Students have to deal with many written assignments and all kinds of other work that exhaust their eyes. Indeed, being a student lies in listening and reading. Part of this workload relies heavily on their eyes. Plus, these days, students complete most of their assignments on computers, which leads to endless screen hours.
All this extensive eye work can’t be good for eye health. Our eyes aren’t built for sitting at computers all day long. They are meant for exploring, looking at the distance, and noticing little details around us in search of potential benefits or dangers. However, screen work requires undivided eye focus. Such tireless staring without a change of focus and rare blinking seriously strains our eye health and vision.
Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to say that writing papers is the primary cause of eye problems among students. Yet, this type of work surely carries a big risk to eye health due to how complex and time-consuming academic writing is. Students have to complete extensive research, most likely online. Then they need to draft, write, and edit – all on their computers.
Indeed, these long hours of reading and writing without blinking or shifting focus can harm students’ eyes. This work can potentially lead to discomfort or temporary vision-related symptoms. To reduce those risks, students should be aware of such a danger and take proactive steps and minimize eye strain. So, let’s see the factors contributing to eye strain while writing papers and how to combat them.
Prolonged screen time
Writing or not, any prolonged screen time can strain your eyes. Staring at a computer screen for extended periods without taking breaks will do you no good, regardless of what you are doing. However, writing also requires precision and full concentration. Plus, unlike when watching something on the screen or playing video games, students look at one point on the screen and rarely even blink due to immense concentration. Thus, the eyes must continuously focus and refocus, leading to fatigue.
To reduce these effects, you should start by taking regular breaks. For example, there is a common 20-20-20 rule. It stands for taking 20 seconds of screen breaks every 20 minutes for looking at something 20 feet away. Such simple exercises can help your eye shift focus from the screen’s close proximity. Distance helps them reduce the tension after being locked at one point for too long.
Also, irregular and infrequent blinking can dry the eyes, causing irradiation and other discomforts. So, students can use special eye drops to lubricate the eyes and keep them moist even with the lack of blinking.
In addition, students should consider giving more prolonged eye breaks by delegating some of their assignments to professionals. For example, students should research “How can I write my college paper by WritePaperForMe?” to have a reliable writing service to help them.
Poor lighting conditions
Insufficient or excessive lighting can strain your eyes. Dim lighting may force your eyes to work harder to read, while overly bright lighting can cause glare on the screen. These glares and reflections can also cause unnecessary tension for the eyes, forcing them to work harder as they can’t see clearly.
Fortunately, preventing these issues is rather simple. First, students should always be mindful of their lighting arrangements when working on the screen. Working in complete darkness or with dim light is a bad idea. Having a screen as the only light source puts additional tension on your eyes, as they need to focus on a bright light while adjusting to the darkness around them.
Hence, students should always use adequate lighting and take advantage of natural light when writing. However, avoid direct light sources shining at your screen. Secondly, students can also adjust their screen settings to control the brightness and contrast when working long hours. Adjust the screen resolutions and text sizes to make them bigger when writing. Finally, students can try different color schemes and night screen modes to improve readability and reduce eye tension.
Improper sitting arrangements
How you use a computer matters greatly in how your eyes react to the screen work. Thus, students should focus on the distance between the screen and the right posture when sitting to write an essay. For example, sitting too close or too far from the screen can strain your eyes, causing them to work more than necessary. The ideal viewing distance is typically around arm’s length, with the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level.
Sitting well also matters to how your eyes feel. Thus, slouching or sitting in an uncomfortable position can contribute to eye strain by creating weird viewing angles (not to mention neck and shoulder pains).
Maintaining proper posture and using an ergonomic setup can help alleviate strain on your eyes and body. Writing can take hours, so try to sit comfortably and adjust the screen height to level with your eyes.
Wrapping up
Students should follow these tips to reduce the risk of eye problems or discomfort while writing papers. It’s important to remember that while writing papers can contribute to eye strain, it is not the sole cause. After all, you can always rely on Speedy Paper help to manage your paper assignment.
