Students are being warned about the risk of eye strain during exam season.

Optegra Eye Hospital Hampshire has said that long hours spent studying textbooks and screens can cause eye strain, leading to headaches, blurred vision, fatigue, and reduced concentration.

These symptoms can significantly impact exam performance.

The eye health experts recommend that students experiencing these symptoms should visit their local optometrist during half-term for a check-up.

Professor Clare O’Donnell from Optegra said: "Artificial blue light created by screens and focused work without breaks contributes to eye strain and, as blue light is a high-energy visible light, it also affects the body’s circadian rhythm, our natural ‘body clock’.

"During the day, natural blue light from the sun wakes us up and stimulates us.

"But too much blue light exposure late at night from technology can disturb the sleep hormone melatonin, making it harder to go off to sleep."

Optegra has provided some practical advice and top tips for parents to help protect their children's eye health during this intense exam period.

They suggest creating an ideal study environment with good lighting, positioning screens so the top of the monitor is at or slightly below eye level, choosing a supportive chair, reducing screen glare, and increasing font size.

They also recommend creating healthy eye habits, such as using the 20-20-20 technique – every 20 minutes, look 20 feet into the distance for 20 seconds to help your eyes adjust and re-focus.

For more information about eye health, visit optegra.com.

Professor O’Donnell continued: "Daylight is vital for the healthy growth of eyes so we should all get plenty of fresh air and spend time outside whenever possible.

"Whilst spending too much time online can have a real impact on eyes, it is a myth that tablets, gaming consoles and computers damage eyes – they don’t.

"But because we are concentrating on the screens we only blink as little as three or four times a minute, rather than the normal 20 or so times.

"This makes the eyes dry out.

"Dry eyes can be a sign of Computer Vision Syndrome, now recognised as a valid eye condition."