How Long Does Eye Strain Last?

In our modern, hectic, and productive world, our work makes up a significant portion of our lives. Our busy lifestyles keep us glued to digital screens for extended periods of time. While our ability to focus is wonderful, it can cause discomfort to our eyes.

Eye strain lends to fatigue and sore eye muscles that develop because our eyes focus on work for extended periods. 

Eye strain is temporary. After taking a break from our work and letting our eyes relax and refocus, eye strain can last from several minutes to a few hours while digital eye strain can subside within an hour.

What is Eye Strain 

Eye strain is a common condition where your eyes feel fatigued, sore, or strained after extended periods of focus. This feeling may result from activities like reading, driving long distances, or spending significant time on digital devices. 

Although the discomfort is typically temporary, it can sometimes linger impacting daily tasks.

The symptoms of eye strain can vary and often include:

• Sore, tired, burning, or itchy eyes
• Watery or dry eyes
• Blurry or double-vision
• Increased sensitivity to light
• Headaches

These symptoms indicate that your eyes need a rest. It’s important to take sufficient breaks in between long-term work to give your eyes a chance to relax. Ignoring these symptoms can lead to further discomfort.

Eye strain is mainly caused by prolonged periods of intense focus or exposure to demanding visual conditions, leading to discomfort and fatigue. It’s like how your muscles feel sore after a workout, but in this case, it’s your eye muscles.

Common causes of eye strain include: 

• Working on digital screens for extended periods. 
• Doing activities that require focusing the eyes for extended periods. 
• Poor lighting 
• Stress or fatigue 
• Uncorrected vision problems

By understanding these causes, you can take proactive steps to prevent eye strain before it occurs.

Digital Eye Strain 

In today’s modern world, eye strain and fatigue have become increasingly common due to our persistent use of digital screens and devices, resulting in digital eye strain. 

Experts note that the symptoms of digital eye strain are similar to traditional eye strain, but it occurs more frequently because of how often we use screens. 

Digital eye strain happens when your eyes are continuously required to focus and refocus on digital screens. 

The high visual demands of looking at screens, along with frequent switching between screens and other tasks, overworks your eye muscles leading to fatigue and strain. Furthermore, the blue light emitted from screens can disrupt sleep patterns, increasing eye fatigue and worsening eye strain. 

Symptoms of digital eye strain and traditional eye strain are the same, but these symptoms can be more intense due to extended use of digital devices. Factors that contribute to digital eye strain include: 

• Extended periods of screen use without breaks
• Poor posture when using digital devices
• Glare from screens
• Small text size on screens
• Insufficient lighting or screen contrast

How Long Does Eye Strain Last?

Fortunately, eye strain doesn’t take long to subside. The effects are generally temporary and short-lived. Once you refocus your eyes, blink frequently, and take a break away from your work, you will begin to feel relief from eye strain. 

Eye strain can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours after you’ve taken a break or completed your extended task.

Digital eye strain usually disperses within an hour after you stop using screens. Regular breaks and frequent blinking while working can help alleviate the symptoms. 

If eye strain persists and you continue to experience these symptoms after implementing these strategies, visit your optometrist. Persistent symptoms may be a sign of underlying ocular conditions. For effective management and treatment, early detection and routine visits are key. 

Treatment & Prevention of Eye Strain

Most individuals may experience the effects of eye strain after a long day of work. While symptoms of eye strain are annoying and uncomfortable, eye strain itself is not considered a serious condition.

Eye strain is common and ignoring it doesn’t lead to long-term vision or ocular problems. However, unmanaged eye strain can lead you to experience symptoms like headaches, fatigue, soreness, and dryness, all of which provide discomfort and impact your quality of life. 

Fortunately, there are several strategies to manage and prevent eye strain.

Eye Strain Treatment

As eye strain is temporary it can be effectively treated at home by implementing a few lifestyle adjustments: 

• Take Regular Breaks: Implement the 20-20-20 rule when focusing on work for extended periods to avoid eye strain. Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This allows your eye muscles to relax. 
• Blink More Often: When working on digital screens we blink less frequently. Blinking helps moisten the eyes and reduces dryness and irritation, especially while working on digital devices. 
• Use Artificial Tears: Symptoms like decreased blinking, dry eyes, and overall discomfort can be alleviated using artificial tears, which provide additional moisture and hydration to the eyes.

Eye Strain Prevention

In addition to treating eye strain when it develops, we can implement lifestyles to reduce the risk of developing eye strain.

• Blue Light Glasses: Consider lenses specifically designed for digital screen use glasses with blue light filters are a popular option as they help prevent eye strain by reducing glare from digital screens. 
• Neurolens: Neurolens eyeglasses are designed to alleviate digital eye strain by helping the eyes align properly, targeting misalignment, which reduces strain on eye muscles. 
• Screen Settings: When working on digital devices adjust your screen’s brightness and contrast to comfortable levels. Excessively high contrast can contribute to eye strain and fatigue.
• Regular Eye Exams: Schedule routine visits to your optometrist. Persistent eye strain and discomfort may be related to uncorrected refractive errors. Regular check-ups can help detect and correct vision issues early.

Schedule a Visit

Eye strain is annoying and uncomfortable, and fortunately, it’s temporary! Understanding and addressing the causes of eye strain can enhance your comfort and productivity. 

Blue light filters and Neurolens eyeglasses help prevent eye strain by reducing glare and tackling eye misalignment. Connect with our team at Eye Care Plus to learn more about our specialty eyewear!