Bad Eyes
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If we were really good at computers we would not need to look at the monitor.
... Although for the rest of u.. the below might help...
Keep your refresh up; vary your focus; spend more on the size of the monitor and stop caring about how much desk space it takes up; buy a bigger house.
LCD have generally less precise dot pitch and have a lower gamut range than CRTs.
"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image; make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to the outer limits."
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I'm a fairly young guy(in mid twenties), and as of yet, do not have glasses or contacts. I would like to keep it this way for as long as possible, so thanks to you folks who have been posting eye exercies.
One thing I do to help relieve my eyes, is to print things that will take at least a couple of minutes to read. Reading on paper, rather than on my monitor is a lot easier on my eyes.
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What people forget is that everyone's vision deteriorates over the years. What there doesn't seem to be (at least easy to find) is actual research to document that monitors somehow cause more strain than other close activities (such as reading or working on small items). There's lots of conjecture, high priced but unproven gadgets, and advice that is based on hunches, not research.
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-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers --
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My eye doctor suggested a 20% gray tint on the top half of my lenses and a 20% pink tint on the bottom half. Also a UV protective coating. The gray is for the glare from above and the pink is to highlight the papers on the desk. It works real well. The only drawback is if your prescription does not change often the tinting needs to be reapplied because it fades over time.
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You absolutely must get up at least once per hour and look at objects more than 20 feet away in order to give your eyes a break and a chance to refocus on something more than a foot or two away from them.
Also try to keep at least 18" away from your monitor.
Ideally, you will have a window in your office to look out periodically.
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Migraines anyone ?
By tinting my glasses, replacing my CRT with LCD and lowering the brightness I reduced the frequency of my headaches/eyestrain.
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And - Don't forget to blink. Your blink rate drops dramatically when staring at a computer monitor in comparison to other daily activities. Blinking reapplies moisture to the surface of the eye. If the eyes get too dry, torn corneas can result. Its hard to do my job when the doctor tells me to keep my eyes closed for 3 days trying to get them healed. You can also use eye drops that lubricate the eyes.
Michelle -
There seems to be a point, near age 50, where it becomes more of an issue. I feel fortunate that the quality of the monitors has improved as my eyes have deteriorated. Now at 56, though, I'm starting to consider options...
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One other aspect of monitor fatigue, mainly with CRT monitors, is refresh rate. This can be set (or at least observed--check the documentation before changing it) in control panel.
The issue is that the typical 70-75 hertz monitor refresh rate can conflict with the ~60 hertz "flickering" of the florescent light bulbs used in most offices. When I had a cubicle with several such lights directly over it I had to unplug them to prevent severe headaches. The lights from nearby cubicals was plenty, and indirect so the conflict was reduced.
They also make "soft glow" bulbs nowadays for just this reason.
Wearing UV-protective lenses also makes sense with CRT monitors, especially if long hours are regularly spent staring at them.
Ultimately, though, 15 hours is just too long. Stop and smell the roses
.--Al--
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Interesting reading various common themes in this posting-thread: resting, special lenses. One that I'd add is an anti-glare screen. My eyes are a little light-sensitive, and the screen makes a world of difference over the course of the day, in terms of the presence/absence of a tension headache.
Nate
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I've been working with computers for over 30 years now. My biggest gripe is that I can't stand 60hz CRT refresh. I don't put up with it at all on my own computers, but I'm amazed at how often I find coworkers using it because they have never bothered to change it (or don't even know how to). Maybe it's because I'm the oldest guy here, but nobody else seems to notice the difference. My eyes start to bother me immediately, so if they want my help they either change it or come to my cube.
Several posters have mentioned running their monitors at higher refresh rates (I try to use at least 85hz), but is my level of sensitivity unusual? It is among the youngsters I work with. I won't look at their 60hz CRTs, and I don't even want to look at them if a 60hz screen is in my field of view.
The best lighting environment I ever worked in was designed for CAD work at a large corporation. There was dim indirect flourescent lighting around the perimeter walls, and each workstation had overhead incandescent spotlights (with individual dimmers) to illuminate the worksurface without affecting the monitors. There were no windows, but there were also no cube walls so you weren't focused close up all day. This was 15-20 years ago when a four-workstation CAD system cost $500,000. So adding a $1000 height-adjustable table with cast-alumiinum monitor arm and built-in cable trough for each workstation was not an issue.
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I have been an IT professional since 1980, and as of 1998, a registered acupressure therapist. I have been doing work on my vision for the past 18 months and my eyesight continues to improve (3 steps down in the power of my glasses).
The eye work I do for myself is simple and takes little time. The main exercise I do is going for walks and I only use my glasses while doing so to be safe: crossing streets, etc. The other exercise is "palming" which consists of rubbing my palms briskly together until they heat up, and then apply them gently to my eyes for a minute or so while visualizing blackness. It is quite soothing.
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The point in life where one’s eyesight is no longer 20/20 isn’t predictable based on science, but it is predictable based on statistics. Statistically most people who haven’t needed glasses previously will need reading glasses as they approach 40-45 years old. I beat the curve. I didn’t start needing reading glasses until I was 49. Statistically, somewhere there is a 36 year old who didn’t beat the curve and is now using reading glasses. I know people in their 50’s who can still read OK without glasses, so statistically there will be people in their late 20’s who are just way in front of the curve regarding their presbyopia. By the way, I’ve been sitting in front of a 15 or 17 inch monitor for 8 or 9 hours a day for my entire accounting then business intelligence career. (I don’t use my computer much at home.) My point is that my eyes were genetically programmed to change at the age they did. The Slashdot writer has eyes genetically programmed to change at an earlier age.
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My vision deterioration beganh after welding for 2 years in the late 70's. My eye stats were 20-30(R) and 20-40(L) in 1981 when I got my fort set of glasses. Add 20 years of CRT usage (most with a glare screen), and now flat panels. Today, some 25 years later my eye stats are 20-80(L) ans 20-100(R). So my vision has deteriorated, but not nearly as badly as others I know.
I position my chair/keyboard/monitor comfortably. For mer that is full elbows and forearms flat on the desk, with a wrist rest and the center of the monitor is parallel with my chin. Every 45 minutes for 5 minutes to get up and stretch and give my eyes a break (unless in DBA disaster mode). I read 2 newspapers daily (not online) on a table with an incandescent light without glasses. My glasses are just that, real glass with photo grey leneses nothing more.
RegardsRudy KomacsarSenior Database Administrator"Ave Caesar! - Morituri te salutamus."
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I dont know what my eye sight is like, but I sit in front of a computer for probably 16 hours a day with a screen res of 1280x1024 and I dont seem to be having a problem with my eyes. I've been working with computers solidly since '91.
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