#
I read this piece on the BBC about the concern over eye health with average screen time increasing during lockdown. People are being urged to learn and observe the "20-20-20" rule:
looking at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds, every 20 minutes you look at a screen
Not going out so much and certainly not having to commute to or move around the office I can certainly vouch for a much reduced visual range. Even when not looking at a screen one is generally still looking at things within the same four walls, especially during these dark winter months.
I am short sighted anyway (it runs in the family) but have increasingly felt my eyes becoming more tired and irritated over the past few months. I haven't felt the need to where my glasses very often so that's a good indicator of how little I have been looking at distance.
I already knew the guidance on looking up and away periodically but had not come across the 20-20-20 rule so was keen to find out more. It seems I wasn't the only one.
Whilst searching I found this article on the Optometry Times website in which the author, Brian Chou, endeavoured to find the rule's origin. Some digital sleuthing lead him to a Dr Jeffrey Anshel who coined the rule back in 1991 when the prevailing advice was to take a 15 minute break every two hours.
Anshel started with the 3B's: blink, breathe, and break, but the 20-20-20 rule emerged out of the 'break' part of that.
The 3B's sounds more holistic, like something we can apply to so many areas of our lives.
