Behind My Eyes: Are Video Games Creating an Eye Strain Epidemic?

Behind My Eyes: Are Video Games Creating an Eye Strain Epidemic?

Hardcore video gamers, programmers, web designers, writers and business owners seem to be the most affected professions. They have in common the huge amount of time they spend every single day on the internet. Most of these people spend at least 10 hours every single day in front of their computers.Computer Vision Syndrome or CVS is a new medical issue that affects millions of people who work or play every day at their computers. The most affects groups of people are those that spend hours without taking any breaks in front of their laptop or personal computer. Behind my eyes and behind your eyes you will find organs that aren’t prepared for such a lifestyle.

Minnesota Optometric Association (MOA) found through scientific studies that most gamers suffer from eye strain and Computer Vision Syndrome. These medical vision issues can be avoided. You just need to regularly do certain actions.

Let’s take the example of a hardcore gamer. The game played by the gamer matters. If he plays a racing video game, his eyes will be affected in a certain way. If he plays a shooter which is a game that involves precise eye-hand coordination to aim and hit other players, his eyes will have to adapt to another set of environmental conditions.

Another issue that can be avoided is the presence of the screen glare. Screen glare happens when light enters your room and the light is reflected by the screen of your computer. As a result, your eyes will get tired quickly. I felt a lot of pain and discomfort behind my eyes at one point when I didn’t have curtains in front of the window in my room.

The best position to sit in when you are in front of your screen is right in front of the screen. Don’t look from an angle. The screen should be below the eye level. Many people hook up their screens above the level of their eyes. This is a mistake.Most of the hardcore gamers play these games for hours at the time. I definitely understand them because I was one of them myself. These games are truly addictive and the more you play them, the more time you are going to spend. They definitely improve certain skills like strategy, speed, tactics or learning how to shoot accurately with a gun. I believe that learning strategy is the most important benefit of playing strategy games.

Behind my eyes: Eyestrain and Video Games

Most video games involve frequent eye movements and eye refocusing. Dr. G. John Lach, the president of MOA says that these types of movements often lead to light sensitivity, lack of ability to focus properly, frequent blinking and pain around the eyes.Hardcore gamers can easily play more than four hours without taking any breaks. After a few years of doing this, they often develop vision and back problems. A large percent of them also have trouble reading social cues, socializing and building relationships.

The most important habit that will help you avoid eye strain and its related issues is to take small but frequent breaks. During the breaks, you should look into the distance to compensate for the hours spent focusing your eyes on short distances. Get out of your room, go outside and follow the line of the horizont. Keep looking far into the distance for at least ten seconds. Then you can safely get back to your room.

When I was playing for hours at the time, I always felt pain behind my eyes. Since I started taking frequent breaks, the pain has disappeared. This is what you have to do as well if you want to avoid the symptoms of the Computer Vision Syndrome. Remember: take frequent breaks and you will be fine.