We’ve all rubbed our eyes after staring at a screen too long. Whether we’re studying, working, or (let’s be honest) scrolling, using a phone or laptop too long leaves our eyes feeling uncomfortable. A common bit of advice, and something I try to live by, is looking away from the screen ever y 20 minutes or so, mostly because I vaguely remember someone telling me it’s a good idea at some point. I couldn’t help but wonder, though: is there any science behind this factoid? I thought I’d look into it.  Why does staring at a screen hurt my eyes? You might be wondering why, exactly, using a screen for too long ends up making your eyes feel weird. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, people blink less while looking at their screens. “Normally, we blink around 15 times per minute,” the organization states, “But this ‘blink rate’ can be cut in half when staring at screens.”  This idea is backed by a 2022 research review authored by Kirandeep Kaur of the Aravind Eye Hospital and Post Graduate Institute of Ophthalmology in India, and other collaborators. The paper, which reviewed almost 30 studies from all over the world, aimed to explore the causes of what it calls “digital eye strain.” The paper states reduced blinking is one factor, but mentions others, including “contrast level of letters compared to the background of digital screens, screen glare and reflections, wrong distance and angle of viewing digital screens, poor lighting conditions, and improper posture during usage.”  All of these things mean that extended screen time leaves our eyes feeling dry and overall uncomfortable—”dry eyes, itching, foreign body sensation, watering, blurring of vision, and headache,” according to the study. The paper is careful to state that more research is needed to determine whether screen time results in permanent damage, but states the discomfort is very real.  Does looking away every 20 minutes help? Research suggests that looking away from your screen every 20 minutes really can reduce eyestrain. The idea is even recommended by the CDC, which recommends a specific plan: “Every 20 minutes, look away about 20 feet in front of you for 20 seconds.” The idea is to reset your focus, and blinking rate, to reduce the symptoms of eye strain. The paper by Kaur et al. suggests this really does help reduce eyestrain, but there are other things you can try. Recommendations from the paper include limiting your screen time to four hours or less per day, having ambient lighting in the room beyond just your screen, and wearing glasses instead of contacts during extended screen sessions.  Software that reminds you to look away If you feel better after looking away from your computer, but find it’s hard to remember to actually do it, there’s software that can help. The free and open source application called Stretchly works on Windows, macOS, and Linux computers. It periodically takes over your screen and reminds you to look away from the screen. What I like about this application is how flexible it is—you can set the time between breaks, and the length of the breaks, however you like. I highly recommend it to anyone who finds their eyes hurt after a particularly long work session.  The post Stop staring at screens so much. Here’s how. appeared first on Popular Science. ...read more read less