Reducing eye strain from computer use

[tonyfreak215]

there is a program called Flux that allows you to change the color temperature. It's great for use at night. The overly bright screens of today tend to keep your brain from releasing melatonin when it's supposed to.

+1 I use it at work and home. It really helps with the eye strain. Its just like putting sunglasses on your monitor.

 

[Leyawiin]

Turn down the brightness. Most displays have it turned up so high to look good in a retail store than they'll practically give you a sunburn. Adjust the font in both windows and your browser to a larger, more comfortable size. Even if you don't need eyeglasses you might was to get a pair of polarized computer glasses.

 

[smackababy]

Am I the only person whose heard of the 20-20-20 rule?

I don't do it, but it is pretty well advised for preventing (or minimizing) eye strain. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/eyestrain/DS01084/DSECTION=prevention

 

[LoveMachine]

Am I the only person whose heard of the 20-20-20 rule?

I don't do it, but it is pretty well advised for preventing (or minimizing) eye strain. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/eyestrain/DS01084/DSECTION=prevention

Eye doctor here (really). Every situation is different, but the above is a good rule, but more is better. As often as you can remind yourself, take even just a few seconds and look away at something distant. Out a window is best, but even down a hallway works. Near work (reading, computers, knitting, etc.) all involves tightening the ciliary muscle inside each eye to squish the lens in there and bring the focal point to whatever you are looking at. It's like any other muscle, and it will fatigue over time. Imagine holding a 5 pound rock at arm's length. 5 pounds isn't that heavy, but hold it there for 2 hours and your arm will hurt.

In addition, most of us have two eyes. Those 2 cameras for most people align at rest in a parallel position. Near work requires us to converge, or pull the two cameras in to a non-parallel position to maintain a single image. The muscles surround the eye are actually much stronger than they need to be, but the coordination center in the brainstem fatigues over time, similar to a muscle.

The surface of the eye is coated with a thin layer of tears at all times that keeps the cornea from dehydrating. When that evaporates off, the dry surface irritates the corneal nerve endings (that's the burning sensation during a staring contest) and vision blurs because the surface becomes irregular. Studies have found that computer users (laptop, desktop, smartphones too) blink less frequently, and blinking is what redistributes tears on the eye.

Little, short breaks while looking away lets the muscles inside the relax, lets the neurons in the brainstem recharge, and reminds you to blink and rehydrate the eyes.

If that doesn't help, over-the-counter artificial tears are fine to use every couple of hours, but NEVER use a redness relieving drop with a vasoconstrictor like tetrahydrozoline. They can get addictive.

Even folks with "perfect" eyesight can benefit from low powered computer glasses to let the muscles relax a bit, especially if you notice things are blurry after computer work out in the distance (the ciliary muscle is spasming and can't relax). 20/20 in the distance doesn't mean much if you spend most of your life staring at a screen. And a little help during screen time can make it less likely you will need glasses in the distance later on.

With convergence, generally the further the target you are looking at, the less the eyes will strain. Laptops and phones make that tough, but the further the better.

With regards to illumination, there's no perfect formula since every person has a preferred brightness level. But generally you don't want a large difference between screen and background. It takes some experimentation to find your own happy place. If you work in a bright office with fluorescent lighting, a baseball cap is a good, cheap way to block glare from above.

 

[BoFox]

Third the Q

I don't know what it is, but I can look at my 120hz BenQ all day at home and my eyes never get tired, I get into work and look at my Dell 2407WFP's and within the hour my eyes need a break. I've tried using that f.lux software, lamps and no florescent bulbs over me, changed the temp of the bulbs in my cube.. nothing. I've turned the brightness all the way up on the monitor then controlled it with software only (read that on some UK monitor site)

Nothing so far seems to help, was actually going to bring my monitor into work here soon and test it and see if it is really just that. Very interested in the feedback you get in this thread though.

120Hz, hmmmm....

Excellent thread!! I'll try to look into that myself for the sake of my own eyes!!

 

[BoFox]

With convergence, generally the further the target you are looking at, the less the eyes will strain. Laptops and phones make that tough, but the further the better.

Thanks for this post, Doctor LoveMachine!! I definitely can testify to this - watching movies on my 65" from about 14-15 feet away is much easier on my eyes (more relaxing and less straining) than on any of my 3 24" screens from 2-3 feet away (although it actually appears bigger in proportion from the distance).

 

[Mark Rejhon]

I found that if my outdoor window is brightness-balanced with the monitor, it's quite pleasant. Mixing brightnesses is a problem (e.g. direct sun and dim screen, or excessively dim room and bright screen) but once that is fixed (north window, etc) it's quite pleasant.

The problem is that not everyone has the the "designer mind" ability to rearrange limited/available lighting sources to be pleasing with each and not clash with each other.

 

[Mark Rejhon]

Third the Q

I don't know what it is, but I can look at my 120hz BenQ all day at home and my eyes never get tired, I get into work and look at my Dell 2407WFP's and within the hour my eyes need a break.

Is the 120Hz BENQ that you are using a PWM-free model (e.g. XL2420TE) to eliminate your PWM-related eyestrain, or are you using LightBoost to eliminate your motion-blur-related eyestrain? Just pretty curious.

 

[Mark Rejhon]

120Hz, hmmmm....
Excellent thread!! I'll try to look into that myself for the sake of my own eyes!!

There's a good List of 120Hz monitors.

Do avoid the ASUS VG248QE, because I got several eyestrain for that monitor. The newer ZeroFlicker 120Hz BENQ's have rave reviews for eyestrain elimination.