Children today have more digital tools at their disposal than ever before—tablets, smartphones, e-readers, hand-held videogames and computers. What ever happened to playing outside? Somehow Angry Birds usurped hide-and-seek because, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, children and teenagers (ages 8-18) are spending more than 7.5 hours a day consuming electronic media. This overuse can cause digital eye strain, a medical issue with serious symptoms that can affect learning and work productivity. Symptoms of digital eye strain, or computer vision syndrome, include blurry vision, difficulty focusing, dry and irritated eyes, headaches, neck pain and back pain. Digital eye strain is now the number one computer-related complaint in the United States—ahead of carpal-tunnel syndrome.
VSP EyeFiles Season 2 continues with Dr. Liddicoat’s recommendations for avoiding digital eye strain, which include:
Getting annual comprehensive eye exams: make sure your eyes are healthy and can see properly without squinting.
Following the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, focus on something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Ensuring proper lighting: reduce bright light and position devices to reduce reflections and glare.
Limiting device use: watch for squinting and eye rubbing as this indicates overuse
Establishing proper working distance: use the distance from your elbow to your knuckle—about 18”.
Going outside: daily outdoor play can reduce the risk of nearsightedness.
For more information on these tips, be sure to watch VSP Eyefiles episode below, and don’t forget to enter the contest on our Facebook page. You could win a Samsung Galaxy Tab!
Do your kids love video games? My grown-up kid (okay, husband) certainly does. He spends hours blasting orcs, voyaging through fabricated universes, and otherwise finding virtual ways to avoid chores.
But a recent study conducted at the University of Sydney has found that kids who spend more than an hour and half of screentime daily show signs of narrowed arteries in their eyes. These signs in adults can correlate with risk of high-blood pressure and heart disease.
The remedy? It’s a no-brainer: replace that hour and half of screentime with physical activity. I’ll try it with my husband. I hope you have better luck with your kids.
Tonight marks the kick-off of the most highly anticipated tournament in all of basketball—NCAA March Madness, a tournament of 68 college teams battling for the national title. That’s a lot of teams and a lot of games.
In fact, this is the first time in NCAA March Madness history that every game will be nationally televised. The NCAA signed a deal with CBS Sports and Turner Sports (TBS, TNT and truTV) for the rights to broadcast all the NCAA tournament games from 2011 to 2024. This year, each of the games have staggered start times (many up to 30 minutes apart), which basically allows you to watch the beginning and end of every tournament game.
Sounds great, right? Well, it gets better. Even if you can’t park yourself in front of the TV for hours on end, you can still get your basketball fix. March Madness games will also be available online and through mobile apps for the iPhone®, iPod touch®, and, for the first time ever, the iPad®.
While all this is certainly a dream come true for us sports fans, it’s not so great for our eyes. Hours of viewing, especially across multiple platforms, can lead to dry eyes, headaches, and other uncomfortable symptoms. Don’t let this happen to you—make sure you follow these tips so you can enjoy every minute of basketball action!
Philip K. is a member of VSP's Enterprise Information Services and avid video gamer
Nintendo’s next handheld device, the Nintendo 3DS, is set to launch on March 27th. They have a lineup of 18 games coming out in 2011, 13 of which will be released on the 3DS launch date.
Along with the upcoming release comes a new recommendation from Nintendo that, to avoid motion sickness, users should take frequent breaks from playing. It looks like you might be seeing in-game messaging reminding users to take breaks. In-game reminders are not a bad idea, in my opinion.
The 20-20-20 rule is always a good gauge for providing relief to your eyes. Take breaks every 20 minutes and look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Following these guidelines will result in a better gaming experience, regardless of the gaming platform you use. The Nintendo 3DS is expected to be a big hit and I am interested in seeing it in action. For more information on how this new game console might impact your eyes, read the article from PCWorld Magazine with VSP Provider Nate Bonilla Warford, O.D of Bright Eyes Family Vision Care.
On a separate topic, I got my hands on some digital media glasses, designed for gaming and computer use. I will be testing these out over the next week or two and will reporting my findings. Stay tuned!
Image from The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time™ 3D
Philip K. is a member of VSP's Enterprise Information Services and avid video gamer
I’ve been playing a good amount of online multi-player video games over the past year – specifically Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops – two of the most popular games in the past couple years. If you’ve played the games, you know that it’s not uncommon to play for three to four hours without a break.
After an extended period of play, my eyes become dry and sore and I wind up with a headache. All the things that make the games great like the high level of detail, fast pace action, pinpoint accuracy, and stiff competition is what also makes it tough on the eyes. Your eyes need to constantly adjust and focus on the ever changing game environment details, finding targets that are small and large. It’s no wonder my eyes get so tired.
Whether you play yourself or you have kids that play, it’s important to understand the strain that your eyes go through and pay attention to what your eyes are telling you. Here’s an opportunity to use the 20-20-20 rule. Take a break every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Give your eyes a rest and enjoy your gaming experience! Here are five more tips to help ease eye strain while on a digital device.
Cleveland Rocks! Check out this clip from VSP Provider Peter Mogyordy, OD as he discusses 3-D effects on vision, especially with new technologies like the Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system.
Computer-related vision problems send 10 million people to the eye doctor every year. Internist Dr. Keri Peterson went on the Today Show this week to offer tips on how to protect your vision from technology. Dr. Peterson says you have a 90% chance of getting Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) if you find yourself in front of the computer for more than 2 hours. Symptoms include eye irritation, neck pain, dry eyes and blurry vision. Watch Dr. Peterson on the Today Show and remember to take a break from the computer every 20 minutes, for 20 seconds look at something 20 feet away. Here are some more tips on how to combat CVS.
VSP Provider Dr. Lior Koppel sits down with News 12 New Jersey’s Dr. Derrick Desilva to discuss computer vision syndrome and offers tips on how to relieve strain in your eyes after prolonged use of a digital device.
Dr. Lior Koppel is a private practice eye doctor at Eye Krafters Optical in Edison, New Jersey.
Dr. Nate Bonilla-Warford, a regular contributor to the VSPBlog, was recently featured in a post on Mashable - a key source on the web for social media and technology news .…
Here’s an excerpt …
Dr. Nathan Bonilla-Warford is a VSP provider practicing in Tampa, FL
In attempting to sum up the world in 2010, one word comes to mind: connected. Everywhere we go we carry devices that keep us connected to something important to us. Be it a sleek new tablet letting you share photos with the person helping load your groceries, or a smartphone making sure you don’t miss that late night e-mail from a colleague; we are now constantly connected to the world around us, more than ever before.
We’ve become dependent on these digital devices to survive both professionally and personally, and with the holiday season now upon us and digital devices topping most of our gift wish lists, the amount of time we spend with these gadgets will only increase. Yet many of us forget to consider two devices we are naturally equipped with that keep us more connected to the world than anything else: our eyes. Consumers often don’t think about the impact digital devices might have on their vision, and it can be to the detriment of not just their health, but also productivity.
In an effort to help consumers keep their eye health in mind this winter while enjoying these amazing products, we’ve put together five tips for creating a vision-healthy environment for digital device usage.
See Dr. Nate’s tips and read the entire article here.
On November 9, Activision Blizzard Inc. set the new record for the video game industry by raking in $360 million opening day of their highly anticipated video game ” Call of Duty: Black Ops.”
Americans on average spend almost 8 hours a day on a digital device, so it would be safe to say with the release of this new game, the number of hours has significantly increased, especially for the 5.6 million people who purchased the game opening day. Eye doctors see more than 10 million people a year complaining of eye problems from staring at a digital screen. So we recommend taking frequent breaks and following the 20-20-20 rule to help protect your eyes and keep them from straining. The rule tells you to stare at something 20 feet away, for 20 seconds, every 20 minutes.
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Dr. Nate Bonilla-Warford, a regular 
On November 9,