Gadgets like smartphones, tablets, and laptops have indeed made our lives easier. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that today they’ve indeed become an inseparable part of our lives. And in the recent past, we have seen them contributing greatly to education as well.

Though online studies were in existence before, the rage saw a rise with the lockdown period where offline learning shifted to online learning.

While things are going back to normal, one can’t deny the role of online learning in today’s scenario. It acts as great support for offline learning and provides students with great assistance in personalizing their learning.

However, attending online classes calls for taking good care of your eyes. It is prevalent for students to strain their eyes while attending online lectures, often termed digital eye strain.

Some of the common symptoms associated with digital eye strain are:
• Teary eyes
• Fatigued eyes
• Blurry vision
• Frequent neck & headaches

While digital eye strain is a common side effect, with the right tips, you can easily manage your eye health and enjoy your online learning experience without any hassle. Let us have a look at some of these tips:

1. Opt for Laptops or Tablets: Mobile phone screens are smaller when compared to laptops and tablets or computers. Phone screens require you to look closer when reading the text properly which strains your eyes. Hence, it is advisable to use laptops, computers or tablets for better readability.

2. Screen Brightness: You may like the brightness of your screen but it certainly does no good to your eyes. To keep your eyes safe from straining, adjust the brightness. Doing so will not only help your eyes but will even preserve the battery life of your device.

3. Proper Light in Room: The room you choose for studying must have enough light that can complement the light and brightness of your device. It will reduce glares and will help you study with more focus.

4. Follow 20 Seconds Rule: Staring at the screen for long causes maximum damage to your eyes. Experts suggest that you should always follow the 20 seconds rule. In every 20 minutes of screen time, you should turn away from the screen and look far away. This gives your eyes the relaxation they so need.

5. Enlarge: Your computer is set for 100% zoom but if that’s not comfortable to your eyes, make it 150. When using a document, always use larger fonts while typing so that eyes are not strained. You can go back to the usual font size once the writing and editing part is over.

6. Rest & Proper Diet: Your eyes need proper rest and a good diet to function normally. And this stands unaffected in the case of online learning too. You should take proper rest and include healthy meals in your daily diet. Also, stay hydrated.

7. Posture: Your posture while sitting also has an important role to play in keeping your eye healthy. No matter what chair type you choose, there are certain rules to keep in mind. Sit straight with your upper legs flat against the chair bottom. Lower legs must be at a 90 angle at your knees. Your feet must also be at a 90-degree angle to that of lower legs. The back should be 100-135 degrees with legs. Arms tucked by your sides and neck, and shoulders should stay relaxed. The posture should allow you to watch the screen comfortably without any stretch, strain or crane to your eyes and neck.

Taking care of these tips will ensure that you stay away from digital eye strain and have a healthy online learning experience.