SCREEN adjustments

If screens are causing you to experience symptoms, limiting screen time is likely the best course of action. If you need to use a screen the following suggestions may be helpful.

1. Take frequent breaks for your eyes, make the font larger, avoid scrolling
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2. General strategies for reading include;
   1. Making the text larger; increasing the size of the font; and use a magnifying glass
   2. Reduce the amount of visual stimuli on the page, the less there is, the easier it will be to read (e.g. large print, fewer words, more space between lines)
   3. Orient yourself to where you are (e.g. use a ruler and underline the line of text you are reading, cover the rest with a blank page, follow your finger)
   4. Increase contrast, like using black text on white paper
   5. It may be easier to read larger print further away from you
      .
3. Dim the screen
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4. Change the spectrum of light on the device
   1. Often times, shorter wavelength (blue) light is more difficult to tolerate after a concussion than the longer wavelength (red) light. You can usually modify this on a device.
      1. Newer MacBooks or iPhones. Under system preferences, brightness (iPhone) or displays
         (computer), use Night Shift to adjust the spectrum to “warmer tones.”
      2. Android phones. Download apps such as: “Twilight,” “Bluelight Filter for Eye Care,”
         “Midnight (free),” “Night screen (free, has ads),” or “My Eyes Protection”
      3. All computers (mac and PC). Download apps like “f.lux (free),” “NightTone,” or “Screen
         Colours Filter (free)”
         .
5. Slow the refresh rate
   Often, screens will automatically refresh the image very frequently, approximately 60 times each second. This might exacerbate some of the visual symptoms that occur when using a screen. It is often, but not always, possible to change this rate, depending on the specific device that you are
   using. I recommend using google to find instructions specific to your device.
   .
6. Assistive devices such as an antiglare guard, or an ePaper screen (https://www.iristechnologies.ca) may be helpful if the above simpler suggestions have not made a  difference, or if you can borrow one from work, or have the means to purchase/rent.

Research & writing: Dr. Taher Chugh

Last update: August 2020