What Happens To Your Body When You Stare At Computer All Day

Most people who do desk jobs sit for hours at a stretch in front of their computer screens without realising the long-term health implications. According to experts, not only is it tiring for your physical health, but it can also lead to burnout and wreak havoc on your body.

From eye strain to headaches, back pain, and even weight gain—a lot happens to your body when you stare at a computer all day—plus, how taking breaks throughout the day can make all the difference.

For those who work long hours on their computers, you are bound to get:

Staring for too long at a computer screen causes short-term, immediate effects on your eyes, which include blurred vision, watery eyes, and headaches—all of which are symptoms of computer vision syndrome.

According to experts, when your eyes begin to work harder to focus on screens, you may start putting pressure on the muscles. It happens due to glare and reflections—the movements on the screen and the reduced contrast between letters and backgrounds compared to a physically printed page.

Staring at your screen for hours strains your eyes, leading to triggering pain in other areas of the body like a debilitating and uncomfortable headache.

According to doctors, many times these headaches increase to become migraines, which happen when you do not take enough breaks, have strong background lighting, and have the device too close to your face.

Dryness in your eyes is among the most common side effects of sitting in front of a screen for hours at a stretch. Doctors say it leads to loss of lubrication from the eyes, which can lead to scratched corneas causing blurry vision.

However, those who wear contact lenses are more susceptible to dryness since the lenses inhibit oxygen flow.

Spending too much time on the computer also leads to increased symptoms of nearsightedness. The overuse of eyes—when you focus too much on one thing, it makes it impossible for you to see anything in the distance. Even though the distance vision may return after resting the eyes, consistent visual stress could cause a permanent reduction in distance vision.

Sitting in one position for hours at a stretch and working on the computer also puts a lot of strain on areas like your back, neck, and shoulders. This can lead to muscular pain in the long run.

Doctors say the emission of blue light from the screens leads to not just physical issues like strain and fatigue but also attacks your metabolism. It makes it hard and difficult for you to sleep and can even cause retinal damage and AMD, or age-related macular degeneration.

Blue light disrupts your circadian rhythm—your body's sleep-and-wake cycle—making it more difficult to fall asleep. Any sleep deficit can make it harder to function the next day, eventually increasing your risk of illness and weight gain.

Eventually, it affects your immunity as well when your body stops producing collagen and building and repairing muscles.

If you have to use the computer for long hours, you need to take a few precautions and steps so that you do not end up with ailments. A few of these include:

While work can go on for long hours, it is important to regularly take breaks from continuous screen time. The best way to do that is the 20-20-20 rule, which means every 20 minutes, look away from your screen and look at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.

Make sure to position your computer screen at least 3-5 inches below your eye level, away from direct and indirect glare sources, and at a sensible distance, so that you do not feel any kind of strain.

Also, opt for more ambient lighting in the room around you, especially when spending prolonged periods of time looking at a screen.

You can easily get eye drops from a chemist and always keep them by your desk for quick relief from dry eyes. These drops lubricate your eyes and reduce dryness caused by looking at a screen for too long, serving as “artificial tears”.

Hydrating throughout the day is the best way to keep your eyes healthy. Drinking enough water along with eating a nutritious diet helps support eye health and reduce the risk of certain eye diseases like macular degeneration or dry eye. Eat foods that are loaded with lutein, vitamin C, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Health and around the world.