The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in screentime for many of us, including how we work, shop, socialise etc.
With this rise in screentime, some of us are beginning to experience negative physical effects such as nausea, headaches and eye strain.
Cybersickness is receiving increasing attention from researchers and the media as tech continues to develop.
This article from The Converation describes Cybersickness as the following:
"Cybersickness refers to a cluster of symptoms that occur in the absence of physical motion, similar to motion sickness. These symptoms fall into three categories: nausea, oculomotor issues and general disorientation. Oculomotor symptoms, like eye strain, fatigue and headaches, involve overworking the nerve that controls eye movement. Disorientation can manifest as dizziness and vertigo. And several cybersickness symptoms, such as difficulty concentrating and blurred vision, overlap categories. These issues can persist for hours and affect sleep quality."
Taking regular breaks, planning time for non-screen based activities, using blue light glasses/filters and using your phone/computers accessibility features to adjust text sizes, colours and brightness can all play a role in managing these side effects.
We are learning more all the time about how to incorporate digital wellbeing into our lives and this may be something to consider when supporting others in our work, especially clients who may be spending prolonged time in front of a screen.
Photo credit: by Bethany Szentesi on Unsplash