Have we ever been more attached to our screens?

Obviously so much of many of our jobs involves staring at a computer screen. On top of that, chances are that anywhere you are, at any given moment, you can look around the room and at least fifty percent of the people around you will probably be staring at their phone--or a screen of some kind. Then many of us go home and stare at yet another screen.

We've heard plenty about the concerns over digital eyestrain and the dreaded "blue light." Heck, the blue light scare has created entire new businesses dedicated to selling you special glasses to minimize the potential negative effects involved.

So what can we do to minimize these negative effects?

Freelance journalist, Christine Yu, is dedicated to covering issues like these. She offers a few tips to help:

Just look away for awhile. The good news is, sometimes just taking a break can alleviate some of the symptoms of eyestrain. She suggests that, for every twenty minutes of screen time, look at an object at  twenty feet away for at least twenty seconds. This is known as the 20-20-20 rule.

Turn down the brightness. Depending on the level of light in your current environment, adjust the brightness on your device. If you are in the habit of looking at a screen that's either too bright or too dim, this can cause considerable strain on your eyes. Your phone probably has an auto-brightness setting of some kind. Turn that on. Also, consider getting a matte screen filter.

Keep your monitor or screen at an arm's length distance. Yu also suggests making sure your work station is set up so you are able to gaze slight downward.

A couple of other tips? Feel free to adjust the font size if you need to do so. And hey, there's nothing wrong with refreshing your eyes from time to time with preservative-free eye drops.

OK, time for me to take a quick break. Excuse me while I stare at the window for a few minutes at that tree that's about twenty feet away. ;) Take care of those peepers.

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