Many people spend extensive time on digital screens, whether that’s working a 9-to-5 computer-based job, scrolling social media, or gaming. Thanks to regular extended screen use, digital eye strain—aka computer vision syndrome (CVS)—is something many are at risk of.
To help, The American Optometric Association (AOA) has developed Blink Land—a mobile game to help you learn about, prevent, and know how to relieve eye strain. Here, we look at what digital eye strain is, discuss its causes and treatment, and explain how to play Blink Land to help protect your eyes.
Common Causes of Digital Eye Strain
Digital eye strain—sometimes known as computer vision syndrome (CVS)—is a common condition that is caused by prolonged screen use. Digital eye strain is characterized by a group of uncomfortable symptoms that primarily affect your eyes and vision.
If you’re wondering what eye strain feels like, the symptoms can include tired, itchy, sore, or burning eyes, blurred vision, headaches, dizziness, dry eyes, and neck, back, or shoulder pain.
Causes of eye strain can include:
If you regularly use screens—whether for work or play—it’s a good idea to be proactive in preventing digital eye strain. If you are experiencing eye strain symptoms or simply want to learn more, then playing Blink Land could help.
Learning Healthy Screen Habits With the Blink Land Game
Blink Land is a mobile game created by theAmerican Optometric Association (AOA)—the leading organization for doctors of optometry (O.D.), optometric professionals, and optometry students (basically, all the top professionals who look after eye and vision health).
Blink Land was developed to help players learn how to incorporate eye-friendly screen habits to prevent and relieve digital eye strain. Blink Land exists to help you understand the connection between eye health and your favorite screen habits—which you can achieve by playing its mini-games and picking up trivia and eye health facts along the way.
Download:Blink Land forAndroid|iOS(Free)
How to Play Blink Land to Help Prevent Eye Strain Symptoms
Blink Land follows a very simple premise: simply roll the dice to move your character around the board. You might land on an action, trivia, or fun fact space—all of which require your input to proceed. The goal of Blink Land is to collect as many points as you can by answering questions correctly and completing mini-games (while picking up eye-friendly screen habits along the way).
Here’s how to play Blink Land to help support eye strain relief:
If you need to adjust the settings, tap thecogicon in the top-right of the screen. you may enable various color accessibility modes here, as well as adjust the sound and music levels.
How Effective Is Playing Blink Land For Helping Digital Eye Strain?
The main purpose of Blink Land is to help individuals like you learn about the causes, symptoms, and treatment options for digital eye strain. you may also learn techniques to combat digital eye strain and relieve eye strain symptoms as you play the game. It’s a fun way to pick up facts without feeling like you’re having to study (or being reprimanded) for spending time on a screen.
If you’re after a gaming fix and want to learn how to prevent digital eye strain in other areas of your (screen) life, then Blink Land is a good tool to use. For some people, this well-developed educational game will help mitigate digital eye strain. For others, you may want to take additional steps to help protect your eyes from prolonged screen exposure.
How to Prevent Digital Eye Strain and Protect Your Eyes
Experiencing eye strain symptoms can be painful and debilitating and can even prevent you from completing your daily tasks. Aside from picking up facts, advice, and techniques from Blink Land on how toavoid eye strain caused by screens, you may try these tips for digital eye strain relief:
It’s also a good idea to drink plenty of water when you’re using screens as dehydration can cause dry and irritated eyes. If you’re sitting at a desk for a prolonged amount of time, try to get up and stretch regularly, giving both your eyes and body a much-needed break.
Playing Blink Land Could Help You Reduce the Risk of Digital Eye Strain
Playing Blink Land can help you learn how to combat and even prevent the symptoms of eye strain. Remember to take regular breaks from your screen(s), stay hydrated, and remember to blink! If you are experiencing continued eye strain symptoms and the above self-care tips don’t help ease the problem, see an eye specialist or doctor for further help.
