Between online classes, research for a presentation, revision on a laptop and the phone in the evening, a secondary-school or university student racks up eight to ten hours of screen time a day without realising it. Eyes aren't made to stare at the same distance for that long. The classic result during exams: dry eyes, vision that blurs late in the afternoon, trouble falling asleep after an evening of revision notes.
What really tires your eyes when you revise
- Slower blinking. When you concentrate on a text, you blink almost half as often. The eye dries out and stings.
- A fixed distance. Staying 50 cm from a screen for hours keeps the focusing muscles contracted.
- Poor lighting. Revising in a dark bedroom with the screen on full means asking your eyes to adapt to the contrast all the time.
- The phone in bed. After midnight, the screen closest to your eyes is also the one that delays sleep the most.
A revision routine that's kind to your eyes
Work in blocks
The Pomodoro technique (25 minutes of work, 5 minutes' break) fits perfectly: at each break, look up from the screen and gaze into the distance, out of the window. It's the 20-20-20 rule applied to revision, and both your eyes and your memory benefit.
Alternate paper and screen
Printing your revision notes, or copying them out by hand, isn't just better for remembering: it's a real break for your eyes. Keep the screen for searching, and paper for learning.
Turn on the lamp
A desk lamp as well as the screen reduces the difference in light between the display and the room. Set the screen brightness so that a white page doesn't “glow”.
Switch off the screen before bed
Sleep locks in what you learned during the day. Put your phone down about thirty minutes before sleeping, set night mode to automatic, and if you work late, consider an amber-tinted lens — we explain why in our article on screens and sleep.
Are blue light glasses useful for a student?
Let's be honest: they replace neither breaks nor good lighting, and the science doesn't show that on their own they prevent eye strain. On the other hand, many students appreciate two things:
- During the day, clear lenses with an anti-reflective coating make the screen more comfortable under the fluorescent lights of the library or lecture hall. JADE and MIDI are made for it, and work just as well in class as on a night out.
- In the evening, an amber or orange tint like SAFRAN or DUNE filters more blue light during late revision sessions or series.
Another concrete advantage: they're real, lightweight frames that you wear like style glasses. You don't need a vision problem to put them on.
Student budget: what you need to know
There's no need for a designer pair costing over €100. What matters: an anti-reflective coating, a lightweight frame you forget is on your nose, and a case for your bag. At SAY, delivery is free anywhere in mainland France, and every pair comes with its case.
When to see someone
If you squint to read the board, or you have a headache almost every day at the end of class, get your eyes tested. Slight short-sightedness or astigmatism that has never been corrected is very common between 16 and 25, and no non-prescription pair will fix it.
Read next: Kids and screens: do they need blue light glasses?