appropriate measures to make sure eye strain is kept at bay, productivity soars. It's easy to remember with a simple little formula:

Eye Strain = Productivity Down

No Eye Strain = Productivity Up

Really, it's that simple.

But some people think that taking extra breaks means taking time away from important work, and, therefore, stick to their computers like glue. Unfortunately, this is counterproductive – the exact opposite is the truth.

Recent Studies Prove Eye Strain and Productivity at Work are Related

A recent study from the United States, published by their National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), showed that, in addition to their traditional two fifteen-minute breaks in an eight-hour workday, workers who took four extra five-minute breaks during their work time (and stepped away from their computers) had reduced eye strain. These additional breaks did not interfere with productivity, either – they were able to increase their productivity so that work output was maintained appropriately. Therefore, even with an added 20 minutes of break time, these workers performed better than those who did not take such breaks (and subsequently suffered from eye strain and Computer Vision Syndrome).

The breaks that you take to reduce eye strain can not only save your vision, but they can increase your productivity. Give it a thought – if your eyes are tired, you have an eye strain headache, and you generally feel unwell, you're going to work more slowly, with increased errors, and just not do a very bang-up job. However, if you take short breaks, get up, stretch, look at things off in the distance, then when you return to your tasks, you'll be feeling good.

If you feel good, you work better, make fewer mistakes, and even work more quickly.

 

Other ways to Reduce Eye Strain while Increasing Productivity at Work

Keep in mind that frequent breaks are only part of the solution to minimizing eye strain and increasing productivity at work. As we've discussed in previous posts, there are many things that can be done to reduce the impact of eye strain and your work productivity. Eye exercises, adjusting your computer's brightness and refresh rate, and adjusting your posture when working at the computer are all ways to reduce eye strain and Computer Vision Syndrome.

In addition to these methods, remember, there are also specialized glasses that can be worn to help your eyes read your computer screen more comfortably, minimize glare, reduce blue light, and hold more moisture to your eyes while you work.

If your eyes even have a small prescription, having this made and used routinely can help immensely in the work place.  It normally will not be a problem if you are reading or doing computer work for a small time like half an hour, but when we are concentrating all day, we just run out of energy to keep going.

These things should all be used together in order to increase your eye comfort, curb or eliminate eye strain, and increase your ability to work well. Call us on 9290 1899 for help with your eye strain problems.