Seeing the Future: Losing My 20/20 Vision in 2020 Quarantine

On top of the 281209380123 things being taken away by COVID-19, my 20/20 vision might be thrown on that list by the end of all this… whenever that is.  

To those of you who are actually making the most out of this experience and trying new things and maintaining a normal sleep schedule and all that, I have so much respect for you. Truly. You blow my mind. However, I—like many of my peers—am simply incapable of such stellar productivity. Listen. I know I could be doing so many other things—I know, okay? But the amount of ATP it takes to get out of bed? 

I’m sorry, I can’t do it. 

The only two things I get out of bed for now are hygiene-related things and food. Otherwise, the only other trips I’m making are between Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Reddit, and Family Style—while in bed. You might also find me on my laptop doing college stuff, but for the most part, I’m staring into my phone.

 Or napping beside it. 

And about my sleep schedule… I’ve been wide awake during the night and exhausted during the day. I go to sleep at 10 am (ish) and wake up at 5 pm (ish). I don’t know. I think that started because I’ve been too lazy to get ready for bed. Orrr the more likely reason: too much screen time can actually cause insomnia. 

Oops.

But after 3 weeks of this sedentary lifestyle, I’m feeling the pressure. Today I looked outside my window and felt my eyes straining a bit. I still see clearly, mind you, but it felt tiring to look at something that far away. I found myself going cross-eyed, as if my eyes were searching for something closer to my face… like my phone. 

Crap.

You know, I have a lot of regrets in life, but I refuse to let this be one. With a prospective career reliant on good eyesight, I need to take care of my eyes. And you should too. Because I can’t really tell you to just stop using your devices, here are 3 important tips and healthy habits to prevent quarantine from destroying your corneas:

1. Arm’s length away

Social distancing tells you to stay 6 feet away from people if you’re out and about; your eye doctor will tell you to stay an arm’s length away from people while you’re Zooming. 

When looking at things that are closer to you, your eyes are working harder than they would if you were looking at something far away. That, my friend, will tire them out real fast. 

2. Remember to blink

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, “Focusing the eyes on computer screens or other digital displays has been shown to reduce a person’s blink rate by a third to a half, which tends to dry out the eyes.” No bueno. Dry eyes make tired eyes feel so much worse, so blink. Just do it. If you won’t get out of bed, do yourself a favor and use 1/10 of a second of your time to blink (about every 4 seconds). 

3. 20-20-20 break

Would you look at that. How ironic. Here we are in 2020, talking about 20/20 vision and practicing the 20-20-20 break. Whatta coinkydink. So what is this thing? Basically, for every 20 minutes of screen time, look at objects around you that are about 20 feet away for 20 seconds (at least). Doing this gives your eyes a much-needed break. We spend all day relaxing in bed, we gotta stop being selfish and let our eyeballs do the same.

 

I know some of you might be thinking your eyes are fine or that they won’t get worse. Here’s one thing I’m curious about: what’s your screen time today? I just checked mine. 8 hours and 50 minutes. Is yours higher? Lower? Either way, screens don’t ever help your eyesight and everyone could use less time.

The best way to prevent eye damage would be just to get off our phones, laptops, computers, and TVs, but that is—lightly put—impossible. So if not that, practice these 3 habits. Please.

Let’s flex on everyone who gets a new prescription when quarantine ends.

 

 

Here are some eye exercises if you feel like going above and beyond: