Tips to Protect your Eyes from Computer

A lot of people spend a long time in front of the computer such as workers and students. On the other hand, there are people who are addicted to computer and like to spend their days on websites or chat. This is not good because it may affect their health. Anybody who spends hours in front of the computer at work every day has probably experienced some discomfort in the eyes, and negative effects on their vision. I spend a good 12 hours a day in front of the computer almost every day, and after a few months of this I started to experience a slightly painful burning sensation in my eyes while using the computer; my eyes felt dry and itchy; I could feel debris moving around in my eye socket, beside and behind my eyeballs; and I started seeing some eye "floaters", which are black spots that float around in your vision, as well as some black shadows and intermittent light flashes when I moved my eyes. Needless to say I was in a bit of a panic, since this was the first time I had ever had any eye problems. In my efforts to solve this problem I learned a few things computer users can do to protect their eyes and keep them healthy. Note that I am not a doctor; these are simply some things that I looked into and found them personally very useful.
The single most important factor in reducing eye strain and all its subsequent problems was to start turning down my computer screen's brightness. I had always assumed that the default brightness was the best, and was the default because it was the safest and healthiest. How wrong I was. The very day that I started lowering my screen brightness, the burning sensation in my eyes was reduced by about 90%. I still get it a little bit towards the end of my work day, but it comes much later and it is much less severe. How much I turn down the screen brightness depends on the brightness of the room. If the room is dimly lit, I dim the screen quite a lot to match the room's level of brightness. If the room is more brightly lit then I don't reduce the screen brightness as much, but I still reduce the default brightness by a few clicks. Please be proactive and start reducing your screen brightness before you start having problems.
The next important thing has been to keep my eyes hydrated. Your eyes can easily get dry when you are making them work hard, and this can increase your eye strain and cause more discomfort and worry. All of those little itches and movements you feel when your eyes are dry can be pretty scary, like there's something crawling around back there. But really it's because of the dryness. So I recommend you buy some eye drops and apply a couple of drops to each eye every couple of hours, or whenever your eyes feel dry or itchy. Nothing fancies is necessary, just a basic vitamin eye drop is good. Some eye drops contain eucalyptus, which has a cooling sensation that can offer relief when you have a burning sensation in your eyes. Another important part of keeping your eyes hydrated is simply drinking enough water and eating water-based foods like fruits and vegetables. At work it can be easy to drink nothing but coffee, but coffee is a diuretic that dehydrates your body including your eyes. So make sure you drink plenty of water.
One final thing you can do to keep your eyes healthy and strong is to consume blueberries or blueberry extract. Blueberry contains anthocyans, a kind of bioflavonoid that is absorbed quickly into the brain cells, and has a fast impact on your vision. So if you are feeling some heavy eye strain and need immediate effects, in addition to eye drops I'd recommend you consume some blueberries or blueberry extract capsules. I take two blueberry extract capsules everyday for ongoing eye health, and I take an extra dose whenever I feel some heavy strain. Blueberries also contain antioxidants that help prevent cancer and are very healthy in general.
The above three strategies are what have specifically helped me get over my eye problems. Living a healthy lifestyle in general is also important. For example, floaters, shadows and light flashes occur much more when I haven't gotten a good night's sleep. When I have gotten a good night's sleep they are almost unnoticeable. So use the above strategies and remember to always keep your health as your number 1 priority.