Beeldschermwerker tijdig KAPPEN EN KIEKEN!!

Voordat je dit gaat doen, lees even dit bericht. De titel van het bericht komt je misschien handig uit of juist niet maar is voor iedere beeldschermwerker van (wetenschappelijk) belang. Ik zal het proberen uit te leggen. De afgelopen jaren zijn medewerkers steeds meer gebonden geraakt aan de computer-beeldschermen. Ogen van deze beeldschermwerkers hebben moeite om zich aan te passen waardoor er vaak vermoeidheid van de ogen en andere klachten ontstaan. Een Amerikaanse arts die onderzoek verricht op het snijvlak van optometrie en (visuele) ergonomie komt met een simpele boodschap. Om vermoeidheid van ogen te verminderen en dus productivietiet te verhogen: " Follow the 3B approach and combine it with the ”20, 20, 20” exercise: Blink, Breath, Break and focus every 20 minutes for 20 seconds at object at 20 metres distance" .
Door mij vrij vertaald als: KAP én KIEK: tijdig Knipperen, Ademhalen, Pauzeren én Kijk IEdere 20 minuten voor 20 seconden naar een Kantoorobject op 20 meter afstand (je collega, een schilderij, poster, een raam of iets dat zich daarachter afspeelt).

Dus beeldschermwerkers …tijdig KAPPEN EN KIEKEN… en daarna weer doorgaan met je werk!

Combining the science of vision and ergonomics, office workers can reduce their exposure to computer-induced eyestrain.
BY JONATHAN DUBIN – Miami Herald
Computers have been revolutionizing the workplace for decades, but our eyes have been slow to adjust. Many workers in this high-tech era are confined to small spaces, staring at computer screens for hours on end. While workplace productivity has increased dramatically, eyestrain has been an unfortunate side effect, …

…hitting U.S. workers with headache, backaches and blurry eyes.
Dr. Jeffrey Anshel, an optometrist and author of Visual Ergonomics in the Workplace, embarked on a mission in the 1980s to help protect the eyes of workers from the woes of eyestrain. The symptoms, Anshel said, include blurred vision, dry eyes, headaches, and even neck and backaches. Eyestrain causes neck or back pains because the ”eyes lead the body, and we will adjust our body posture to see better,” said Anshel.VISUAL ERGONOMICS
Pioneering the field of visual ergonomics, Anshel took his visual expertise to the well-established, mainstream ergonomics community. What he found was ”very little research out there about computers and vision.” It was obvious to him, however, that the age of computers was ushering in a world of perpetual eyestrain. That also has been clear to Dr. Mary Bartuccio, an assistant professor of optometry at Nova Southeastern University who specializes in visual ergonomics — specifically computer vision syndrome, when your eyes don’t see properly when you work at a computer. ”People are not conscious of things to do to set themselves up properly to use computers,” she said. “It’s not a very well-known topic that’s talked about, but almost everyone uses computers nowadays.” Dr. Chris Blick, an optometrist in Orlando with a degree from Nova Southeastern University, has seen the same problem. Some of her patients just weren’t aware of computer-induced eye stress. ”You have to be a little bit of a detective,” she said. “You have to look at the patient’s occupation.” She explained that people have an auto-focus reflex in their eyes known as “accommodation.” ”If you are doing a lot of close-up work,” Blick said, “the accommodative auto-focus system will lock up. A patient with this problem may have 20/20 vision but see blurry on the way home at night.” Although the connection between computer use and eyestrain seems to be clear, Anshel points out that “no studies show computer use causes permanent visual damage.” But Anshel explains that eyestrain can negatively impact a company’s bottom line because it can lead to a loss of productivity. Over the past two decades, he has come up with simple and effective ergonomic suggestions to reduce eyestrain at work.’3B’ APPROACH
His first suggestion is the ”3B” approach: Blink. Breath. Break. By consciously doing this simple exercise, it gives your eyes much-needed rest during intense computer work sessions. The 3B approach should be combined with the ”20, 20, 20” exercise. ”Every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds,” Anshel said. Bartuccio also stresses the importance of properly positioning your chair. ”Just moving your chair in or out can make a huge difference,” she said.
Arms should be parallel to the ground; wrists should not be bent up or down, and the back should be supported with a back support to keep it straight. Anshel, who visits workplaces to give on-site demonstrations in visual ergonomics, came to The Miami Herald to offer tips to newsroom reporters — easy prey for the perils of eyestrain. He explained that if you stare straight ahead and then close your eyes, when you open them again you will be looking slightly downward. Go ahead, try it. The human tendency is to gaze downward, he said, but most people have their computer monitors set way too high to facilitate their natural gaze. Bartuccio said a monitor should be 20 to 25 degrees below a computer operator’s line of sight. ”If it is too low or too high, it will be hard for your eyes to work together,” she said. Not only does a monitor placed too high lead to neck and back problems, but, ”Looking up causes tears to evaporate more quickly,” and that leads to dry eyes, Anshel said.
Another thing to watch for, said Blick: “When you concentrate, your blink rate slows down and that dries out the eye.” Anshel uses measuring tape and vision tests to help workers find the optimal distance between their eyes and their monitor. Usually it’s about 24 inches. All three doctors also recommended anti-glare devices for computer screens and warned that office lighting adds additional stress to the eyes. ”Office lighting competes with computer light,” Anshel said. Bartuccio agrees, “You don’t want any reflections from the window. If you have a lot of artificial lighting, that can be tiring to the eyes as well.” Both Blick and Anshel also recommend next-generation contact lenses that keep eyes moist. While all these simple steps may help relieve eyestrain, ”If you start having symptoms, you need to be checked to make sure it isn’t a vision problem or a health problem with the eye,” Bartuccio said. Anshel, who worked as an optometrist for the Navy, often speaks at large companies and at national conferences for ergonomic societies. He has even testified before a Senate subcommittee in the Department of Labor about visual ergonomics. ”I’m bridging the gap between the profession of optometry and the profession of ergonomics,” he said.

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