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Digital tools are essential in the professional world. But their use is not without consequences on our physical health, and particularly our eye health. There are solutions to improve your daily visual comfort, such as the breathing.ai browser extension.
This browser extension, available on Chrome, Opera and Edge, uses facial recognition to combat hyperconnectivity. It connects to your computer’s webcam to detect if you have symptoms that suggest you are prone to digital eye strain, or stress. Breathing.ai would notably measure your heart and breathing rate by looking at whether your forehead or your dark circles change color from being in front of a screen.
If so, the application will help you avoid the inconvenience of working on a computer. She will invite you to take a break to do stretches or short breathing and/or meditation exercises. It can also adjust the intensity and contrast of your screen to optimize your reading comfort, or modify the color palette of your computer to find those that suit you best.
Breathing.ai users. can monitor their progress and ensure thoughtful and informed use of their computer. Because digital technology is not intrinsically bad for your health. However, it can become so if we adopt risky behaviors. A large number of employees feel the need to be hyperconnected for fear of missing an important email or missing crucial information on Slack. A third of French people admit they can’t stop looking at their cell phone every 10 minutes, according to the 2018 edition of the Axa Risk Prevention Observatory.
But this hyperconnection rarely does them any favors, as it weighs on concentration, memory, cognitive abilities and well-being. It can even become an obstacle to their career when it becomes compulsive. Some professionals might be tempted to cut themselves off from screens to protect themselves from pathologies directly caused by their excessive use, but this solution is not always possible as digital tools are so widespread in the world of work. This is why it is recommended to try to self-regulate by adopting good actions that will mitigate the side effects of digital work.
Slide: Computer: working positions to avoid