If you’re a regular here at Horus X, you’ve definitely heard us talk about eye fatigue.
Thanks to our need to always be switched on, eye fatigue (also known as digital eye strain or computer vision syndrome) is a growing issue. Everyone in your life has experienced it at some point, possibly even your pet. Do they like TV?
Many factors can contribute to tired eyes; stress, pollution, lack of sleep are all factors, but the worst of all is of course… screens! Overexposure to screens is easily the greatest cause of visual fatigue, and it affects 75% of 16–24-year-olds.
So, what is eye fatigue? What causes it, and how do you protect yourself? In this article, we cover everything you need to know about eye strain.
Eye fatigue: Causes and symptoms
Eye fatigue, or to use its medical name, asthenopia, is caused by an alteration in the functioning of the eye following too much demand over a long period of time.
Technically speaking, it’s not really fatigue, but a spiderweb of discomfort that springs up when you overwork your little eyes.
Eyes are sensitive, and when they get tired, they feel that tiredness more intensely. Just like if you ran some laps of the football field (in your game of course…)
Why do my eyes feel tired?
Far be it for us to give you college flashbacks, but we need to explain a little about anatomy here.
Your eyes are surrounded by oculomotor muscles. These allow you to look in all direction without any conscious effort. Any reasonable direction anyway. If your eyes suddenly roll back in your head you may want to consult an exorcist.
When you use your long-distance vision though, your eyes have to make more of an effort. They make accommodations that can lead to them becoming tired more quickly.
This stresses the eye muscles, and symptoms of eye fatigue appear.
Common eye strain symptoms
Eye fatigue can present in a number of different ways:
- 👯 Cloudy or blurred vision
- 🎯 Decrease in visual acuity during the day (the more the day goes on, the less well you see)
- 🔥 Burning eyes, tingling, redness, irritated eyes
- 😖 Itchy eyes
- 🎈 Swelling
- 🌵 Dry eyes
- 😭 Teary eyes (Check out our natural remedies for watery eyes here)
- 🤯 Headaches
- 🫨 Dizziness (For more information on the connection between dizziness and eye fatigue, click here)
- 🫣 Increased sensitivity to light: That stars in your eyes effect.
- 😩 Eye pain
These symptoms vary from person to person.
If you’re lucky you might only experience one or two of these. If you’re unlucky, you could find yourself getting all of them. With that kind of fortune, we don’t recommend buying a lottery ticket.
Symptoms can be episodic or recurrent, temporary or over a long period of time.
What causes eye fatigue?
There are several reasons for eye fatigue.
This includes:
- 🍃 All kinds of environmental factors (sun, wind, pollution, dust…)
- 🚬 Cigarette smoke
- ♨️ Air conditioning, heating
- 💡 Poor lighting
- 😵💫 Stress, fatigue
- 🚗 Driving for several hours
- 👓 Glasses with poor correction
- 💤 Lack of sleep
- 🤧 Allergies
- 🧑💼 Poor working position
- 👁️ Poorly corrected vision problems (presbyopia, myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism), eye pathologies (cataract, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, inflammation, conjunctivitis and dry eye) or an ocular imbalance such as strabismus
- 🧓 Age: People over 50 are more likely to experience eye fatigue
But the most common cause of eye fatigue is undoubtedly your best friend – screens!
The link between eye strain and blue light
Screens are everywhere, you’re even using one right now to read this.
As you’ve probably noticed, symptoms of eye strain don’t usually appear until later in the day. That’s because it’s after long hours in front of a computer screen, phone, TV or tablet.
As soon as you use a digital device, you put more strain on your eyes.
Visual fatigue is a modern vision problem and even people with 20/20 vision will have experienced it. Just ask your optician.
There are two reasons screens cause eye strain:
- It’s like reading a good book, it’s intense, you concentrate hard and your eyes subsequently get tired.
- The second reason is the pesky blue light they all emit. Blue light comes with certain dangers and in front of screens, we’re fully exposed.
What is blue light?
Not to toot our own horn, but we at Horus X are blue light experts.
Blue light can be found in:
☀️ The sun: Our bodies have naturally adapted to this blue light and it plays a part in regulating our circadian rhythm for sleep.
📱 Modern LED screens and lighting: Potentially harmful and without the benefits of natural blue light! Too much exposure to screens, especially in the evening, risks disrupting the circadian rhythm (and therefore harming your sleep) and leads to eye strain.
The dangers of artificial blue light
It's important to be careful about your exposure to harmful blue light as it can lead to many short- and long-term problems.
Although it’s a relatively new topic and has limited concluded research, more and more studies are showing it has harmful effects.
In the short term, blue light causes:
- 🧐 Visual fatigue
- 🥱 Sleep and sleep disorders
In the long term, blue light causes:
- ⚫ Eye disease like AMD (Age-Related Macular Degeneration)
- 🙄 Attention deficit in young people
With an increasing amount of attention on the problems caused by blue light, it’s no wonder the USNSF is funding research into LED bulbs that don’t emit blue light.
But don’t worry, we’re not asking you to put down your screens for good. How would you play Fortnite?
There are other ways to compensate for blue light.
Use blue light blocking glasses to prevent and relieve eye strain
If you don’t want to return to caveman days, or live with the Amish, chances are that screens will continue to be a big part of your life. So, you need to look for ways to mitigate the effects of blue light.
Anti-blue light glasses do just that as they’ve been created specifically to filter out the harmful wavelengths of blue light.
But not all blue light glasses are created equal, and the market is overflowing with cheap pairs with questionable filtration.
That’s why we developed our very own proprietary technology, guaranteeing the best filtration on the market.
And since we believe good eye care should be affordable, Horus X glasses are available at a price that doesn’t break the bank. Check out our Stockholm glasses for innovation and quality that rests comfortably on your face.
The Nomad collection: Elegant glasses for work and play
Designed for all-day screen use, the Nomad range offers timeless elegance with high quality anti-blue light and anti-reflective clear lenses.
With their optimal protection and low-price tag, they’re accessible for all budgets and styles. Match our editor look for look with our tortoiseshell Stockholm glasses, or compete against co-founder Paul for who has the best style with our ultra popular Ushuaia model.
The Gaming collection: Ultimate protection for the ultimate gamers
For those of us who spend hours in front of a digital screen fighting down hordes of enemies or shooting our friends in COD, the gaming collection offers the best protection available, thanks to their amber tinted lenses.
They improve contrasts for sharpshooters, and extra strong blue light protection.
From the Gaming One to the Gaming Urban, high quality filtration computer glasses are available for all budgets. For the pros among us, we recommend our Gaming Revolution glasses to end up top of the league tables.
Horus X Sunglasses: Because sometimes you have to go outside
Horus X are proud to proclaim ourselves as the first anti-blue light sunglasses on the market. Designed for screen use outside, while still looking chic.
With category 3 lenses, these sunnies offer both blue light and UV ray protection. You can even purchase them with polarized lenses for top level glare protection.
Our advice for combating eye strain
Blue light blocking glasses are one of the best solutions for filtration and avoiding eye fatigue.
But there are other preventative measures and daily habits that can help keep your eyes healthy for longer:
🥗 Eat a balanced diet and stay hydrated: Good eye health comes from a good diet. That’s foods rich in vitamins, omega 3 and antioxidants. Our article on nutrition will give you tips of what to add to your diet, and what to avoid. And don’t underestimate the power of hydration. Try and drink 1.5L of water a day and indulge in herbal teas or infusions which have restorative properties.
🏃 Do regular physical exercise: Running across Hyrule doesn’t count. Try adding small amounts of physical activity to your routine initially, then build up your stamina from there. Relaxing pastimes like meditation can also help.
📵 Reduce screen time: As eye fatigue is mainly caused by screens, the best way to avoid it is, of course, not to use screens. But we know that’s not reasonable… who would kick Chun-Li’s ass on Street Fighter? But as with everything in life, moderation is key. Try and turn off screens an hour and a half before bed for a better night’s sleep. And be careful of little eyes, the screen time recommendations vary by age.
😴 Get a good night’s sleep: Blue light emanating from screens can disrupt the sleep cycle by interrupting the production of melatonin (the sleep hormone). It can therefore make you more prone to insomnia or trouble falling asleep. This has direct consequences on your eyes because, like you, they need to rest before starting a new day where you will put a lot of strain on them. This is why having a deep and restful sleep is good for your eyes and why it is necessary to turn off screens before bed.
🚭 Cut back on coffee and alcohol: “But my Starbucks!” Unfortunately, excessive coffee and tobacco consumption can lead to the development of eye problems. So, as with many other things, consume in moderation!
🤸 Take regular breaks and try some eye exercises: If you're used to spending a lot of time looking at screens or in an intense reading session, consider relaxing your eyes frequently to soothe them. For example, try the very effective 20-20-20 method (look at an object 6 feet away = 20 meters every 20 minutes and for 20 seconds), blink several times or perform an eye massage.
😍 Maintain good eye hygiene: Your eyes may not smell, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need cleaning. A simple wash with clean water or a few physiological serum (artificial tears) eye drops is usually enough. If you put on makeup, don't forget to remove it before bed, and if you have contact lenses, remember to take them out every evening and follow the instructions for use.
🕶️Protect your eyes with sunglasses: Nothing like UV rays to beat up your peepers, so when you go out, put on your sunglasses! Your eyes are sensitive to external aggressions (sun, pollution, dust, etc.), so they will be delighted that you take care of them.
🔅 Change the settings on your digital devices: To prevent your eyes from straining too much, you can adapt the brightness or change the font size for easier viewing. A lot of phones have a blue light application built in you can also use.
🧑💻 Pay attention to your posture: Whether at work or at home playing The Last of Us, make sure to properly adjust your work or gaming station. Check that your chair is at the right height and comfortable enough, your desk is well adjusted and your screen is at the right distance and at the right angle so as not to strain your neck, shoulders and eyes.
🧑⚕️ Consult your ophthalmologist (eye doctor) once a year: Keeping on top of your eye health means a regular eye exam. So, remember to pay a quick visit to your eye specialist annually for a complete review.
Eye fatigue: Final thoughts
Visual fatigue can have many different origins.
Prolonged exposure to screens and artificial LED lighting are some of the biggest causes of eye strain due to the blue light they emit.
When you’re suffering from visual fatigue via blurry vision, dry eyes, headaches, itchy eyes, irritation or red eyes, it’s time to put down the phone or turn off your computer/TV.
No one is saying give up screens entirely, instead find preventative measures and good habits to help. Like Hours X blue light glasses.
Soon eye fatigue will be a thing of the past and you’ll impress everyone with an eagle eye that’s stronger than Ezio’s.
