Increased screen time can be bad for the eyes.

Fight Blindness Canada is issuing a challenge to Canadians to turn off their screens tomorrow at 6 a.m. for 24 hours to raise eye health awareness and support vision research.

President and CEO of Fighting Blindness Canada, Doug Earle says staring at screens can cause real problems for vision. That’s gotten worse since the pandemic as more people spend more time on phones, computers, and television.

68 per cent of people asked reported spending more time on the internet, while 63 per cent spent more time watching TV. 22 per cent reported spending more time playing video games.

Staring at screens leads to less blinking, meaning that eyes can dry out causing serious concerns about eye health in the long term. Earle suggests people keep the 20/20/20 rule in mind while spending time on screens.

Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. That allows the eyes to adjust says Earle.