Protect your eyes

Eye safety — whether at home or in the work place — is proven to prevent injury or vision loss.

The following recommendations will help keep productivity up and discomfort down while surfing the Web, editing a document, sending an email while on the job or working around the home.

• Give it a rest. Follow the 20-20-20 rule — at least every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away. The Eye-Q® survey found that the majority of Americans do not follow this rule, and more than 59 percent of people take breaks only every hour, or less frequently.

• Size up. Smaller screens on hand-held devices use tiny type sizes that challenge your vision. Instead of bringing the screen closer to the eyes, increase the font size so the device can be used at a distance, which will be more comfortable on your eyes.

• Sharpen up. Better resolution offers greater clarity and usually more comfort. Adjust the brightness of the screen to a comfortable intensity, neither too bright nor too dim.

• Reduce glare. Hand-held devices present challenges in various lighting conditions. Whenever possible, try to make sure lighting is not directly behind your head or in front. Try to reduce glare, which may ease reading and make an even bigger difference than increasing the font size.

• Look down. It is easier on the eyes to focus on reading material that is below eye level; therefore, a computer monitor or hand-held device should be positioned slightly below eye level.

Eyesight safety

Many professions require protective eyewear to help reduce the risk of eye injuries. By using proper eye protection, such as safety glasses, goggles, face shields and helmets, thousands of injuries could be prevented. Yet, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in approximately 60 percent of eye injury cases, workers failed to wear proper protective eyewear.

While working around the house or on home improvement projects, an even greater percentage of people do not wear safety glasses or goggles. Eye safety — whether at home or in the work place — is proven to prevent injury or vision loss.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 31, Number 4, August/September 2012.