Ease Digital Eye Strain: Must-Know Tips for Relaxed and Comfortable Screen Use

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Due to the nature of our work, most creatives, unfortunately, have to spend long periods at the computer; whether it’s drawing and painting, writing your next novel, or streaming to your audience. Screens are our canvas, our notebooks, our stage.

The key to staying productive and creative without burning out your eyes is building habits that support visual wellness. From simple screen adjustments to mindful breaks and lighting tricks, a few small changes can make a big difference. In this post, I’ll walk you through practical, easy-to-implement tips to help you reduce digital eye strain and keep your screen time comfortable so you can focus on what you do best without the discomfort.

What is eye strain?

Eye strain, or eye fatigue, happens when your eyes feel tired, irritated, or dry, often during intense focus sessions like staring at a computer, reading a book, or driving for long periods. It’s also called digital eye strain or computer vision syndrome if the source is your devices. Eye strain is a common condition and is usually treatable with simple, noninvasive methods and small changes to your environment and routine.

Causes of eye strain

Digital eye strain doesn’t just happen out of nowhere, it’s usually the result of a mix of activities and environmental stressors that put extra pressure on your eyes. While screen time gets most of the blame (and for good reason), there are plenty of other culprits to keep an eye on.

• Using computers, tablets, phones, or watching TV
• Driving, especially at night or in poor weather
• Reading small print or font sizes, both on screens and in print
• Detail-heavy crafts and hobbies like needlework or miniature model painting. I’ve personally felt the strain while working on micro crochet jewelry, it doesn’t take long for your eyes to protest!

Environmental and physical factors also play a role, such as:

• Poor lighting, whether it’s too dim or overly bright
• Glare from windows or shiny screens
• Airflow, like fans or AC vents blowing directly into your eyes
• Dust or smudges on your screen
• Bad weather while driving like heavy rain, fog, or bright sunlight, it can cause constant squinting
• Wearing glasses or contacts with the wrong prescription
• Poor posture, which might not seem eye-related at first but can force you into awkward angles that make your eyes work harder

Recognizing the symptoms

Catching the early signs of digital eye strain is key to preventing it from spiraling into bigger issues. When you’re deep in the creative zone, it’s easy to ignore discomfort until it becomes impossible to push through. But tuning in to what your body is telling you (especially your eyes) can help you course-correct before the strain takes a toll on your work, focus, and health.

Common symptoms include:

• Dry or watery eyes
• Blurred vision or difficulty focusing. Text might seem blurry, or you might catch yourself squinting more than usual
• Tired, sore, itchy, or burning eyes
• Difficulty keeping your eyes open, especially in the afternoon or late at night
• Eye or eyelid muscle spasms
• Headaches behind the eyes, these often creep up after long sessions
• Sensitivity to bright light
• Trouble concentrating or reading accurately
• Productivity issues or increased mistakes. Eye strain isn’t just a comfort issue, it affects your mental clarity too
• Neck, back, or shoulder pain due to compensating posture

If any of these symptoms sound familiar, it’s worth reassessing how you’re using your workspace, how long you’re staying locked in, and whether your habits support long-term visual health. The sooner you recognize and respond to these signs, the faster you can recover and get back to creating without discomfort.

Digital eye strain and post-pandemic trends

Digital eye strain (DES), also known as computer vision syndrome, is largely caused by one behavior shift we rarely notice: reduced blinking. When we focus on screens, whether its drawing, gaming, reading, or editing, our blink rate drops dramatically, drying out the eyes and putting continuous strain on the muscles that control focus and eye movement.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the world suddenly moved indoors and online, digital eye strain cases skyrocketed. With remote work, virtual classrooms, and digital entertainment becoming daily staples, screen time increased across all age groups… and so did the consequences.

Research during this time showed that DES symptoms surged, particularly among children, where prevalence increased by 50–60%. And it wasn’t just basic discomfort. These cases began to involve more serious visual issues such as:

• Esotropia, a condition where one or both eyes turn inward
• Vergence abnormalities, affecting how well the eyes work together
• Accelerated myopia progression, worsening nearsightedness

The pandemic served as a wake-up call. It showed just how quickly our eyes can be impacted by extended screen use, and how digital eye strain is more than just a minor annoyance. It’s a real health concern that can alter our visual development and long-term eye health.

So how do we move forward, knowing what we know now? The answer starts with awareness, better habits, and taking DES seriously before it snowballs into something harder to reverse. In the next sections, I’ll walk you through simple, science-backed ways to protect your eyes in a screen-heavy world without giving up the work and hobbies you love.

Preventive tips and lifestyle changes

There are several things you can do to ease eye strain and prevent it altogether.

Screen and workspace setup

-You can modify your setup to be more eye-friendly:

• Position your screen 20 to 26 inches away from your face, slightly below eye level.
• Move your screens away from windows or overhead lights to reduce glare, or use a matte screen filter or anti-glare cover.
• Sit in a chair that promotes good posture, feet flat and arms supported.
• Clean your screens regularly to maintain clarity and contrast without the annoying smudges, fingerprints, and stains. (This is as much a reminder to you as it is to me lol)
• Increase font size while reading

Free tools that help with eye strain

• f.lux makes your computer display adapt to the time of day and your location, matching your lighting. It warms up at night and brightens during daylight in a gradual and natural way. You can also use the built-in Windows Night Light feature, I just like f.lux better since it has more customization and learns what I like. If I need to draw late into the night, I can disable the night light on full-screen programs to keep color fidelity while I’m using Clip Studio Paint.
• The other small program is Twinkle Tray. While f.lux changes the colors of your screen (warm and cool), it doesn’t adjust brightness. Twinkle Tray lets you adjust the brightness of all your screens individually or simultaneously. The combination of these two help me prevent eye strain while working on my computer. Blue light doesn’t cause eye strain, but it does disrupt your sleep. So, by adjusting brightness with Twinkle Tray and filtering blue light with f.lux, you can protect both your eyes and your sleep.
• The last tool is called Dark Reader, a web browser extension that turns any website into dark mode. You can set a timeframe for the extension to turn on automatically or have it activate after sunset in your location. I’m currently editing this blog post in Grammarly, which doesn’t offer night mode. Dark Reader is saving my eyes as I read and focus on this article at 9 p.m.

Lighting and air quality

Always try to match your screen brightness with your room lighting, and your room lighting with the time of day. What does that mean? If it’s bright outside, your screens can be bright. As sunset creeps in, dim your lights and screens. At night? Dim even further and add a warm night filter. Matching the brightness and color of your screens to your environment and natural light is the easiest on your eyes. Bright screen in a pitch-black room? Big no-no.

Use a humidifier if the air is dry, and adjust your fans (if any) to avoid air blowing at your face. Make sure your workspace is away from drafts or vents, and please avoid smoke.

Eye care

Make sure you blink often while using screens. (Easier said than done, I know!) Use the 20-20-20 rule. every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

You can use artificial tears (nonprescription eye drops) to help with dryness. Avoid drops with redness removers, they can actually make dry eye symptoms worse. If you’re using drops more than four times a day, go for preservative-free options. But ideally, don’t use them more than four times a day.

You can also place green tea or chamomile tea bags on your eyes. Simply brew your tea as usual (and enjoy the cup!). Remove the tea bags, let them cool, squeeze out the excess water, and pop them in the fridge for 10–15 minutes, cold enough to feel refreshing, not freezing. Then place them on your eyes for 15 to 30 minutes for a soothing effect.

If you want to relax your eyes instead of refresh them, apply a warm compress or take a hot shower. Heat relieves tension, which is especially helpful for headaches linked to eye strain.

Limit exposure

Be mindful of how much time you spend staring at screens throughout the day (easier said than done huh?)

Tension relief and headache prevention

Eye strain often comes with tension headaches. You can ease your headaches with the following techniques:

• Drink plenty of water. Dehydration can make headaches worse
• Rest from screens in a dim, quiet room
• A warm compress or hot shower can relax your eyes and facial muscles
• Correcting your posture helps prevent headaches, neck/shoulder pain, and upper back tension

Aromatherapy

Use a mix of carrier oil and essential oil (12 to 18 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil), or buy already diluted oils, to massage your temples, forehead, and neck for tension relief. Use a small amount on your fingertips and do gentle circular motions. The massage and aroma combo can really reduce the intensity of the headache.

My two favorites:

• Peppermint oil contains menthol, which relaxes muscles and eases pain.

• Lavender oil relieves stress, helping with muscle tension

When to seek medical help

Even though eye strain is common, prolonged irritation might signal something more serious. If your symptoms persist or worsen, or if you need the right artificial tears or eyewear recommendations, talk to your doctor. Definitely check in with them for recurring headaches, vision changes, or migraines aggravated by screens.

Conclusion: Taking action for healthier screen time

It’s incredibly hard to avoid eye issues when our work requires us to stare at devices. Even worse when our lives are filled with screens everywhere we go. Most of us even carry a mini screen in our pockets right now!

But you can take easy, simple steps to reduce the strain and pain. At this point in my career, I used to believe, “Eye strain is just part of the job, it’s normal.” But it’s not. I’ve made changes to my workspace and lifestyle over the past few months, and I don’t have to live with pain anymore. And you don’t either.

Listen to your body and make regular adjustments for a healthier lifestyle.

What’s your favorite tip that helps prevent your eye strain?

If this article made things easier for you, I’d love it if you shared it with your friends and anyone who might need it!

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Feeling Inspired? Here’s Some Extra Fun Stuff!

Feeling Inspired? Here’s Some Extra Fun Stuff!

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