Screens and devices are a standard fixture in today’s society, but few use them as long and as frequently as gamers.
Gamers can spend hours locked into their game, but this can take a toll on the eyes without the proper care. Focusing too long on a gaming monitor or working hard to see clearly can cause digital eye strain, which can be a nuisance when you’re trying to play. Symptoms can include dryness, blurred vision, headaches, and more, all of which can hold you back from leading your team to victory or finally beating a final boss. Fortunately, you don’t have to compromise your gaming sessions to care for your eyes. Being more intentional and strategic about it can help you play at your best while keeping your vision clear and comfortable.
Here’s how you can care for your eyes as a gamer:
Wear the right eyewear
If you’ve ever found yourself squinting to see your screen or feeling strained during long sessions, you may need the help of eyewear to keep your vision clear and comfortable. For vision correction, prescription glasses can improve your sight and allow you to game at your very best. Investing in a high-quality model like the Clubmaster Optics or Burbank Optics from Ray-Ban can ensure comfort and durability for longer, and you can enjoy a variety of customization options, such as adding blue-light filtering or Transitions lenses. Whether you have a prescription or not, gaming glasses are also an eyewear option to consider. The Holbrook and Wheel House models from Oakley’s Prizm Gaming Collection are made with casual and competitive gamers in mind. They’re designed to block the blue light and glare from your monitor to boost comfort and combat eye strain, and they can fit comfortably under headsets.
Take regular breaks
Video game sessions can last for hours in a single setting, but constantly having your eyes trained on the screen can lead to eye strain, dryness, headaches, and more. Frequent and regular breaks can help prevent these issues for better eye care. Gamers often take too few breaks or keep them too short, but spacing them out at set intervals can help them become a regular part of your routine. You can follow the 20-20-20 rule, which involves taking a break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away for 20 minutes. This practice helps relax your eye muscles and encourages you to blink, as blinking becomes less frequent when looking at a screen and causes dryness. Set a reminder on your device to tell you when to pause and step away from the screen. Regular breaks allow your eyes to stay rested and refreshed for better performance and more comfortable gaming sessions.
Choose the right gaming equipment
Though you can wear eyewear and utilize techniques to care for your eyes and minimize eye strain while gaming, you can also consider investing in high-quality gaming gear. Your gaming monitor’s shape, settings, or capabilities can make a difference when it comes to your eye health. Refresh rate, the number of times per second that a monitor updates the image on the screen, can affect the smoothness and responsiveness of the gameplay. A gaming monitor with a higher refresh rate can help reduce eye strain and fatigue, as lower refresh rates can cause motion blur and a less fluid experience.
Curved monitors can also boost comfort and focus while gaming. The shape of the screen guides the eye to the center and reduces constant eye movement, preserving comfort during long gaming sessions. Some monitors may also come with display settings that can reduce the blue light emissions from your screen.
Choosing your equipment comes down to your budget, preferences, and needs, but if eye care is a priority, these are additional aspects to consider.
