No More Screen Time Shame + A Biofinity Energys Contact Lenses Review & Free Trial

Americans spend half their waking hours looking at a screen {1}, and I fully admit I probably look at a screen even more than that. You know what, though? I’m not going to apologize for it. Screens are not only necessary for my job online, but they make my life offline easier. 

I’m partnering with CooperVision this year to provide education around screen time and digital eye fatigue, including on this sponsored blog post. I LOVE that when I talked to them about my screen usage, there was no shame. They get it!

They know that parents are working on computers and phones, and then using those same devices to Google tips for parenting preschoolers, and phone numbers for pediatricians. In fact, parents spend over 9 hours a day on a screen. {2}

Every time I see one of those “Dear Mom On Her Phone At The Park” open letters, I want to shout “MAYBE mom couldn’t even BE AT THE PARK with her kid if she couldn’t answer emails on her phone while her son swings from the monkey bars, okay??”

I’m over the phone and screen shaming when it comes to parenting.

Parents have been ignoring their children since the beginning of time. If we choose to “not hear” them asking for a snack while we fill our Amazon cart to get us through a weekend of birthday parties, that’s just called multitasking in my book. Digital is our new normal.

All this screen time is definitely hard on our eyes, though, especially those of us who wear contacts. Digital device use can cause eye tiredness and dryness.

I know I was definitely feeling that way by about 8 pm every night. I honestly thought my prescription needed to be stronger and was super worried I’d go into my optometrist to find that my vision had become worse. 

To my surprise, my prescription is right where it has been for years. But, my eye doctor did agree that my eyes looked dry (and red), and that CooperVision Biofinity Energys® contact lenses should be a great fit for my lifestyle. I was fitted for them just like any other contact lens, and left with my first pair in my eyes that afternoon. 

How Biofinity Energys Contact Lenses Worked For Me

I noticed right away that they were comfortable, but in a way that I didn’t notice them, you know? So it wasn’t until a few weeks into using them when I really noticed a big difference.

I wasn’t paying attention when closing my contact case, and accidentally tore one of the Biofinity Energys® lenses while on a trip (no big deal since these are monthly disposables and I was 3 weeks into using them ), and the backup lenses I had in my bag were my previous brand. So I popped one of those in and went on with my day. 

Later that night, I noticed the lens that I had just put in that day felt dry, and my vision in that eye seemed blurrier. It was like this every day I wore the two different lenses. The eye with the Biofinity Energys® lens was totally fine and comfortable all day, while the other eye felt strained and my vision felt worse by the end of the day. I even switched eyes (since my prescription is the same in both, thank goodness), and had the same experience in opposite eyes. 

There are a couple key ways these Biofinity Energys lenses are different and how they can help with some digital eye fatigue symptoms during digital device use:

• They utilize a special technology that is specifically targeted at dryness brought on by digital eye fatigue. It distributes water throughout the lens so it can maintain moisture. Even when you’re not blinking as much as you should be- a common issue when you’re on digital devices. 
• The lens design itself also helps with eye tiredness by making it easier to move your gaze from on-screen to off-screen and back. 
• All of that means these contacts not only keep my eyes more comfy for longer, but my eyes may look less tired. At my appointment, my eye doctor mentioned that I might notice this benefit. I was like, “Oh, I just thought this is what my eyes look like now that I have 4 kids.” Guess I can’t blame the kids!

I’m really excited to work with CooperVision because I know Biofinity Energys contact lenses are a product a lot of you can benefit from.  Listen, we are all using devices a lot, and for a lot of valid reasons.

If you wear contact lenses, and you think your screen time is a contributing factor to any kind of tiredness or eye discomfort, don’t be afraid to be honest with your eye doctor! They can probably relate. Ask them about getting Biofinity Energys contact lenses at your next appointment. 

And if the thought of more comfortable contacts isn’t awesome enough (it should be!) here’s a free trial coupon you can download. Take this to your eye doctor for a free trial pair.

If and when you do try them out, let me know what you think! 

This post was sponsored by CooperVision Biofinity Energys® contact lenses. All opinions are my own. 

1. Deloitte’s 2017 “Global Mobile Consumer Survey”
2. Common Sense Media, Plugged-In Parents: Attitudes, Behaviors, and Role Models Report, 2016
3. After one week of wear, data on file