eyes | Journey

Is Your Desk Job Hurting Your Health?

By Job Journey on Friday, April 24, 2015

Could too much of a good thing be bad for your health? While it’s exciting to land that office job, it’s also important to remember that your body is made to move. Did you know that sitting in front a screen, like a computer, for extended periods of time can increase your risk of certain diseases? Check out these tips to make sure you’re staying healthy both at home and in the workplace.

Stay healthy.
Sitting is often unavoidable and, when broken up into smaller periods of time, won’t do too much damage. The key to staying healthy at your desk job is making sure you take breaks that get you out of your chair. In fact, experts suggest standing every 30 minutes, if possible. To help you get moving, try out these tips:

Stand Up

Set reminders. Try using your email or calendar to set reminders that will pop up and remind you to stand for a few minutes. You can also try this trick at home by using TV commercials as a signal for you to stand up and get moving.
Stand up and straighten your office or workspace. De-cluttering can also help you cut down on stress.
If you like to drink a lot of coffee or other beverage, use a smaller cup in the morning. This will force you to make more trips to fill up your cup throughout the day.
Stand up and get a glass of water if you’ve been sitting for too long.
When you’re eating lunch or talking on the phone, stand up if possible.
Instead of using email or interoffice mail, hand deliver papers to a co-worker.
If possible, use a printer that’s stationed away from your work area so you have to walk to retrieve your documents.
On lunch breaks, take a walk around the building or nearby area.

Rest Your Eyes

Follow the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, take a break from your screen and stare at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds to help the focusing muscles in your eyes relax.
Make a conscious effort to blink every 10-15 seconds so you coat your cornea and nourish your eyes with oxygen.
Try increasing the brightness level on your computer’s monitor to decrease eye fatigue. Also, it’s recommended that your computer screen be positioned 20-28 inches from your eyes.
Eat eye-friendly foods like kale and spinach to lower your chance of developing a cataract.

Protect Yourself

To lessen the strain on your back, try sitting at a 135-degree angle while you work.
Keep hand sanitizer at your desk and wash your hands regularly. According to IdealBite.com, the average office keyboard harbors five times more germs than a public restroom.

Even though there are risks associated with desk jobs, the good news is that there are ways to minimize these risks and stay healthy.

How do you keep your health in check while working in the office? Share your tips in the comments section below!

Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.

At Work Workplace Safety

Computer Screens and Your Eyes

By Jared Cole on Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Electronic Screens and Your Eyes In the 80s, Madonna would sing about being a “material girl living in a material world” but today, she’d be more likely to be a “digital girl living in a digital world.” We are constantly surrounded by electronic devices and their ever-glowing screens. Millions of Americans wake up to work at a computer screen all day, take break periods to text, chat, and update their social media site on their smartphones, go home to relax on their big screen TV, and then read a few chapters of a book from their tablet device in bed before falling asleep.

Do you know how much strain you’re putting on your eyes? A survey conducted by The Vision Council found that nearly 70% of U.S. adults experience some form of digital eye strain while using electronic devices. This kind of eye strain can cause severe pain and can eventually lead to a permanent loss of eyesight. Here’s how you can make your peepers keepers.

How Do I Know if My Eyes Are Strained?
When your eyes are strained, they typically feel irritated and dry while looking red due to reduced blinking rates. Your vision can start to blur due to glaring from bad lighting or outdated equipment.

Your eyes aren’t the only things that can feel the strain. Back and neck pain can occur from poor body posture and positioning. Painful pressure can build on neck muscles if the neck is constantly moving up and down. Strong headaches and general fatigue can occur when straining to see small fonts and images on a screen.

Wax On, Wax Off
A simple and easy way to cut down on eye strain is to make sure all of your electronic devices are clean and properly wiped. It’s important to have your devices free of dirt and fingerprint smudges to reduce glare and strain on your eyes while trying to see what’s on the screen. Use a proper screen cleaning cloth or an electronics-friendly cleaner to have an eye friendly screen.

Go the Distance
It’s always important to be aware of how close electronic screens are to your eyes. There should always be sufficient space between your eyes and the screen. Computer monitors should be about the same distance as your extended arm with your palm up.

It’s All About Location, Location, Location
Adjust computer screens and portable devices to where they are directly in front of your face, straight, and slightly below eye level. If you notice that reading documents causes you to squint or puts strain on your eyes, use your computer’s settings to increase the text size so it feels comfortable to your eyes.

20-20-20
Most importantly, don’t forget to take breaks. Remind yourself to blink more often to reduce dryness and refocus your eyes. There is also the 20-20-20 break – every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break and look at something 20 feet away. You’d be surprised how many times people forget to blink and rest their eyes when viewing an electronic screen because they are so integral to daily life.

Digital screens are everywhere. It’s important that you maintain healthy practices to prevent strain and damage to your eyesight that could become permanent. If you notice any symptoms of strain that constantly persist, contact your physician or optometrist. Screens and portable devices are here to stay. It’s up to you to keep your eyes safe from over exposure.

At Work Workplace Safety

Now You See it, Now You Don’t Without Eye Safety

By Jared Cole on Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Since October is Eye Injury Prevention month, it’s important to keep your eyes protected. You only have one pair of eyes. Those are the last two you’ve got. Even with the advances in modern medicine, doctors and surgeons won’t be able to give you new working eyes.

With an estimated 2,000 U.S. workers suffering a job-related eye injury that requires medical treatment, accidents aren’t always caused by big, sharp objects that cause one big blow. Most of the time, eye injuries occur from tiny specs of metal, particles of dust, or traces of chemicals that can cause irreversible damage.

To help you steer clear of dangerous eye activities, here are some useful tips to make sure your eyes are properly protected so you can see in the days ahead of you.

Not Any Coverings Will Do
Different jobs and industries need different kinds of eye protection. Your employer should have provided or informed you about the kind of eye protection you should wear, when you should wear it, and where you should wear it. If your employer isn’t enforcing or instructing you on what kinds of eye protection to use, do not start on the job until you are properly equipped. You can check with the Occupational Safety and Health Association for a guide on proper eye and face protection.

It’s important to remember that contact lenses were not designed to provide eye protection. Also, it is a good idea to have a pair of prescription glasses ready if you need to take out your contact lenses. Contact wearers will find getting particles in the eye is a painful annoyance that distracts them from their job, which can lead to more dangers.

Fit to Prevent
It’s important that your protective gear properly fits your eyes and face. If they are too crooked, tight, uncomfortable, or loose, you’ll be more inclined not to wear them. While you may have a busy schedule, there is always time to properly adjust your protective equipment. It’s also important to keep your eye protection clean and properly kept. Scratches, smudges, and dirt can impair your vision and possibly put you in even more danger. Therefore, it’s important to store the equipment in a case to avoid scratches and stretching out the elastic in most headbands. Wash your gear with warm, soapy water and dry with a soft cloth or tissue.

Two Wrongs Don’t Help Your Sight
Never try to remove foreign substances, other than contact lenses, from your eyes. Also, refrain from removing a foreign material from the eye of a co-worker. Playing doctor generally makes the condition worse. Contact your employer’s medical department, a doctor, or an ambulance right away for treatment of an eye injury. You should also familiarize yourself with the company policies and procedures should any accident occur and follow those to the best of your ability.

Mean Computer Screens
Eye injuries can happen to anyone, even in an office setting. While injuries may not be immediate, constant viewing of a computer screen causes eye strain that can lead to serious injuries in the long run if not properly taken care of. It’s even more dangerous today since many people who work all day in front of a computer screen generally go home to spend personal time in front of a computer or television screen.

That’s why it’s important to give your eyes a break throughout the day. When you get up every few hours, make sure you blink your eyes or use eye drops to keep them properly lubricated and refocus your eyes on different objects at different distances to give them a rest.

If you have any doubts about whether you should be wearing eye protection, talk to your supervisor. Your eyes are the only two you will ever have. With these guidelines, you’ll be better equipped to avoid injury and enjoy the beauties of eyesight.

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