Five ways to be nice to your eyes
February 28th, 2007 (1:37pm) Mike Gunderloy 20 Comments
Your eyes are the products of millions of years of evolution. Unfortunately, this means that they’re optimized for spotting prey across the savanna, not for peering at letters built up of little dots on tiny screens. In recent years, optometrists have come to recognize a complex of eye and vision problems they call Computer Vision Syndrome, or CVS for short.
When you spend your day looking at computer screens (especially poorly-maintained screens, or the tiny ones on mobile devices), your eyes strain, you blink less, and your body gets generally unhappy. The result? Fatigue, headaches, blurry vision, dry eyes, neck and backaches, and even double vision.
The good news is that you don’t have to just tolerate CVS. There are some simple things you can do that can help make your eyes happier with all this close-up work. Here are some suggestions from the American Optometric Association and elsewhere:
1. Take breaks. The 20-20-20 rule is a good guideline here: stop every 20 minutes, pause for 20 seconds, and look at something 20 feet away. An onscreen reminder application can nag you to do this if you tend to get overabsorbed in your work.
2. Look down. Keeping your eyes wide open (as you naturally tend to do when you’re looking at something above you contributes to drying them out, especially when your blink rate is lowered anyhow. Your workspace should be arranged so that your monitor is below eye level, not above.
3. Eliminate glare. Now that we’re mostly using LCD screens instead of CRTs, this isn’s as much of a problem as it used to be, but you should still watch out for bright lights directly behind you that reflect off of your screen. If you’re sitting with your back to the window, demand that the boss buy curtains – or move your desk.
4. Sit back from the screen. The closer you get to the monitor, the more you’re going to be straining to focus. Increase the font size if necessary to sit back at a comfortable distance.
5. Talk to your eye doctor. Don’t neglect those annual vision checkups, and make sure that your optometrist knows you’re working at a computer. It makes a difference (for example, traditional bifocals aren’t good for computer work). You wouldn’t expect your doctor to design web sites, so don’t try to treat your own vision problems if they get serious!
20 Comments Post your own comment
Final Tag » Blog Archive » Blog Archive Five ways to be nice to your eyes says: February 28th, 2007 2:22pm
[...] CVS. Click on the “read more” link to know what to do to make your eyes happier.read more | digg story Sphere It Social bookmark this post – [...]
Jonix says: February 28th, 2007 10:39pm
This is a superb article, specially for me that use glasses and i’m many hours in front of a computer.
Dempsey says: February 28th, 2007 11:47pm
Re: #4
Most readers here probably know this, but just in case. When at a website with small font, in Firefox (of course) hold down Crtl and use the scroll wheel to make the font larger and smaller.
Tade says: March 1st, 2007 12:37am
Thanks, great article for someone who stares at the screen all day long churning out code. A tinny winny bit of correction though, the eyes didn’t evolve over millions of years. That’s unproven and in any case impossible. Eyes were created as is. My two pence :)
Web Messenger » Five ways to be nice to your eyes says: March 1st, 2007 2:39am
[...] post by Mike Gunderloy and plugin by Elliott [...]
plubius says: March 1st, 2007 7:09am
This is really a great article and should really be read by everyone, like me, who uses the computer 24/7 in this new internet-crazed culture.
HALsaves says: March 1st, 2007 8:52am
How about the importance of back light? You should have as much light flooding your eyes as is reasonably possible. The source of that light should be the monitor itself (white backgrounds) or a light source from behind the monitor, but within you field of view. The reason for this can be understood by anybody who has done basic photography. Small pupil = small aperture which makes focus very easy.
DEC says: March 1st, 2007 9:34am
The utility from MS will help sharpen text displayed on your LCD, hopefully making you squint less.
Look for the “ClearType Tuner PowerToy” on the right side of the page.
ayaz says: March 1st, 2007 12:01pm
Helpful article. I have very weak eyesight, and I tend to spend hours staring at an LCD screen. I suffer from persistent headaches and eye strain. I will definitely try and follow the advice given from here onwards.
Aspects of Home Business Blog says: March 1st, 2007 4:30pm
How Are You Treating Your Eyes?
I just read an article over on Web Worker Daily on treating your eye right when you work on a computer all the time. For many of you reading this, it’s probably great advice.
Speaking of which, do me a favor. Look away from your monitor …
vkilla says: March 1st, 2007 4:42pm
Awesome I will keep that in mind. I stare at computer screens 12+ hours a day. I started noticing eye problems early last year. No I wear glasses most of the time. Which kind of sucks. The upside is the opposite sex likes it ands I look like Michael Douglas in Falling Down.
-Vadim
babyboomerqueen says: March 1st, 2007 5:03pm
I always have a TV lamp on and a computer lamp as well…however, I don’t watch TV any more…I think I would rather just eat some carrots!
~Sharon~
http://www.BabyBoomerAdvisorClub.com
mama kelly says: March 1st, 2007 8:25pm
Very good information for taking care of one’s eyes in our technology filled lives.
Blessings
Mama Kelly
Enlaces para leer y ver No. 17 « el50 says: March 4th, 2007 2:01pm
[...] 5 formas de ser amable con tus ojos / WebWorkDaily. Consejos para nuestros ojos sobre todo cuando estamos mucho tiempo en frente de la computadora. Es muy importate principalmente por si no queremos tener problemas de visión cuando pasen los años. El fin de los blogs… o de los medios / Llámame Lola. Una interseante reflexión sobre los blogs y los roles que los “blogueros” pretenden tener en los medios. Posted by Ulises E. Filed in Enlaces para leer, Cultura, Internet [...]
RSI-Prävention « Meide die Popkultur says: March 7th, 2007 11:46am
[...] (via Web Worker Daily) [...]
Your eyes are precious! « Libel says: March 13th, 2007 12:05am
[...] at a flickering screen for hours at end, Web Worker Daily has an insightful post titled “Five Ways To Be Nice To Your Eyes’’ that is a must [...]
Pasty Muncher says: July 10th, 2007 4:47am
Truely helpful – lately my eyes feel as though they are going to explode – this can’t be right. When will legislation intervene to force the eye breaks we all so desperately need but ignore?
lola lasker says: July 12th, 2007 4:24pm
thanks! i talked to my eye doctor!!!
Web Worker Daily » Blog Archive How to Use Your Laptop Outside « says: July 17th, 2007 9:28am
[...] Take frequent breaks to look away from the screen to ease your eyestrain. [...]
NLP enthusiast says: July 30th, 2007 11:33pm
What about those UV computer screens. They greatly eased the strain for my eyes.