Whether you work at your company or your DIY home office, it’s important not to overlook the importance of eye health. Insights on employee eye health from the World Economic Forum emphasize the many drawbacks caused by poor eye health and vision problems among employees. These include economic costs from medical expenses and absenteeism and a dampened productivity rate.
According to the International Labour Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, an estimated 13 million people have vision impairment linked to their occupations. While there are lines of work that expose you to more eye-related occupational hazards, the rise of digital work also means more people are spending long working hours in front of computer screens than they used to.
While everyone has their share of bad habits, some are more detrimental to your eye health than others. In this post, we’ll look at four bad work habits that impact your eye health:
4 Way Your Work Habits Are Impacting Your Eye Health
Not Wearing Glasses
One of the most straightforward tools to deal with vision problems at work is eyeglasses. Most common vision problems can be treated with the right prescription to promote vision correction.
With clearer vision, you won’t have to squint or strain your eyes too much during long work sessions. For people who may not require prescription glasses, however, investing in some eye protection from blue light emitted by digital screens is still important.
Wearing blue light glasses helps protect against UV rays and filter blue light. Blue light glasses with blue-violet light filtering can smartly reflect blue-violet light, shielding you from overexposure to the light from your screens. Most blue light glasses also help enhance your vision by reducing distracting reflections and are scratch-resistant to scratches from everyday use.
Sitting With Poor Posture
We’ve previously written about the harms of bad posture on your health. Aside from increasing your need to see a spine doctor for correction, bad posture can also impact your mental health and cause lethargy. At the same time, bad posture and hunching too close to your screen have been associated with lower blink rates, causing dry eyes and irritation over time.
Investing in a decent ergonomic chair can help improve your posture, along with other health benefits. Ergonomic chairs help prevent musculoskeletal disorders while ensuring you’re seated at the right distance away from your screens while staying comfortable.
Unhealthy Snacking
Snacking while working can help keep you up and focused. However, be wary about eating too many unhealthy snacks. Some foods can impact your eye health more than you think. Sugary drinks like soda and sweet tea can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, for example, which can cause diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
Instead, eye doctors recommend healthier sources of nutrients and vitamins to boost eye health. Citrus fruits like oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit are good sources of vitamin C and antioxidants. Other vitamin C foods, like peaches, tomatoes, and strawberries, can also prevent or delay age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.
Lacking Sleep
Finally, it’s vital to ensure you’re getting enough sleep. While working late nights may be tempting and make you feel more productive, the long-term effects can devastate your eyes and other organs. Sleep deprivation can lead to dry, itchy, or bloodshot eyes, which also impacts your ability to work efficiently the next day.
Your eyes may also develop light sensitivity if you don’t give yourself enough sleep, and it may cause blurry vision. If you absolutely have to work late nights, it can help to fit in power naps in between. Sleep is crucial for letting your eyes heal themselves and can help prevent potential eye infections from dry eyes.
Final Thoughts
If you are guilty of any of these bad eye work habits, it might be time to reconsider them or to try to implement new habits to protect your eye health!