It's important to make sure that your screen wallpaper is as eye-friendly as possible. Whether it's your phone wallpaper or your desktop PC's background, the good news is that your screen image can be used to minimize eye strain.
Many people pick an image solely because they like it, and while that's a good thing, you also need to consider your eyes. Headaches and other issues can result from computer eye strain. Luckily, there are easy ways to pick the right image that will let your eyes rest more.
Disclaimer: this article does not constitute medical advice; it is tips on how to ensure your screen background is not inadvertently causing or contributing to your eye symptoms. If you continue to have eye strain or headaches, see your doctor or optometrist.
Let's move along to finding out what features you need to look for in your wallpaper.
1. Pick an image that causes the eye to want to focus further away
You'll want to pick a landscape or something that draws the eye to want to look further away (almost behind the screen), not right in front of you. Here are some right and wrong examples:
You'll find this helps a lot with eye strain relief. Having the focal point be further away is more relaxing for your eyes and will help avoid headaches from the computer screen.
The best wallpaper color for eyes is in the red-toned range. Red hues relax the eye and are also considered better for sleep purposes if looking at a screen late in the evening. It doesn't have to be a strong red: pink, orange, or similar hues will help.
This can be a little harder than you think to find, because images that tend to have plenty of visual appeal are blue-toned ones (e.g. the sky, the ocean etc). Many of the default wallpapers provided by most devices are heavy on the blue tones.
Search for visually appealing red tones like sunrise and sunset.
3. An uncluttered image
A simple and uncluttered background minimizes digital eye strain by making it easy for you to see your apps and icons at a glance. You may need to try out a few different candidates on your device to see how they do; it's not always as easy as you think to predict this just by looking at an image.
Having an uncluttered look to your computer screen also helps reduce eye fatigue - you can instantly see where everything is at a glance.
Putting it all together
If you'd like a good example of an image that fulfills all of the above criteria, take a look at the ones below. You can get the high-resolution original at Pixabay by clicking on any of these images - they all link back to the original high-res photo.
You may also like to take a look at our tips for saving time at the computer.
Conclusion
Your screen image can have a surprisingly big effect on your level of eye strain. We look at our devices every day, most of us for hours every day. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to decrease eye strain. Use the tips above to pick an image that you like, and that works to minimize eye strain.