After hours spent in front of his computer, working or surfing the net, he sometimes gets headaches.
To fight against these pains, it is still necessary to understand the causes.
Blue light, bad position in front of the screen or even ocular dehydration... Petra Kunze, ophthalmologist and co-author of the book
My screen and me: stop fatigue
(1), explains how screens can cause headaches, and gives key to mitigating its effects.
Retinal fatigue
At the origin of these headaches, we find to begin with blue light and the pixels of the screen.
Both tire the eyes.
The color of the light is close to that of ultraviolet rays, which makes it aggressive.
"Spending hours facing this superficial light tires the retina, and little by little, it has the effect of a small burn", specifies the ophthalmologist.
Adjusting the light on your computer screen and opting for a softer light (in greens or turquoise) is necessary to reduce its aggressiveness.
On your smartphone, activating night mode (more yellow screen) all day is also more pleasant for the eye.
At home, it is good to prefer warm colors for the bulbs in the room, advises Petra Kunze.
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Faced with screens, the eyes are therefore put under tension.
To relax them and rest them from the aggressiveness of light, the ophthalmologist recommends two eye yoga exercises.
The first,
palming
, involves relaxing your shoulders and rubbing your palms together.
Place the palms on the cheekbones and the palms of the hands in front of the eyes.
Hold the position for two minutes.
"This allows them to pause," comments the professional.
The second exercise consists of taking your eyes off the screen, looking towards the horizon and then coming back to your screen.
“It relaxes the muscles of the eye that do the focusing.
The latter get tired when they are always riveted on the same objective”, informs the doctor.
In addition, it is strongly recommended to take a 15-minute break every two hours of work, and preferably without your smartphone.
Correct body position
Headaches are also often linked to poor posture in front of the computer.
“The back muscles tense up, and this affects the spine and cervical.
When the latter are blocked, we expose ourselves to headaches, ”explains Petra Kunze.
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To be sure of adopting the right position in front of your computer, you must adjust the height of the seat so as to form a right angle at the level of the knees.
When using the keyboard, the elbows must also form a right angle and the wrists must not be "broken".
To do well, the ophthalmologist recommends a mouse pad with a cushion to put the wrist on.
The head should be straight and the eyes should look at the middle of the screen, so as not to tense the shoulders.
We also make sure to keep the screen 1 meter away from us (the ideal according to the doctor), even if it means enlarging the font.
Finally, since headaches are also linked to muscle tension, it is essential to get moving regularly during the day.
Moisturize your eyes
Petra Kunze reminds us: one of the main causes of headaches is dehydration.
But the eye can also suffer from lack of water.
The sensation of itchy, burning or raw eyes is a sign of dry eye.
"We must then renew our tear film, that is to say the moist surface of the eye, because without the secretion of the liquid, we force on the eyes to see more clearly, which causes headaches."
To avoid it, blink more often, or hydrate them with saline.
Revise your optical correction
If the headaches are regular, it might be time to see an eye doctor.
“When you work on a screen, you absolutely have to have good vision, warns Petra Kunze.
Having glasses adapted to your sight helps you no longer have pain, even if you only need a small correction.
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What about blue light blocking glasses?
“They remain controversial, but 85% of my patients who have glasses with an anti-blue light filter tell me that their headaches have since ceased”, testifies the ophthalmologist.
You still have to buy your frames from an optician in order to have good quality glass, she says.
(1)
My screen and me: stop fatigue
, co-written by Petra Kunze, Editions Flammarion, 160 p., €16.90.