Reading a computer screen is hard on your eyes because of the way the characters are formed on the monitor. The video display is made up of pixels, or tiny dots, rather than solid images as on a printed page. Because your eyes cannot "lock" focus on these dots, your eyes must continually focus and refocus to keep the image sharp. This refocusing results in stress to your eye muscles. In addition, your eyes blink less frequently when you are using a computer, causing the eye surface to dry out and become irritated. The irritation makes focusing even more difficult, which can lead to headaches and neck pain.
Computer Vision Syndrome can be even worse for people who have refractive disorders, binocular vision, accommodative (focusing) disorders, or dry eye.
Children who use computers may be even more susceptible to CVS than adults. Children often keep performing enjoyable tasks, such as computer games, with great concentration for hours with few breaks. This type of prolonged activity without significant breaks can cause eye focusing problems and eye irritation.
What steps can you take to minimize CVS?
The most important factors in preventing and treating CVS have to do with the ergonomic environment, which is the body's position relative to the computer and the external environment. This includes lighting conditions, chair comfort, location of reference materials (perhaps using document holders), and the position of the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
