Is VR Bad For Your Eyes

With the introduction of virtual reality headsets, there is a new concern about what types of eye problems may hurt VR users for long periods of use.

eye tracking

So is VR bad for the eyes? Currently, more research is being conducted, and we don't have a concrete answer yet, but one thing that VR users will experience is eye strain after long hours of use because the brain is forced to process visual stimuli in different way than normal.

Eye strain occurs when the user is focusing on one object for an extended period of time. Things like reading a book, watching tv, scrolling through your phone have the same effect inside a VR goggle.

In many ways, VR headsets induce digital eye strain, and they can also cause virtual reality motion sickness if the VR experience is poorly designed with poor FPS and resolution. The user will try harder to see the image, then lead to eye strain.

360 video boats

While most of the VR markets are focusing on video games, kids who are still in the phase of developing depth perception, focus, and tracking. They may develop early myopia, nearsightedness, and digital eye strain-related problems.

We recommend taking regular breaks when using VR. As soon as you feel the strain, take it off.

What Happens To Your Eyes Inside An VR Headset

eye exam

The proximity to your eyes and having two small LCD monitors projected at each can give you that 3D effect which creates an illusion of how close everything seems when in fact it's far away from being real.

The VR Headset provides image feed to your left eye and right eye, and the stereoscopic effect gives the user a 3D immersive experience.

Current VR technology doesn't feature depth perception or wide enough peripheral vision, so what a normal person can see up to 170 degrees field of view is shrunk to about 115 until wider FOV VR headsets are coming to the market.

foveated rendering eye focus

Foveated rendering and auto IPD technology are coming to the market to automatically measure the distance between your eyes and set the lens super accurately to each eye for maximum image focus. Foveated rendering will track the movement of the eye and only focus the image quality based on where the eye is looking while reducing computing power for the rest of the screen to make VR headset more efficient.

What Are The Risks

VR can cause motion sickness including nausea and disorientation. For the most part, users' experiences vary based on how the VR application is built.

The stereoscopic effect can induce a disruption of the eye focus convergence. If the graphics quality is poor, and the frame rate isn't matching up to what the brain is expecting, then the user will feel discomfort that can last for hours or even days.

Can People With Glasses Use VR

Users with nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism or another type of eye problems can wear a corrected lens while using VR.

People with low or mild vision problems may still use VR headsets and see things clearly, but people with very poor vision need to wear glasses in VR. For maximum comfort, we recommend ordering a pair of VR prescription lenses to fit inside your VR goggle.

VR headsets can push your glasses frame back that can exert pressure on your nose without much wiggle room, and it can cause some irritation especially when it gets hot.

reloptix magnetic vr lens adapter

All you have to do is order based on your recent eye exam result. Please check out our VR prescription lenses guide

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