One of the many things teachers, parents, students, and friends have been asking me during this difficult time is how I deal with the increase in screentime on my eyes. Everyone can agree that with Remote Learning becoming more commonplace, being on a screen for many hours a day has also become an (unwanted, in most cases) new normal. After being approached by many teachers for tips, I put together this easy to follow infographic.
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| These tips are specifically for Chromebook users because those are the devices used by our school. |
Blue Light
To get the show on the road, let's talk about blue light. Blue light is everywhere. It is a naturally occurring wavelength. This article from All About Vision explains what Blue light is.
I have read, heard, and experienced a fair amount of information on blue light coming from screens. Now, I'm no ophthalmologist, but I feel like the blue light does affect my eyes. You can do your own research on the topic, or here is an easy-to-read article from Harvard. The theme? You should limit your blue light intake before bed to help you sleep. Well, what about during the day? Personally, I have found a significant difference in my eye strain by limiting my blue light exposure throughout the entire day.
Night Mode
Chromebooks all have a "night mode" feature, much like many of our smartphones today. The idea behind night mode is that it limits the amount of blue light emitted by your computer screen.
To put your Chromebook in night mode, click on the time in the bottom right corner. You'll see the settings gear in the top right. Once in settings, look to the left column toolbar where you see "Device." Scroll all the way to the bottom where you will see "Night light." The warmer you choose, the less blue light your screen will emit. You can set timers for this or, like me, you can choose to never turn it off. No one else can see this on your screen from Google Meets, screenshots, etc. It's only the visible screen on your actual device. You can do this on any device, not just Chromebooks, you just need to Google it to find out how. Of course, I had it on my desktop at school and received the occasional ribbing from my co-workers about the pee-colored screen, but... Who cares?! They're just jealous. 😉Blue Blocker Glasses
Ahhh... blue blocker glasses. Do they work? Should we invest in a pair? Well, that is totally up to you. I can speak to my personal experience and that's it. When I updated my glasses prescription this year I did include the blue blocker filter on my lenses. I figured it would be worth a shot because of the increase in screentime I would obviously be dealing with as the Technology Coach. Personally, I think they make a difference. So much so that we bought pairs for both of our children! When remote learning became a thing, we wanted to protect our kids the best we could. That included their eyes.20-20-20 Rule
I had heard of this rule a few years ago and try to practice it regularly. The rule is this: Take a 20-second break, every 20 minutes, and look at something 20 feet away. Here is a great infographic from the American Optometric Association. How do you complete this easily? I have a 20-minute timer set on my phone and I have marked points that are 20 feet away. One is outside my office window and one is within my house from my chair. During this 20 seconds, I also try to do something physical like jumping jacks, stretching or massaging my hands. I also try to get up from my computer and walk around every hour or so. If you're more of a video person, here is a 20-second video (ironic, I know) on the 20-20-20 rule!
Dark Themes
Finally, if you're really looking to turn out the lights completely, you can look for different themes on websites you use. You can also install an extensions or themes to make your background dark. The extension that I have used is called "Dark Theme for Chrome" which turns EVERYTHING dark. That extension definitely takes some time to get used to. You can also play with the settings to make it how you'd like it.
Most websites (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook) also have dark themes or "turn off the lights" options. Once you enable that in your profile, the website will remember your choice and keep it that way whenever you login. Definitely look into those if you're interested!
Final Thoughts
Things aren't perfect. Things are different. All we can do is roll with the changes. If you have any other ideas on how to protect your eyes and/or overall health with the increased screen time, please! Let me know! If you would like to use this image for your own (share with coworkers, students, etc), please feel free, https://bit.ly/CopyDealingwithScreens but please give credit!
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