If you feel like you're spending your whole life staring at a screen, you're not alone. The average adult now logs about 97 hours of screen time every week, according to the 2025 Workplace Vision Health Report.
That's more time than most of us spend sleeping, and it's impacting our vision. Many people are turning to blue light glasses for relief, but do they actually work?
At 2020 Family Vision, our team sees people every day who struggle with eye issues after a long day at the computer. This condition is known as Digital Eye Strain (DES) or Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).
While it's tempting to look for a quick fix in a pair of trendy glasses, the science suggests we might be looking in the wrong place.
The short answer is that they probably don't. In 2023, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews published a major study that analyzed 17 different clinical trials.
They found that blue light-filtering lenses made no measurable difference in reducing eye strain compared to standard clear lenses.
The truth is that the blue light coming from your phone or laptop isn't the primary cause of your discomfort. In fact, you're exposed to much more blue light from the sun during a short walk than you'd get from a week of computer use.
The real problem is more about how we behave when we're using our devices.
The gritty feeling you experience at the end of the day usually comes down to a lack of blinking and muscle fatigue.
When you're focused on a screen, your blink rate drops by more than 60%. Instead of blinking 15-20 times a minute, you might only blink 5-7 times. This causes your tears to evaporate, leaving your eyes feeling dry and irritated.
Additionally, your eyes have tiny muscles that have to work hard to maintain focus on a close object for hours at a time. This constant tension leads to headaches and blurred vision.
It's a lot like holding a heavy weight at arm's length. Eventually, the muscle is going to get exhausted and start to ache.
Since glasses aren't a magic cure, our team recommends focusing on habits that actually give your eyes a break. Here are the three most effective things you can do right now to protect your vision:
Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This gives your focusing muscles a chance to physically relax and reset.
Since you aren't blinking enough, using preservative-free eye drops a few times a day can help keep your eyes lubricated and comfortable.
Position your screen about 25 inches away (arm's length) and slightly below eye level. Looking slightly downward helps your eyelids cover more of your eye, which slows down tear evaporation.
If you're still struggling with headaches or blurry vision, it might be time for a checkup.
Sometimes, what feels like digital strain is actually an outdated prescription that's forcing your eyes to work harder than they should.
Contact us at 2020 Family Vision today to schedule an exam and make sure your vision is ready for the digital world.
