Tired Eyes From Screens? What Actually Helps Digital Eye Strain
Short answer: screens don’t permanently damage your eyes, but staring at them makes you blink far less, which leaves your eyes dry, achy and blurry. Breaks, a better screen setup and artificial tears fix most of it. Blue-light glasses and fish oil don’t have good evidence behind them.
What helps (and what doesn’t)
- The 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds
- Screen distance: about 25 inches (arm’s length), with your gaze slightly downward
- Brightness: match it to the room and turn up the contrast
- Artificial tears when your eyes feel dry
- Not recommended: blue-light glasses; fish oil for dry eye didn’t beat placebo
What digital eye strain is
After long stretches on a computer or phone, your vision blurs, your eyes feel achy and uncomfortable, and they may turn dry, sting or water. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) calls this digital eye strain. The good news: it’s temporary. Looking at screens for long periods doesn’t permanently damage your eyes.
The main reason is simple: you blink much less while looking at a screen, so your eyes dry out.
We normally blink about 15 times a minute, but only 5 to 7 times a minute while using computers and other digital screens.
American Academy of Ophthalmology. “Computers, Digital Devices, and Eye Strain.”
What eye doctors recommend
- Follow the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at something at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
- Sit about 25 inches from the screen, roughly an arm’s length away.
- Position the screen so you look slightly down, not straight ahead or up.
- Match screen brightness to the room and increase the contrast.
- Use artificial tears when your eyes feel dry.
- If you wear contacts, switch to glasses for part of the day, and never sleep in your lenses.
If close-up work has been getting harder in general, the cause may be presbyopia rather than the screen itself. Our guide to blurry vision after 50 explains the difference.
What about blue light?
Blue light gets most of the blame, but the AAO says there’s no scientific evidence that the light from screens damages the eyes, and that screen discomfort comes from how long and how we use devices, not from blue light. The AAO doesn’t recommend blue-light-blocking glasses, and several studies suggest they don’t improve eye strain symptoms.
Keep that in mind when a supplement promises to “defend your eyes from blue light.” That isn’t how screen strain works.
If your eyes feel dry
Screen time is one of the recognized triggers of dry eye, which the National Eye Institute (NEI) notes is also more common after 50 and in women. Over-the-counter artificial tears are the usual first step; for stubborn cases, doctors can prescribe drops or recommend tear duct plugs.
Fish oil is often suggested, but the largest trial didn’t support it.
In the DREAM trial, people with dry eye who took 3,000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids a day for 12 months did no better than those taking a placebo.
Dry Eye Assessment and Management Study Research Group. New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
When to see an eye doctor
If your eyes still bother you after a few weeks of better habits, see an eye doctor. Ongoing strain can come from an outdated glasses prescription, uncorrected presbyopia or dry eye that needs treatment. Eye pain, lasting redness or any sudden change in vision should be checked promptly.
Where a supplement fits
No supplement replaces breaks and blinking. A few ingredients have small studies behind them for screen-related eye fatigue:
- Bilberry extract improved some objective and subjective measures of eye fatigue in screen workers after eight weeks.
- A combination of anthocyanins, astaxanthin and lutein improved focusing-related complaints in adults with screen fatigue after six weeks (a small study run with supplement makers).
- Lutein and zeaxanthin improved contrast and recovery from glare over a year.
VISIVRA combines lutein, zeaxanthin, bilberry and astaxanthin, which makes it the closer fit for this purpose. VisiFlora contains the same ingredients inside a larger formula. Neither publishes all of its doses.
Reader-supported: we may earn a commission if you buy through the links below, at no extra cost to you. It never changes a rating.
VISIVRA · 2.8 / 5
Lutein, zeaxanthin, bilberry and astaxanthin in one simpler formula, the mix closest to the screen-fatigue studies. No doses published, and its “blue light” claim isn’t backed by eye doctors.
Check VISIVRA’s price →VisiFlora · 3.4 / 5
A broader AREDS2-style formula that also includes astaxanthin and bilberry. It contains beta-carotene, so it suits people who have never smoked.
Check VisiFlora’s price →Not sure which? See VisiFlora vs VISIVRA.
Frequently asked questions
Can screens damage your eyes?
What is the 20-20-20 rule?
Do blue light glasses help eye strain?
Why do my eyes get dry at the computer?
Does fish oil help dry eyes?
Are there supplements for eye strain?
The bottom line
Digital eye strain is uncomfortable but temporary. The fixes that work are free: regular breaks, a better screen setup, blinking and artificial tears. Skip the blue-light glasses and fish oil. If you want a supplement on top, lutein, zeaxanthin, bilberry and astaxanthin are the ingredients with some evidence for screen fatigue.
This article is for informational purposes and isn’t a substitute for medical advice. If eye discomfort persists or your vision changes, see an eye care provider.
Sources
- American Academy of Ophthalmology. “Computers, Digital Devices, and Eye Strain.”
- American Academy of Ophthalmology. “Are Blue Light-Blocking Glasses Worth It?”
- National Eye Institute. “Dry Eye.”
- Dry Eye Assessment and Management Study Research Group. “n-3 fatty acid supplementation for the treatment of dry eye disease.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
- Ozawa Y, et al. “Bilberry extract supplementation for preventing eye fatigue in video display terminal workers.” Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, 2015.
- Kizawa Y, et al. “Effects of anthocyanin, astaxanthin, and lutein on eye functions: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.” Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition, 2021.
- Hammond BR, et al. “A double-blind, placebo-controlled study on the effects of lutein and zeaxanthin on photostress recovery, glare disability, and chromatic contrast.” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2014.
Photo: K8 / Unsplash