6 Ways to Prevent Eyestrain While Watching TV

People who sit and work at a computer all day may experience occasional eyestrain. This condition comes from starting a bright screen for long periods of time and symptoms include eye pain, a tension-like headache and sometimes eye twitching with eyestrain.

But you don’t have to be in front of a computer to experience these symptoms. Depending on how much television you, you can get eyestrain from this activity, too. So if you’ve recently noticed eye pain or tension after binge watching your favorite movies and TV shows, here are a few tips to protect your eyes and stop the ache.

1. Sit 8 to 10 feet away from the television.

Think back to when you were a child. Did your parents tell you to sit back from the TV to avoid hurting your eyes? Maybe you didn’t take them serious back then, but there’s some truth to this statement.

Sitting too close to the television won’t damage your eyes, but it could gradually lead to eyestrain. To prevent this, move your chair or couch further back from the TV. Ideally, you should sit about 8 to 10 feet away from the television set.

2. Close curtains or blinds to prevent glare.

If you keep the blinds and curtains open in your TV room, sunny days can create a strong glare that makes it hard to see. If you find yourself squinting while watching television, close some of your curtains or blinds to see if this makes a difference. You might need to change the location of your television and position it on a wall that doesn’t receive glare from the windows.

3. Position the television at eye level.

This isn’t always doable, but if possible, keep your television at eye level. If you position your TV too far up or too far down, your eyes have to constantly shift upwards or downwards. This can slowly tire your eyes and cause eyestrain.

If you mount a television on a wall or over the fireplace, looking up is inevitable. To prevent your eyes from working too hard, position your couch as far back from the TV as possible so you’re not looking straight up.

4. Turn down the TV’s brightness.

If you develop a slight headache after watching TV, your TV’s brightness might be adjusted too high. Play around with your television’s settings and turn down the brightness. As a side note, you also don’t want the picture to be too dim, which could also cause eye problems.

5. Keep soft lighting in the background.

Watching television in a dark room can also tired your eyes and trigger eyestrain. If you’re looking to create a cozy, comfortable environment, turn off brighter lights in the room, but keep a soft light in the background. This way, brightness from the television doesn’t create too much of a contrast and hurt your eyes.

6. Give your eyes a break.

If you’re having a binge-watching session, make sure you give your eyes a break. Don’t watch TV nonstop for hours at a time. After a show ends, get up and do another activity for about 30 minutes. Or if you’re watching live TV, get up and walk around during commercial breaks.

TV might be a relaxing past-time, but sitting in front of the tube for hours every day could be a literal pain causing headaches and eye discomfort. Keep the above tips in mind to minimize the risk of eyestrain so that pain doesn’t interrupt your TV time.