How to use a smartphone so as not to be blind before the age of 30?

On average, we spend 171 minutes a day staring at the smartphone screen. This time, however, we will not talk about how this affects our mental health, but about the purely physical well-being. Innocent display may be the cause of many problems - we suggest how to deal with them.

When you were little, parents probably shouted "do not sit so close to the TV, because you will be blind!" And well, they were right. Today, we could all shout at each other - we spend more time in front of the screens than ever before , and most of the time it takes us to stare at the tiny, glossy screen, barely a dozen centimeters from the face.

Simplifying what we do with smartphones to a purely physical phenomenon - we expose our eyes to bombardment with artificial light, often with a high intensity, focused on a small area.

One of the beams emitted by the displays is blue light - in a small amount it has a positive effect on our body: it regulates the circadian rhythm, helps in concentration, supports memory and even improves the mood. However, in an intensity above 400-450 nm is harmful to health.

Studies have shown that prolonged exposure to this type of beam can cause a number of diseases and disorders - from circadian rhythm disorders (if we use electronic devices before bedtime), through vision problems (from irritation to macular degeneration) to serious physical disorders and mental (increased risk of cancer, heart disease and depression).

Excessive exposure to blue light also causes nausea, headaches and dizziness, and in extreme cases even chronic migraines. So it is not a problem that can be dismissed.

This does not mean, however, that we must suddenly put the smartphone in a drawer, or use it with yellow filter glasses. There are a few tricks to help us reduce the harmful effects of the smartphone.

First of all - take regular breaks.

It damages everything in excess. If we spend a few dozen minutes staring at the screen in an unnatural position, it is not surprising that everything will hurt us - from the back to the eyes.

It's worth taking a break every few-dozen minutes and look out the window. It is best to look far into the distance, which has a "relaxing" effect for our eyes. It is also good to get up, go a few steps, drink some water. The basic principles of good oxygenation and hydration of the body also apply when using smartphones!

Move the phone away from your face.

The eyes are naturally accustomed to looking into the distance. Focusing eyesight at the point very close to the eye is very straining and, as a result, causes headaches and nausea.

A simple way to remedy this problem is to move the smartphone away from your face. If you are a person with vision problems - increase font size and interface size. Maybe the layout of the icons will not look so pretty then, but I would like to thank your eyes for sacrificing aesthetics for their health.

Use the built-in blue light filter.

A few years ago, blue light filters were the domain of niche applications. Today, almost every smartphone or computer from a leading manufacturer has a built-in blue light filter - it's simply the default function of Android, iOS, macOS and Windows 10.

The principle of operation in each case is similar - the screen eliminates the emission of blue light, becoming yellow-orange. Of course, this mode is not suitable for working with color or viewing photos, but during ordinary browsing the Internet or office work is a salvation for the eyes.

Samsung calls this function simply a "blue light filter". To enable it in models such as the Samsung Galaxy S10e , just enter the screen settings and select the appropriate option. The blue light filter can also be quickly activated with the appropriate icon on the quick access bar.

On Apple iPhones and computers, this feature is called Night Shift , although due to the presence of True Tone (automatic adjustment of white screen white balance to the environment), the difference in colors is less drastic.

Huawei, on the other hand, in models like the new Huawei P30 , calls the blue light filter "eye protection."

In all cases, you can turn on the blue light filtering function either manually or set the schedule according to the nightfall. In the case of Huawei, we can also adjust the color temperature, which will take the display after starting the filter.

Use a dark theme.

This trick is aimed primarily at people who own a smartphone with AMOLED display, in which each pixel is illuminated individually. When something on the screen is black, the display simply does not emit light here.

Most of the smartphones do not yet have a system "dark theme", but they have a lot of applications, such as Twitter, Pocket or e-book reading apps. When in such an application we switch to a dark theme, only the text is highlighted, and its background becomes a dark black surface. And that means that we are bombarding us incomparably less light than in LCD screens, which even with black color must illuminate the entire screen.

You can also take this advice to the extreme - in the "accessibility facilities" on any smartphone there is the "high contrast" option. After it is turned on, the whole interface becomes black and white, which on the AMOLED screen gives a huge relief for the eyesight.

Anyway, the option of a dark theme is worth using even on the LCD screen - black, less illuminated color burden the eyes to a much smaller extent than brightly shining white. Especially after dark.

Listen, instead of reading.

One of my favorite ways of not using the display without giving up on the use of a smartphone is to change the vision into audio. When I feel that my eyes say "enough", and yet I would like to fill my time with something, I switch to listening.

I turn on a podcast or audiobook, and if I have time off my hands, I can take care of my home duties.

Podcasts in the world, as well as in Poland, are experiencing a period of prosperity, while audiobooks are the only type of books in which the involvement of users is growing, not decreasing.

Of course, we will not look at social media in this way, we can not watch the game and we will not watch the video, but we can always spend time in a different, sometimes more valuable way, without harming our own health.

This problem applies to everyone.

The screens surround us from everywhere - from smartphones to displays in new cars. It is impossible to escape from them, and such screens have not yet been invented, which would simultaneously offer a smooth and beautiful picture without degrading our eyesight.

Problems with eyes may soon become one of the most serious diseases of civilization. As far as I am concerned, I prefer to prevent potential damage today, rather than blind before the age of thirty.

* The material was created in cooperation with RTV EURO AGD

How to use a smartphone so as not to be blind before the age of 30?