Digital eye strain is easily preventable. The obvious answer is to limit digital media use, but for the vast majority who can’t – or won’t – there are multiple ways to lessen the impact of screen time.


Adjust External Factor:


Reference: The Vision Council,Alexandria VA, US, website: http://www.thevisioncouncil.org

Remember Internal Factor:

Take care of your eyes with proper nutrition and supplementation if necessary. Antioxidants such as vitamin C, E and beta-carotene have been shown in clinical research to protect the eye and reducing the risk from the development of certain eye diseases, including macular degeneration and cataract formation.

•   Cassis Berry Anthocyanin, found in Cassis berry (blackcurrant), among all the berries, blackcurrant contains the highest D3R & C3R anthocyanin which studies shown that it is specifically beneficial to eye health, reduce H2O2 free radical (from digital screen & UV light) significantly, and maintenance the sharper eyesight

•   Lutein is an important natural antioxidant that helps prevent free-radical damage to the macula which is responsible for fine and colour vision.

•   Eyebright helps circulatory and eyes. It purifies the blood thus enhancing liver function. It can be made into eyewash and/or taken internally. And as the name suggests it will brighten the eyes.

•   Vitamin C, in fact, your eyes contain the highest concentration of vitamin C in your entire body. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and it protects the cells in your eyes from damage. Studies suggest long-term consumption of vitamin C also may reduce the risk of forming a cataract and vision loss from macular degeneration.

•   Diet with more dark green, leafy vegetables, which are rich in vitamins and phytonutrient that can prevent the body from free radical damage.

Japanese statistics show that 1/3 of all people are worried about their dark circles, especially women. Studies have suggested that there are several reasons for the formation of dark circles, of which apart from genetics, hormones and melanin, the main reason for the formation of dark circles for most modern people is because of the overstraining of the eyes that leads to eye fatigue and poor blood circulation around the eyes.

Focusing your eyesight for an extended period of time will cause overstraining and premature aging of the eyes, and as such will cause the blood flow around the eyes to become slower, resulting in a lack of oxygen supply to the red blood cells and excessive accumulation of carbon dioxide and metabolic waste, leading to reduced oxygen availability and resulting in a darker appearance for the blood. As the eye subcutaneous skin is thinner, darker blood presents itself as dark circles around the eye.

According to a report published by the USA National Eye Institute, by 2020, the blind population in the USA would increase by 70% and the number of adults with vision problems would increase to 5.5mil.

In this digital age, the main concern with our eyes lies with the overstraining of our eyes with our modern lifestyle. For a typical working adult, we spend hours on end in front of the computer screen and our mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, couple with long hours wearing contact lenses while working in air-conditioned environment, resulting in discomfort and dryness in the eyes, which would lead to damage to the eyes over the long term. Such may be the case of not just an increase in the degree of the short-sightedness, but may well result in premature development of age-related macular degeneration. According to a US estimation, close 70% of our population will develop Digital Eye Strain from the overuse of electronic and digital devices, and of which, those aged between 18 to 34 make up 45% of this population.

Computer users, Internet users, High degree Short-sightedness -
Accelerating the aging of the Eyes

Recent statistics have also shown that eye diseases, like glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, which used to be diseases of the elderlies, are now seen among younger individuals starting from the age of 40. Moreover, more than 60% of frequent and long hours computer and smartphone users report dryness of the eyes and other eye discomfort issues. Overstraining of the eyes as we age increases the chances of developing eye diseases. Individuals who are still in their 20s may already have the eyes of a 40 year old. Premature aging of the eyes is getting serious and as such, eye health is fast becoming a most worrying topic for the World.

Blue Light from Computers and Smartphones are Harmful to the Eyes

The band of blue-violet light that is most harmful to retinal cells ranges between 415 and 455 nm.

Lights in the Nature that can be seen by the naked eye are called “Visible lights”. Blue Light in this instance does not refer to lights that are blue in color, instead we are referring to the high-energy lights that are of 400-500 nm in wavelength.

Blue Light mainly comes from smartphones, computers and TV screens. These Blue Lights contain a high number of irregular high-energy short-wave Blue Lights. Blue Lights are closest to Ultraviolet (UV) Lights, and can penetrate the eye lens, reaching the retina, and cause deterioration and death to the epithelial cells of the retina. The deterioration and death of the cells will lead to a lack of nutrients for the light sensitive cells and as a result causing eye sight damage. The most frightening part is that these damages are irreversible.

In particularly when we look at smartphones under poorly lighted conditions, Blue Light emissions will increase by a factor of 50%, whereby causing increased damage to the macula. From the overexposure of blue light to the macula, lutein found on the macula would become depleted and causing inflammation, edema and blurriness, resulting in vision damage that may cause temporary blindness, and if not corrected, may developed into permanent blindness.

As such, the threat of Blue Lights damaging the health of our eyes should not be ignored.

Free radical H202 – Another Eye Health Culprit

Another culprit that causes aging to the eyes is free radicals damage, where UV light and radiation are also sources of free radicals. Free radicals cause oxidation to the eye cells. Out of the many free radicals that are harmful, the most damaging type H202 that can be created by the computer screens. H202 free radicals can pass through the blood-brain barrier and cause damage to the eyes, leading to computer vision syndrome.

Symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome include:
-   Dryness of the eyes
-   Frequent tearing of the eyes
-   Redness
-   Eye fatigue
-   Vision blurriness and double vision
-   Dark circles
-   Headache and soreness of the neck