{"id":60575,"date":"2020-06-18T08:11:56","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T12:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=60575"},"modified":"2020-06-17T23:21:54","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T03:21:54","slug":"colorado-optometrists-announce-tips-to-help-avoid-eye-health-challenges-from-increased-screen-time-during-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/colorado-optometrists-announce-tips-to-help-avoid-eye-health-challenges-from-increased-screen-time-during-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Optometrists Announce Tips to Help Avoid Eye Health Challenges from Increased Screen Time During COVID-19 Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>DENVER, Colo., June 18, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) &#8212; As social distancing becomes a normal way of life during the COVID-19 pandemic many individuals are participating in increased screen time. The <a href=\"https:\/\/colorado.aoa.org\/\">Colorado Optometric Association<\/a> (COA) and the public health campaign <a href=\"https:\/\/2020eyescolorado.org\/\">2020 Eyes Colorado<\/a>, have collected tips from its doctors of optometry on how to keep eyes healthy as technology has become the hub for employees, social circles, students, teachers, families, and entire communities to stay connected.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/20-0618-eyes-colorado-2020-696x522.jpg\" alt=\"2020 EYES Colorado\" width=\"696\" height=\"522\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-60566\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/20-0618-eyes-colorado-2020-696x522.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/20-0618-eyes-colorado-2020-696x522-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><br \/>\n\u201cThis increased screen time for many is an important part of life and staying healthy mentally and emotionally, which makes reducing screen time not possible for many. There are still a number of preventative measures individuals can take to reduce the impact of screen time on eye health while staying connected,\u201d says Dr. Matt Buchanan, COA Board President.<\/p>\n<p>It can be difficult for some individuals to understand why their vision is suddenly blurry or they\u2019re experiencing more headaches. But Colorado optometrists know the eye health challenges that come with increased screen time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Potential Signs That Screen Time is Impacting Your Eyes <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increased headaches or migraines<\/li>\n<li>Dry eyes<\/li>\n<li>Red eyes<\/li>\n<li>Itchy eyes<\/li>\n<li>Watery eyes<\/li>\n<li>Blurred vision<\/li>\n<li>Light sensitivity<\/li>\n<li>Eye strain<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Tips for Keeping Eyes Healthy During Increased Screen Time<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Observe the 20-20-20 Rule<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Adults and children should take frequent screen breaks by practicing the 20-20-20 rule. When using any screen, every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break, and\u00a0look at something 20 feet away. To get in the habit of this, set a timer every 20 minutes for a few days as a reminder to use the 20-20-20 exercise.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Take Blink Breaks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Looking at a screen naturally has users blinking less and that can cause dry eyes, which can also cause a number of issues including blurry vision. When you take your 20-20-20 break be sure to take a few long blinks. This will help hydrate your eyes and reduce any discomfort from reduced blinking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reduce Blue Light<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Blue light is linked to computer fatigue and eye strain.\u00a0Colorado optometrists recommend wearing glasses that filter out this light.\u00a0If you\u2019re unsure about finding true blue light glasses, you can contact your optometry office for recommendations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Buy an Alarm Clock<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Blue light suppresses our bodies production of melatonin. This is one of the chemicals that tells our body it is time to go to sleep. Eliminating nighttime phone use in your bedroom tends to nurture better sleep and it eliminates blue light exposure from looking at your phone during the night. It\u2019s recommended that you use an alarm clock in your bedroom and keep your phone in another room or on customized \u201cdo not disturb settings\u201d while being placed across the room.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Establish a Screen Schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During this time, we can\u2019t get away from using screens, but it\u2019s important to evaluate if there is any way to reduce screen time. Many families are finding that no screens after 8pm is a great rule to start winding down for bed and reducing stress. Begin looking at ways to reduce mindless social media scrolling and shift some of your entertainment choices to non-screen activities during certain times of the day or week.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Check Your Vision<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re experiencing more headaches, blurry vision or eye discomfort it\u2019s probably a good idea to get a comprehensive eye exam in the near future with your local optometrist. This will ensure that your eyes are equipped with the correct prescription lenses\/contacts and that any other vision issues are addressed. Stay away from online eye exams or vision screenings as they are not a reliable tool for the full picture of your eye health.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado\u2019s doctors or optometry are fully open and offering all services including routine care! Find a local optometrist <a href=\"https:\/\/2020eyescolorado.org\/\">here<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/2020eyescolorado.org\/\">https:\/\/2020eyescolorado.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Colorado Optometric Association (COA):<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Colorado Optometric Association (COA) is the professional organization of optometrists in Colorado. Over 600 Colorado Doctors of Optometry are voluntary members of the Association.<\/p>\n<p>Since 1892, the COA has assisted its members in providing the highest standard of professional care to their patients by sponsoring continuing education programs for doctors, advocating in local and state governments for programs and laws that represent patients\u2019 best interests, and providing information for the public. For more information, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visioncare.org\/\">http:\/\/www.visioncare.org\/<\/a> or call 303-863-9778.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DENVER, Colo., June 18, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) &#8212; As social distancing becomes a normal way of life during the COVID-19 pandemic many individuals are participating in increased screen time. The Colorado Optometric Association (COA) and the public health campaign 2020 Eyes Colorado, have collected tips from its doctors of optometry on how to keep eyes healthy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8189,"featured_media":60566,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[600,1,29,141,134,61],"tags":[13639,13638,13332],"class_list":["post-60575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vision-news","category-business-news","category-colorado-news","category-denver-news","category-general-editorial-news","category-health-medical-news","tag-2020-eyes-colorado","tag-eye-health","tag-public-health-campaign","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":3932,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}