Keerthana Umesh
Natural Healing Explorer
12:55 PM | 18-05-2020
Our society is increasingly becoming more and more digitized, with people spending their days online, either for work or play. People’s screentime has increased exponentially, now that we all have to work at home and stay indoors. Carpal tunnel syndrome has now become commonplace, with corporate culture requiring many to work late hours in the night.
This gradual step towards digitization is an inevitable phenomenon. I am also forced to spend hours together on my laptop every day, either for assignments, research, or talking to friends, and it can start to have a negative effect on the body. Around a year ago, I started noticing a slow decline in my vision - I could no longer see far away objects, like the numbers on a bus clearly, and I would get regular back pains from bad posture. I wanted to change.
After doing some research and testing out many different techniques and exercises, I finally landed on a set routine that I like to do every workday. Doing this for a year has led to an improvement in both my vision and my posture, and as of now, I am still glasses-free despite having to spend a majority of my days online. The first part of this article will list some changes you can make in your work environment, and the second will list some changes in your lifestyle. If these tips help you, leave a like and a comment down below.!
Improve Your Workplace:
Sit near windows and work in natural sunlight as much as possible. I have lightbulbs that mimic natural sunlight in my room so that my eyes don’t get strained working in the night. If you are someone who has to work during odd hours, try to see if you can get these full range spectrum light bulbs where you live.
Work on your posture. Make sure your back is straight as much as possible, and that you are not working hunched over. If you are working while sitting on your bed or on the floor, try sitting in a vajrasana (diamond) pose. Not only will this straighten your spine, but it also improves digestion and circulation of blood, which often takes a downturn when sitting in one place for a long time. If you are still a beginner to yoga and not very flexible, do this slowly, and alternate between the pose and normal sitting when needed.
Use a laptop with a big, clear screen instead of a tablet or phone when working. Although a tablet may be smoother to use, they can seriously strain your eyes when reading or typing, as compared to a bigger sized laptop. It is also difficult to maintain a good posture when using handheld devices.
Although this may seem intuitive, it can be easy to forget when busy: make sure your laptop is at eye level at all times. From the level that you are sitting at, you should be able to move your eyes from the top of the screen to the bottom naturally, without having to shift your neck. If your table is too high, you could try sitting on a few pillows, and if it is the other way around, try putting your laptop on some books while working. Avoid keeping devices on your lap while you work.
Install f.lux software or other such blue light filters on all of your devices. Blue light, which is emitted from nearly all devices with screens, cannot be blocked by the retina, and at large enough quantities, it can degenerate your eyesight. Although light of this wavelength is necessary when maintaining the circadian rhythm, if your eyes are exposed to this late in the night, it can disrupt your cycle entirely and make it difficult for you to sleep.
Using your laptop cannot be avoided when working from home. Why not try and reduce your screen time by using more audio? I like to use a text-to-speech converter whenever I have to read long documents, and similarly, I like to record my notes so that I can listen to them rather than having to read through. This also makes them easier to remember. You could also try using a speech-to-text converter if your job requires a lot of typing.
Take Effective Breaks:
Don’t wait till your eyes get tired to take a break- instead, have a regular schedule. One good way to do this is using the 20-20-20 rule: for every twenty minutes of work, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet (6 m) away. Doing close work for a long time can start to tire out your eyes and ruin your long-distance vision. During this time, also do some neck and shoulder exercises to improve the circulation of blood throughout the body.
If you are working near a window (recommended), try out some eye exercises while looking out of the window during your breaks. I like to put my thumb in front of my face and look at it for 5 seconds, followed by looking at something far away for another 5 seconds, and then repeat for at least 5 minutes. You could also try following far away moving objects like birds, clouds, and airplanes to practice long distance gazing.
For every 3 hours online that you spend, try and spend 1 hour outdoors, in natural sunlight. When doing so, make sure to be mindful of your surroundings, and I like to look off into the distance while I walk along straight roads. While walking, try to read far away signs and notice boards. If you follow these steps, then you will see improvements in your reading abilities within weeks.
Make Lifestyle Changes:
There are things that you can do to help your body even when not working or taking active breaks. Eating dense foods like bread, dairy and meat can dry out the whole body, which can also affect the eyes- eat more hydrating foods like fruit and vegetables to improve your eyesight. I also like to keep my water bottle and some raw snacks away from me, so that I am forced to get up and walk around if I get hungry or thirsty. Avoid eating in front of your laptop.
Splash your eyes frequently with cool water or apply a cold pack of grated veggies to cool down tired, overheated eyes. I like to do this first thing in the morning, because it refreshes your system quickly and efficiently.
Nowadays, it is impossible to not use social media; it can even be a good incentive to make sure you are getting work done. To get the most out of it, keep a browsing schedule- I only check my social media applications three times in the day: once in the morning, once after lunch and once before dinner. During all other times, I try my best to keep my phone away from my workplace.
At the end of the workday, try and incorporate some good habits into your routine. On most days, I do my best to not use any devices at least half an hour before I go to sleep. During this time, I also like to do some palming (rub your hands together until they are warm, then place them over your closed eyelids. Repeat for 5-10 minutes, while making sure your palms are warm throughout), and full body stretches before going to sleep. It is also important that your bedroom is as dark as possible when you do go to sleep to give your eyes time to recover and repair overnight.
And last but not least, give your eyes and body some longer rest days. I like to have at least one day in a week where I try not to use any devices at all. It will definitely be very difficult at first (you can also start off small with trying half a day per week), but eventually, your brain will get used to doing more low-dopamine activities. This will also make it easier for you to get long, mundane tasks done.
No matter how busy your current situation is, even incorporating a few of these steps into your schedule can be very beneficial in the long run. Start off small, and slowly build up to some of the more difficult ones. At the end of the day, you only have one life and one body, so let’s try and keep it as healthy as possible.
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(About the author: I am Keerthana Umesh, a teenager finding my way through life, a science enthusiast and a lover of animals and the environment)
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