I want to start by admitting to the copious amounts of time I spent on Netflix during quarantine, binge watching American Horror Story and New Girl. To be fair, it was a tough time for everyone and a little down time was more than warranted. However, now that school has begun we are spending more than half of our time in Zoom classes, or reading and writing essays on our computers. By the time the day is done, we are a campus full of blue-light zombies making our way to the pub for a coffee or pub cookie. 

Since unhealthy amounts of screen time seems inevitable in the pursuit of a modern college degree, we have to focus on how to limit screen time or cope with the effects of too much time in front of a computer.  Here are 3 tips that I find essential to this endeavor:

1. Purchase Blue Light Glasses

While being broke is a trademark of most mid semester college students, I believe that these are a worthy investment. Blue light sits on the very edge of the color spectrum near UV light, which is very harmful to the skin and eyes. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, excessive exposure can cause headaches, eye spasms, eye strain, and disrupt sleep cycles.

Blue light glasses help alleviate these symptoms by blocking blue light from reaching your retinas. You can purchase these for as little as $25 on Amazon.

1. Embrace Audiobooks

While much of the time college students spend writing on their computers is unavoidable ( I refuse to hand write my papers), we can work to limit how often we read on them. Wel all know that most professors assign textbooks or readings that can be found online for much cheaper than the hard copy versions. In fact , you can occasionally find PDF versions of them for free. This is tempting, especially for those of us who buy our own books with limited funds. 

The best way around this is to download the free app audible, which allows you to download audiobook versions of most textbooks. The app gives you tokens that you can use to “purchase” free books for your digital library. Once you have them, you can listen while you’re eating lunch, going for a walk outside, or just sitting by yourself for a minute. Either way, it doesn’t require you to look at a screen or waste time on breaks that you can’t afford to take. 

1. Don’t eat in front of a screen

Spending your day in front of a phone or computer makes it easy to lose track of time. Stimuli is a term used to describe anything that provokes a physical or chemical reaction in your brain. We are constantly being stimulated by screens, food, conversation, or even taking in the world around us. Stimulation is normal, but in today’s world it is very easy to become overstimulated, when your brain receives too much information at once or over a specific period of time. This can make people feel irritable, lethargic,  numb and/or depressed.

To reduce this, it is important to carve out time to bring yourself back to what I call ground zero. I do this by breaking up my day using meals. Since eating is a necessary part of my routine, I know there won’t be a day where I can skip it. To do this, don’t look at a computer, TV, phone or ipod once you sit down to eat. Don’t listen to music and try to have at least one meal a day by yourself so that you’re not forced to engage in conversation. Just sit there and think (or don’t think) while you enjoy your food. Then afterward, take 5 minutes to just sit and reflect on how you feel mentally and physcially. This way, you will be more in tune with what your body and mind needs from you and it will provide a reset for the rest of the day.

These tips may not all be realistic for you but if you can factor at least one of them into your daily routine, you are headed for progress! Be kind to yourself and remember to take breaks when you can. Mental health isa serious factor in overall success, and excessive screen exposure does not make that uphill battle any easier. However, patience and working to reduce these effects will improve your overall experience.