Too Much Screen Time: Top Tips for Protecting Your Vision

We live in an ultra-connected, on-demand world dominated by screens. Everywhere you turn, there's a TV, computer, or cell phone staring back at you. The exposure to electronic light, while boosting productivity, can lead to serious health consequences, including eye strain, poor sleep, and cognitive impairment. Excessive screen time poses a significant risk in modern life.

Balancing screen time is crucial, much like other non-genetic health risks. It’s unreasonable to spend eight hours a day staring at your computer at work, watch TV for a few hours at home, then fall asleep texting friends without experiencing some eye strain. "Some of us use these devices for up to nine hours a day. Your eye muscles have to focus at that near range, which can be fatiguing," Dr. Christopher Starr, an associate professor of ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, told CBS "This Morning".

The primary issue with digital screens like cell phones is that they are backlit and emit blue light, or high-energy visible (HEV) light wavelengths. This blue light is responsible for much of the eye strain associated with excessive screen time. It also suppresses the natural production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, which can disrupt falling and staying asleep.

Research also indicates that prolonged, uninterrupted staring at digital screens reduces blinking. "When you're not blinking, and you're staring with your eyes wide open, tears evaporate very quickly," Dr. Starr explained. "You get dry spots, blurred vision, it can cause redness, pain, and the condition worsens throughout the day."

Tips to Reduce Digital Eye Strain

• Follow the 20-20-20 rule: For every 20 minutes spent looking at a digital screen, look away for 20 seconds at an object at least 20 feet away to give your eyes a break from the intense focus on the screen. Set a timer on your phone as a reminder.
• Wear glasses with anti-reflective lenses or use a special screen on your computer designed to filter out blue light.
• Enable “night mode” on your cell phone, especially during the hours leading up to bedtime.
• Adjust indoor lighting to avoid competing with the light from digital screens, as excessive indoor lighting can cause glare and is not better for reading.
• Spend time outdoors and expose your eyes to natural light as much as possible. Even looking out a window while at work can provide a much-needed break for your eyes.
• An hour before bed, start to unplug from TV, internet, and your phone. Maintain a healthy bedtime routine so your body knows it’s time to sleep.

Kids & Teens: How Much Screen Time is Too Much?

In addition to vision health and quality sleep concerns, excessive screen time is linked to emotional and behavioral disorders in children and teenagers. Psychology Today in 2014 highlighted that even average screen time (defined as seven hours a day or about 50 hours a week glued to screens) can cause subtle changes in young, developing brains, including impaired cognitive functioning:

“As a practitioner,” Dr. Victoria L. Dunckley writes, “I observe that many of the children I see suffer from sensory overload, lack of restorative sleep, and a hyper-aroused nervous system, regardless of diagnosis—what I call electronic screen syndrome. These children are impulsive, moody, and can’t pay attention... excessive screen-time appears to impair brain structure and function. Much of the damage occurs in the brain’s frontal lobe, which undergoes massive changes from puberty until the mid-twenties.”

Other studies, such as one featured in a 2012 HBO documentary, show links between excessive screen time and issues like increased risk of being overweight, suffering from depression, and even physical distress (“gamer's thumb” is the new tennis elbow). The question remains: how much is too much?

• Experts discourage children under the age of two from using television programs, pre-recorded videos, web-based programming, or DVDs.
• Although 75% of the top-selling videos for young children claim to be educational, research does not support educational benefits for children under two.
• Television viewing before the age of three has been linked to cognitive delays, difficulty paying attention, and sleep problems.
• Children under five who watch TV spend less time interacting with parents and siblings and in free play.
• Screen time (not including internet research for homework) should not exceed two hours of high-quality programming a day.
• 21% of 8-18 year-olds are exposed to screens for more than 16 hours a day and are more likely to report getting lower grades.

Adults struggle to disconnect from electronics and turn off the TV, but it's even harder for the average teen who grew up with technology as commonplace. Parents need to lead by example in demonstrating a healthy balance of screen time and real-world interaction, and enforce the rules accordingly. Here are some tips from WebMD to help establish house rules:

• Don’t treat screen time as a reward or punishment.
• Make regular plans to see friends.
• Record shows to watch later instead of staying up late.
• Eat at the dinner table and put your screens away.
• Remove TVs and computers from bedrooms, and limit bedtime texting.
• Reduce gaming time, perhaps limiting it to weekends only (and avoid violent video games that research shows can increase aggression and decrease empathy).
• Turn off the TV after 8 p.m. and engage in relaxing activities like reading or light yoga/mediation before bed.
• Stretch your fingers and thumbs periodically during texting or gaming.

Regardless of your age, spending too much time staring at digital screens can negatively impact your eyes, sleep, and even brain function. Whenever possible, unplug and reconnect with the real world by going outside, reading a book, or having a face-to-face conversation. Use your downtime to give your eyes a break from squinting at an electronic screen.