Photo by Ksenia Chernaya/Pexels
March 10, 2025 By Queens Post News Team
With digital device use deeply ingrained in daily life, prioritizing eye health is more essential than ever.
Managing screen time and scheduling annual eye exams are key to long-term vision care, especially for those who spend prolonged hours in front of screens.
Dr. Christa Cavallaro, owner of C Clearly, has been practicing optometry for nearly 30 years and has served the Sunnyside community since opening her office at 48-14 Skillman Ave. in 2017. She offers comprehensive eye care for patients of all ages and frequently advises on strategies to balance digital screen use with overall eye health.
Dr. Christa Cavallaro (right) with office manager Maria. Photo: C Clearly
For those who start their day checking their phones, Dr. Cavallaro assures that doing so poses no harm to eye health.
“There’s no sort of set amount of time, like ‘you’ve got to wait an hour,’ nothing like that,” she said.
However, prolonged screen time, whether from phones, computers, or tablets, can contribute to eye strain. Dr. Cavallaro recommends the 20-20-20 rule—looking away from the screen every 20 minutes for at least 20 seconds at something 20 feet away—to reduce fatigue.
An over-the-shoulder view of a person in bed checking a smartphone with glasses in hand. Photo credit: Istock Photo
“Whenever you do close-up work, whether it’s your phone, your iPad, or even needlepoint or crafting, it causes eye strain because the more you’re concentrating on it, it affects your eyes,” she explained. “We try to tell patients to look away every half hour, even down the hallway or out a window, and then you can go back to your close-up task. They can’t always walk away every half hour, but if they can just look away for even a minute, it’s really helpful. It just lets the eye relax.”
For those who spend extended hours working on a computer, blue light glasses may provide additional relief. While studies remain inconclusive on blue light’s long-term effects, Dr. Cavallaro believes they can still be beneficial.
“Science from the community is up and down,” she said. “There’s no definitive study that says blue light is bad for you the way we know for sure UV light is bad for you, but it doesn’t mean [blue light] isn’t, it just means they haven’t proven it yet. Unless you have a job as a designer where you have to do color correction, wearing blue light glasses can only help, it cannot hurt.”
Eye care tips for screen time from Dr. Cavallaro of C Cleary in Sunnyside. Photo credit: Istock Photo
Beyond screen time, maintaining a balanced diet can support long-term eye health.
“Dark green leafy vegetables are really good for our eyes,” said Dr. Cavallaro. “Omega-3 helps with dry eyes, Lutein and Zeaxanthin are great for your eyes as well. It won’t help with your prescription, but it will keep your eyes healthy. Especially with the amount of eye disease, too much sugar is never a good thing. Diabetes can be very detrimental to the eyes, so basically, not too much sugar.”
Recognizing signs of digital eye strain is also important. Dry eyes and blurry vision after prolonged screen use are common indicators that adjustments are needed.
“Signs that you’re looking at your phone too often would be a lot of dry eye and if your vision becomes blurry after looking up close for too long,” she said.
Ultimately, the best defense against eye health issues is regular checkups with an optometrist.
“Overall, people should see their eye doctor once a year. The earlier we catch things going on, the more we can help,” Dr. Cavallaro emphasized. “Good vision and eye health are not really related; you can have perfect vision and very unhealthy eyes and have a very high prescription, but healthy eyes. So it’s really important for both sets of people to see an eye doctor.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 347-848-0982. C Clearly is located at 48-14 Skillman Ave., Sunnyside. The office is open Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Sunday and Monday.
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