MANY of us spend our days staring at screens.

Whether it be a hand-held gadget, phones, tablets, all are now the tools of many of our trades. And when we're not busy on them for work purposes, we're tapping into them at home.

The big question though is, are we potentially storing up eye problems for the future and, more importantly with technology in demand among the young, what impact will it have on our children's eyesight?

New research, commissioned by Optegra Eye Hospital Yorkshire shows that one in five GPs and opticians believe that technology is one of the main causes of the rising eye health problems seen in the UK over the past five to 10 years.

Nearly half of opticians say that they have seen an increase in technology-related eye problems in the past five years.

However, despite 75 per cent of British adults agreeing that over-use of technology has a damaging effect on eyes, parents are letting their children spend an average two hours 54 minutes every day playing on games consoles, computers or tablets.

Thirty per cent of parents are allowing their children to spend three to four hours each day on their various screens and 11 per cent admit to allowing five to six hours a day.

The research excludes hours children spend watching television or doing school work online.

James Ball, an eye consultant for Optegra Eye Hospital in Bradford and Central London, says he has noticed an increase of dry eye problems in adult patients and is also seeing a rise in short-sightedness.

While short sightedness can be hereditary, it can also be brought on by close work such as reading for lengthy periods or playing on computers or tablets - particularly in low light conditions.

"What we are concerned about is what is being stored up for the future. There are two main things. The first thing is dry eye where you are engaged in constant visual attention. If you are studying things like a computer game your blinking rate goes down. If you are just relaxing and chatting to someone you will blink between five to 15 seconds."

James explains how blinking keeps the eye naturally lubricated. "But when you are staring at a screen a whole minute can pass by and you are not blinking."

This increased evaporation in the eye can potentially damage the eye surface. "We are starting to see young people with significant dry eye. It just seems to be modern life and I think it is a combination of people's work and they will relax and stare at a tablet or phone with little or no break," says James.

The father-of-three children, who are aged between seven and 14, can also empathise with parents who battle over the time their off-spring spend on technology gadgets, but James suggests limits need to be put in place to protect youngster's eyesight and prevent future eye problems.

With Christmas only a few weeks away experts are conscious youngsters may be getting gadgets and will have more time to spend staring at screens.

Leading ophthalmic surgeon and Medical Director at Optegra Eye Health Care, Mr Rob Morris, says: “It is clear from our research that a worrying number of British children are having far more screen time than recommended, which we know can lead to conditions like eye strain and dry eye.

“We would urge parents to ensure their children take regular breaks from the tech presents they receive this Christmas.

“If their children have symptoms of sore, dry eyes they should take advice from an optician at a check-up.”

The Optegra research also reveals: 13 per cent of parents don't allow their children to have any screen time playing on games consoles, computers or tablets; 50 per cent of British families primarily use computers as their main technology at home, compared to 34 per cent using smartphones and 12 per cent using tablets; British adults are spending an average of three hours a day looking at smartphones and six hours a day looking at a computer screen or tablet; More than one in 10 16 to 24-year-olds say they spend over 12 hours a day looking at their smartphone and more than one in 10 opticians and GPs say not taking regular breaks from looking at computer screens causes eye health problems.

Optegra Eye Health Care will be launching its Vision of Britain tour of a number of major UK cities in January/February 2016 offering free eye health checks to the local community, and offering a free report on eye health including guidance on managing technology-related eye problems.

For more information visit optegra.com/yorkshire