Many people spend a large amount of time staring at screens every day, which can seriously strain the eyes, an associate professor of nursing said yesterday.
National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences School of Nursing associate professor Hsu Shu-chen (徐淑貞) said watching a ball game or binge-watching a series can cause eye strain.
Long rides or flights can strain the eyes even more, as factors such as bumpy and shaky cabins or poor lighting might exhaust the eyes and increase the risk of developing myopia (nearsightedness), she said.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
A brightness level of 700 to 1000 lumens is considered ideal for reading or looking at screens, and people should sit up straight and ensure that the book or screen is about 35cm from their eyes, Hsu said.
Adults and children should take regular breaks from screens, she said, adding that for every 20 minutes of screen time, people should try to look at something far for at least 20 seconds.
The easiest way to rest your eyes is to close them, or leave the screen and go for a walk, stretch, drink water or go to the restroom, she said.
To relieve eye strain, people should consume foods rich in vitamins A, B, C, D and E, and zinc to help them produce tears, improve optic nerves, cornea and sclera health, protect the retina’s photoreceptor cells, and avoid macular degeneration, she said.
These foods include dark green vegetables, whole grains, nuts, plant oil, milk, eggs and oysters, she added.
Aside from food consumption, people can apply a warm towel to their eyes for about five to 10 minutes before going to sleep to help relieve eye strain, Hsu said, adding that people can also rub their hands together and place them over their closed eyes for the same effect.
People can also use their fingertips to massage the acupuncture points in the inner part of their orbital bone and below the eye sockets, or the temples, which would stimulate their nerves, improve blood circulation and relieve strain, she said.
They should not directly put pressure on their eyeballs, she added.
Taking a break from looking at a screen and going outdoors is also a good method to relieve eye strain, Hsu said.
Taking a walk can also help relax the mind and allow the eyes to look farther, and relax eye muscles, she added.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
RSS