Eye Shield? Poor Vision

[ProXie]

Hi,

This may seem like a stupid question to most of you but: Can a lot of computer usage lead to bad vision? If I use my computer for 8-10 hours a day, for years, could that be bad for my eyes?

A lot of times my eyes burn after a lot of computer usage.

I don't know what they're called but I have seen little plastic windows that go in front of the screen -- do those help?

Thanks

 

[rhashem]

Staring at the computer for a long time can lead to eye strain and headaches, but most doctors agree that it can't permanantly damage your vision.

However, your eyes burning after computer usage probably isn't very comfortable. Neither is a migrane headache. Here's some tips for avoiding both:

1) If you use a CRT, get an LCD. LCDs are inherently sharper, causing your eyes to strain less in order to make out what's on screen (particularly text). I used to get headaches all the time after using a computer, but after I moved to an LCD, I can stare at text for 10-12 hours a day at work and feel just fine afterwards.

2) No matter the type of display, adjust your brightness and contrast properly. The display should not be super bright. Unfortunately, most LCDs ship with the brightness turned way too high. I used to keep my 2405FPW at 30% brightness to keep it reasonable to look at. Also, don't lower the brightness so much that contrast suffers. Blacks should still be black, and whites should still be white (not cream-colored).

3) Make sure you have adequate, well-placed ambient lighting. Just like reading in the dark, using an LCD in the dark won't damage your eyes, but it will give you eye-strain. Make sure the lighting is adjusted so there is no glare on your screen. Anti-glare filters (those monitor shields) can help if you can't adjust your lighting, but its better not to use them and just make sure your lighting is set up properly to begin with.

4) Make sure you have adequate task lighting. A nice diffuse light will be fine for your monitor, which has its own lighting, but will not be sufficiently powerful to illuminate a book or paper on your desk. I personally have a pair of moderate-power (65W) overhead lights pointed at the wall to provide diffuse lighting, and a higher power desk lamp to provide directed lighting. I find this works pretty well.

5) Take frequent breaks. I've always found the "breaks every 20 minute" rule to be a bit too frequent, but at least once an hour you should spend a minute looking at something besides your monitor. If you've got a window near your desk, stare out at the trees. The green has a very relaxing effect.

 

[ProXie]

Thank you very much! Those are some awesome tips.

Cheers

 

[si0dine]

Hi,

This may seem like a stupid question to most of you but: Can a lot of computer usage lead to bad vision? If I use my computer for 8-10 hours a day, for years, could that be bad for my eyes?

A lot of times my eyes burn after a lot of computer usage.

I don't know what they're called but I have seen little plastic windows that go in front of the screen -- do those help?

Thanks

The only way you're going to mess up your vision by looking at a computer screen, is if you periodically look at a monitor from 2-3ft away for years and several hours a day

Once you spend a majority of your time staring at something close to you, your eyes will eventually readjust to optimally focus on something that far away.

So if you have 20/20 vision (means you can see something well at 20ft away), and for 5 years you stare at a monitor for 10 hours a day thats 3 feet away from you, your eyes will eventually adjust to around 20/300 (means you see something thats 20ft away as 100ft away compared to someone with 20/20).

The best way to counteract this is to look away from your monitor every 20 minutes for 20 seconds and focus on something 20ft away.

That eyeshield thing your talking about is just used to keep the monitor's screen clean, or possibly get rid of more glare.