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Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

#41

Post by ndmdkr0 »

m00x wrote: post #22
oblib wrote: post #16

I bought a monitor with a "Low Blue Light" button (it's a "BENQ" brand). I didn't buy it because of that feature and had never even heard of it before. My first reaction was thinking it was kind of ugly so initially I didn't leave it on but after a month or so I noticed my eyes were getting strained so I tried it. It is ugly, but it makes a big difference. Now, when I turn off the Low Blue Light mode I can instantly…

Blue light has no effect on eye strain[1]. The sky has about 100x the blue light emissions than your screen. It might be a great placebo effect, or maybe it just decreases brightness of the screen. [1] https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/blue-light-di...

True; blue light concerns are not related to eye strain:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-ha...

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

#42

Post by m3kw9 »

Every so often, listen to your body. Do you feel tired? Feel your eyes if they are dry, or uncomfortable. Some ppl can go longer on a screen, you just need to find your range and make sure you don’t over extend those all the time. Rest them by doing a completely different activity for a few minutes.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

#44

Post by alex-a-soto »

neilv wrote: post #26
alex-a-soto wrote: post #14

I've invested in using eink monitors from Dasung. I use one in landscape and the other in portrait mode. I experience no eyestrain after making this switch, using a computer for 8+ hours a day. My daily driver runs NixOS, i3wm as my window manager, and I've changed the editor and themes of my most commonly used applications to work with the monitors. I recommend the investment. https://dasung-tech.myshopify.com/produ…

I'm lucky not to have eye or hand trouble from heavy computer use, but now that I know a fast e-ink monitor like that Dasung exists, I really want to try it.

It's a pleasure to use for reading documentation/websites and typing. If you decide to purchase an eink monitor from Dasung, I would suggest their latest 3rd generation device.

The prior generations perform adequately, but they require Dasung's software to change the modes and brightness. The modes change the contrast/refresh rate of the monitor. The third generation monitors doesn't need the software to adjust the modes/brightness.

Below is a review of their 3rd gen HD-FT mode. https://youtu.be/5pevlmk5kQs

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

#45

Post by asutekku »

daneel_w wrote: post #34
user5994461 wrote: post #11

* Buy a good screen. * If you work on a laptop all day, buy an external screen. (Laptop always have small and often a shitty screen) * Adjust the brightness and the contrast. Do a google search to find some colored images with instructions how to calibrate. * Quick rules of thumb, you can always reduce brightness to 50% right away. Modern displays are extremely bright and the out of factory settings are insane, somet…

"Buy a good screen" - so what defines a bad screen in the context of being good or bad for the eyes? LCD screens have neither the clarity problem nor the flicker problem that CRTs have.

Low refresh rate. I’ve seen it referenced multiple times to be a reason for eye strain.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

#46

Post by falcolas »

geocrasher wrote: post #27

1) Don't sit too close to your monitor(s). They should be as far away as they are big, so if it's a 23" monitor, at least 23" away from your eyes. 2) Place the top of the monitor at eye level 3) THE BIGGEST: The 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet (6m) for 20 seconds. These three changed my computing life forever, and for the better, especially since I'm on a computer 10 hours a day most days.…

> Place the top of the monitor at eye level

After years of doing this, I've come to change my opinion about this. I put the monitors so I see the middle of the screen. It means that my eyes are moving in every direction, and I'm less likely to bend my neck downwards, resulting in neck strain.

EDIT: This does result in the monitor being very high up off the desk, but a good monitor arm will handle it without a problem.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

#47

Post by falcolas »

Someone1234 wrote: post #6

Simply make text bigger . 125% DPI or 125% "zoom" depending on the OS/application help with eye strain massively, and it surprises me how few colleagues are willing to try it (e.g. "I can see perfectly, why would I increase text size?!"). Between that and lowering a monitor's brightness to below 50% (often around 35% depending on brand), are my biggest tips. Windows now has a blue light filter built right in (Setting…

> Simply make text bigger.

This is astonishingly effective at reducing eye strain. Even if you can read small text on your screen, it requires a lot of work by the muscles in your eyes to maintain the focus long term. Larger text means less precise focusing is required to be able to read the text.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

#48

Post by daneel_w »

asutekku wrote: post #45
daneel_w wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Buy a good screen" - so what defines a bad screen in the context of being good or bad for the eyes? LCD screens have neither the clarity problem nor the flicker problem that CRTs have.

Low refresh rate. I’ve seen it referenced multiple times to be a reason for eye strain.

You're probably confusing this with absurdly low PWM rate on the LED backlight (a minority of screens suffer this).

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

#49

Post by falcolas »

daneel_w wrote: post #34
user5994461 wrote: post #11

* Buy a good screen. * If you work on a laptop all day, buy an external screen. (Laptop always have small and often a shitty screen) * Adjust the brightness and the contrast. Do a google search to find some colored images with instructions how to calibrate. * Quick rules of thumb, you can always reduce brightness to 50% right away. Modern displays are extremely bright and the out of factory settings are insane, somet…

"Buy a good screen" - so what defines a bad screen in the context of being good or bad for the eyes? LCD screens have neither the clarity problem nor the flicker problem that CRTs have.

I'd also throw out that a 4k screen is also a good thing, since your eyes don't have to deal with "tricks" to have crisp, clear text to read.

Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?

#50

Post by falcolas »

daneel_w wrote: post #48
asutekku wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low refresh rate. I’ve seen it referenced multiple times to be a reason for eye strain.

You're probably confusing this with absurdly low PWM rate on the LED backlight (a minority of screens suffer this).

Why not both?

Especially if what you're looking at is moving in any way on the screen.

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