Your alarm goes off in the morning: You roll over, and check your email and social feeds on your phone. Then you head off to work, where you’ll stare at a computer for the next eight hours. Later that night, you sink into the couch and chill with a few episodes of your favorite show.How do your eyes feel? Many of us spend a good chunk of the day glued to a screen.
Last year, a report revealed that the average adult in the United States spends 8 hours and 47 minutes a day on advise. Which begs the question: How is all that screen time affecting our eye health and more?The answer isn’t so clear. Some doctors worry that exposure to blue light from electronic devices may have a negative impact on our eyes. "Blue light is concerning because the cornea and the lens don’t filter it out, so it goes right to the back of the eye," says Anam Qureshi, MD, clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology at NYU Langone in New York City. She says some experts think it might damage the retina and lead to conditions like macular degeneration—though there isn't any research to back up those concerns.
Below, eye doctors share their best tips:
Give your eyes a break
Download a light-reducing app
Get smart about your lenses