Eye strain

[VectraMan]

I've been suffering a bit recently, mainly feeling that my eyes get very tired after too much computer use. My eyesight isn't too bad; mainly an astigmatism which means whilst there's nothing I can't do without glasses it makes it easier if I wear them. At the last test the optician advised it might be time for two pairs: one for distance and one for reading, so last week went back and spent the money and for the first time ever have two pairs. I was kind of hoping this would make all the problems go away, but when it comes to computer use I'm not sure the reading glasses are actually much better than the one pair I had before. They are better for reading a book, but as I have the habit of reading something in front of the TV I can't then lookup and watch TV anymore.

There must be some of you who've been a speccy four-eyes since childhood and use a computer all day, so I was wondering how you get on? Do you have normal glasses, or perhaps different glasses specifically for computer use? Or do you just man up and work through the headaches and blurred vision?

Or any other tips? I've turned down the brightness on my monitors, and I've read that reducing the blue level works too. I've been trying out a VisualStudio dark scheme but I'm not sure I can get on with that and makes me think I've gone back to the 70s.

[sal]

Don't know if it helps the eye strain from looking ad computer displays, but for near/distant vision 2 pairs problem, there are glasses with variable diopter, usually the lower portion is for near sight and the upper for far sight. My father is very pleased with them.

[Platypus]

I have varifocals which I wear all the time incl. for computer work. Once you get used to "scanning" the screen by moving your head a little, they're fine. I've probably made that sound worse than it is. I did try reading glasses for the PC but I have ants in my pants so I rarely sit at the PC for hours on end, which meant that the reading glasses were off and on like.... (deleted amusing reference to a lady of the night's underwear) which was a PITA.

I've been thinking about laser surgery but the recent thread on that put me off (again).

[IL Cattivo]

Both Glasses & Contact Lens wearer here. Can often find headaches bought on by eye strain when sitting in front of a monitor all day.

Try to consciously blink more if you can.. IT bods do tend to stare a lot at the screen and when engrossed in their work can forget to blink normally resulting in dry tired eyes.
Don't forget to drink a lot of liquid/water throughout the day too. Another important thing is to try and request a Work Station Assessment from your client if you're working at their offices. This may be able to gauge in identifying if you're sitting too close or far from your monitor, incorrect screen size / resolution for the type of work etc.

[SlipTheJab]

And working off a big 4k monitor helps a lot I find.

[VectraMan]

I have varifocals which I wear all the time incl. for computer work. Once you get used to "scanning" the screen by moving your head a little, they're fine. I've probably made that sound worse than it is. I did try reading glasses for the PC but I have ants in my pants so I rarely sit at the PC for hours on end, which meant that the reading glasses were off and on like.... (deleted amusing reference to a lady of the night's underwear) which was a PITA.

Yes funny you say that... I keep getting up and getting half way down the stairs before I realise I'm still wearing the reading glasses and can't see very well. I didn't like the sound of varifocals.

[BackupBoy]

Multifocals here. Lower third set to typical computer screen distance, central third for TV watching and upper third for the rest.

Anti-glare coating too.


Especially useful (to me) for night driving as I like the instrument cluster display to be in focus.

[DimPrawn]

Your eyes are telling you it's time to retire.

[redgiant]

Agree with getting a larger display but also try to install f.lux if you haven't already which changes the colour range depending on the time of day you are in. Works on Windows, Mac OS, Linux and even some phones.

https://justgetflux.com/

Also important to add this software even works on ClientCo machines as it can be installed without local admin access on Windows.

[VectraMan]

Your eyes are telling you it's time to retire.

Unfortunately my bank balance and pension are telling me it's nowhere near time to retire.