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Who beat screen fatigue best?
A YouTuber whose full-time job is to shoot and edit videos, an executive who works 10 hours a day, or a teacher who’s discovering virtual classrooms? Or you?
Sandhya Sagar, 29, Patent associate
Average screen time: 10-12 hours on laptop and two to three hours on the phone.
Side effects: Sandhya has invested in a pair of anti-glares to work the long hours and uses a gel pack to relax her eyes. She also complains of recurring headaches after staring at the screen for long hours.
How do you beat screen fatigue? “Taking coffee breaks or a stroll whenever I’ve the luxury of doing so. Listening to songs also helps me reduce stress,” she says.
On unwinding after work: “Conversations with family, helping with household chores, watching OTT content has helped me unwind. Otherwise, it’s scrolling on social media,” she laughs.
Harmeet Kaur Saini, 24, Teacher
Average screen time: Starts a few hours after she wakes up until she hits the sack.
Side effects: Harmeet has had acute headaches and irritation in her eyes, and increase in lower back pain due to long working hours, apart from fatigue.
How did you beat screen fatigue? “The only step I have consciously taken is to ensure short naps in between sessions. I’ve also decided to dedicate at least an hour for myself by going for an evening walk or reading a good book,” she says.
On unwinding after work: “Having ‘kadak adrak wali chai (strong ginger tea),’ good food and sound sleep does the trick for me. I avoid using social media entirely,” she shares.
Aditi Shrestha, 26, YouTuber
Average screen time: Seven-eight hours on laptop and four-five hours on phone.
Side effects: Aditi says she spent more time on her phone before the lockdown, whereas in 2020, she tried to stay away from scrolling on apps relentlessly.
How did you beat screen fatigue? “I make it a point to do two-minute stretches and close my eyes for a bit whenever I get up in the middle of work. My sleep cycle has improved as I keep my phone away 15 minutes before sleeping,” she says.
On unwinding after work: “Skincare and listening to my favourite playlist have helped significantly. Short drives with my friends after work also rejuvenate me,” she adds.
And the winner is…Aditi Shrestha
“Frequent breaks from screen time will help relax”
“As a content creator, being in front of the screen is a full-time job for Aditi, but she wins because she is blowing off steam by taking frequent breaks, not Instagramming till the final hour of her day, and going on drives rather than bingeing on shows,” says our panel unanimously, despite being asked this question individually.
Here are their tips to help you beat screen fatigue as well:
1. “Close your eyes every minute after working for five minutes and walk for five minutes after working for an hour,” says Dr Sanjay Dhawan, Director, Ophthalmology, Max Healthcare.
2. “As a mother, I was concerned for my elder kid who wouldn’t realise when he peed in his pants while watching TV… but I’ve phased out screen time. People set an alarm to wake up, I’ve set one to go to sleep,” says Stuti Agarwal, a blogger mom.
3. “Sync blinking your eyes with the click of the mouse or keys,” says Dr Jyoti Batra, eye specialist at ICare.
From HT Brunch, January 10, 2021
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