Digital Eye Strain is caused when your eyes are required to focus for extended periods of time, such as spending long period of time watching TV, driving, reading, or looking at your phone or computer screen. Prolonged screen exposure causes a reduction in blink rate, resulting in dry eyes which can contribute to eye strain.
Having uncorrected refractive errors can also give you symptoms, like eye strain and headache. This can happen if you need glasses but don’t know it, don’t wear your glasses when you should, or have a prescription that is out of date.
Another potential cause is having an eye muscle imbalance, i.e., both eyes are unable to focus on an object simultaneously, causing double vision.
External factors can cause eye strain symptoms too. Reading books or looking at screens in poor light, having your screen at an awkward angle, or not having your desk and keyboard set up comfortably, can all strain your eyes.
It is also important to know that people of all ages can suffer from a range of eye strain symptoms. Although there may be some common symptoms, eye strain does not cause Amblyopia aka lazy eye.