Amidst the pandemic panic, I know we’ve all been going a little stir crazy--myself included. Like many moms, I got busier overnight when COVID hit. On top of my regular job and “second shift” duties, I've been keeping my son cooped-up and entertained at home, checking in on my parents, cooking every meal and staring at screens for nine hours of the day. I mean, I have been doing it on repeat for 537 days (not that anyone is counting).

If you’re anything like me, you scroll on your free time to pass the time and likely have dozens of tabs open at this very moment. As I write this, my tired eyes are finally reading the news stories I put in an email draft to myself “to read later” and scrolling my social media feeds. The truth is, we're all glued to our screens. Earlier today I even let my son watch TV and YouTube videos of Cocomelon from my phone (hey don’t mom shame me).

12 hours and 39 minutes per day.

96 hours and 12 minutes per week.

All that added screen time left me with tired, dry eyes, headaches, blurred vision, and neck and shoulder pain. The kind of pain you can’t blame on your needy toddler who wants to be held all day. Even before COVID, I would often find myself with a headache and eye strain in the middle of the day. I run a business and spend a lot of time consulting clients online-- with COVID, my entire business shifted to digital first, so even more screen time.

I usually wear non-prescription (light-blocking) glasses when I'm at the computer, but I realized I haven't had an eye exam in years and decided to see if that had anything to do with it. Usually, I will be the first to confess burnout, feeling like I am losing my mind, but I’m always one to put my health as a non-priority, and decided to leave the house for an hour alone to make time for what I call “medical self care.”

I made an appointment to see Dr. Ryan Stybel at Positive Eyeons and this is what I learned. Three words:

Digital

Eye

Strain. It’s a real thing!

Pop quiz: Did you know, a person's blink rate -- normally about 15-20 times per minute -- can decrease by up to half when we're fixated on what we're viewing on a screen¹? So, if you're reading this and thinking, I'm tired and my head hurts, it's not a cause for concern -- it's completely normal, just regular life. WRONG.

Who would have thought, there's a term for it: Digital Eye Strain, also known as Computer Vision Syndrome or Digital Eye Fatigue. I found out that eye strain from hours of screen time can result in eye irritation, dryness, fatigue or blurred vision². As we all spend more hours focused on digital screens, our eyes are getting an exhausting endurance workout.

Dr. Ryan Stybel suggested Biofinity Energys^R contact lenses. They were developed to help with eye tiredness and dryness, common symptoms associated with digital eye strain³.

So how do they work? This unique contact lens comes with Aquaform^R Technology to lock moisture which helps your eyes feel less dry. Its proprietary Digital Zone Optics^R lens design helps with eye tiredness⁴ so I can easily shift from online to offline events with less strain.

I wore the contacts every day for a week and was surprised by the results. 2020 has been an eye opener on so many levels (see what I did there?). After I finally got the hang of poking myself in the eye (hey, first time contact lens wearer here), it was easy and clear as a crystal (moms can have bad jokes too).

So how much did I like my contacts? It has been a month of wear, and I'm still wearing them right now. They are easy to put on (after you get a hang of it), very comfortable and stay moist all day-- which is key. I wish I would have known about these a long time ago since I am in front of a computer all day and most of the evening. I will be ordering more when I need them. I would recommend these to anyone concerned about their digital eye strain. I don’t think the new normal will go away any time soon plus with a potential second wave, kids will be back to learning from home and parents like me will be working from home- so these will definitely come in handy.

I’ve really enjoyed my new contacts, and know you will too. The amazing team at CooperVision Biofinity Energys^R is generously giving out a free trial here. Test it out for yourself -- I would love to hear about your experience in the comments below!

Get your FREE TRIAL HERE: https://bit.ly/33ovtTg

This post was sponsored by CooperVision Biofinity Energys^R contact lenses. All opinions are my own.

Footnotes:

1. Seltman, Whitney. Prevent Eyestrain From Digital Devices. August 6, 2019. REF: https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/prevent-digital-eyestrain

2. The Vision Council. Published by International Review of Ophthalmic Optics. Digital Eye Strain in the USA. REF: https://www.pointsdevue.com/article/digital-eye-strain-usa-overview-vision-council

3. US monthly single vision lens.

4. Based on a statistically significant difference of the mean change of Accomodative Microfluctuations and when compared to Biofinity^R sphere after reading on an iPhone for 20 minutes at a distance of 25 cm.

Contact Lenses Specifically Designed for Digital Eye Strain