Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#11

Post by asdf333 » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 2:22 AM UTC

geocrasher wrote: post #9

Look away. Frequently. I work from home, spend 10-12 hours a day looking at screens. My office is set up so I can glance out a window easily. In fact it's in my peripheral vision, that's how close it is. I look out it frequently. I'm 42, just had glasses in the last 2-3 years. The trick is to let your eye focus on something far away on a regular basis. It's like getting up and walking around, but for your eyes. It ma…

looking far is important. i recently switched to a large monitor and a small office and it has been disastrous for my eyes.

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#12

Post by damnruskie » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 2:25 AM UTC

orn688 wrote: post #10

I developed eye floaters about a year ago that are annoyingly noticeable against any page with a white background. The Dark Reader extension ( https://darkreader.org/ ) has been a life saver for me, and I've found my eyes to be less tired overall when using it, too. My only wish now is for a way to invert PDF colors on Mac - I haven't found a good way to do that short of inverting all screen colors, which messes up a…

havnt tested on a mac but I use zathura on linux and its reverse colors (cntrl+r) is a lifesaver for me.

this seems promising: https://github.com/zegervdv/homebrew-zathura

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#13

Post by julianlam » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 2:31 AM UTC

While I'm not normally one to espouse buying gear to fix problems, when it comes to problems with the body, I think it could be worth it.

If you are unfortunate enough to need glasses, consider getting a pair that has blue-light filtering (in addition to the regular AR coating).

I also use a monitor that comes with blue light reduction built-in (The Lenovo p24h, if anyone's wondering), and there's a definite difference when I work in the office (with the monitor) and at home (without).

Before I got my glasses, I was getting headaches after a couple hours in front of the computer as well. Not anymore, but taking breaks (as others suggest) is important too!!

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#14

Post by lovelearning » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 2:35 AM UTC

I do these: Keep all device brightness levels at their lowest. Use "night mode" if available. Prefer natural lighting if available. At nights, keep indoor lighting dim. Sit under the sky at night and focus eyes on stars. Eye exercises (rotate eyes inside closed sockets CW and CCW).

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#15

Post by shamas » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 2:44 AM UTC

Eye stretching exercises. Focus on something as close as possible (in good light) then slowly track out to something at infinite distance, one eye then the other then both.

Additionally, make sure the contrast on the screen matches your surriundings! There's no reason to have your brightness very high at all, and brightness is different from contrast.

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#16

Post by orn688 » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 3:43 AM UTC

damnruskie wrote: post #12

orn688 wrote: post #10

I developed eye floaters about a year ago that are annoyingly noticeable against any page with a white background. The Dark Reader extension ( https://darkreader.org/ ) has been a life saver for me, and I've found my eyes to be less tired overall when using it, too. My only wish now is for a way to invert PDF colors on Mac - I haven't found a good way to do that short of inverting all screen colors, which messes up a…

havnt tested on a mac but I use zathura on linux and its reverse colors (cntrl+r) is a lifesaver for me. this seems promising: https://github.com/zegervdv/homebrew-zathura

Wow, that looks perfect, thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#17

Post by dyeje » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 3:49 AM UTC

I started having eye strain issues around 25. For me, I was able to fix it by lowering the brightness of my monitor / laptop to the minimum for it to look 'normal' to me.

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#18

Post by accrual » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 4:11 AM UTC

I wear eyeglasses frequently. My newest pair has Blutech lenses [0] which help filter blue light. I call it "flux for real life". [1]

They have an amber tint but I don't mind it. The filtering is a part of the lens and not a coating, so it won't wear off.

GP indicates they don't wear glasses but this may be an option for those who do.

[0] https://blutechlenses.com

[1] https://justgetflux.com

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#19

Post by Adamantcheese » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 4:41 AM UTC

To respond to a click-bait-esque question, just don't have eyes.

But really take breaks, lower the brightness, use the color change function if you work at night, keep the monitor further away from you (check your ergonomics).

Re: Ask HN: Tricks to Avoid Eye Problems?

#20

Post by rudedogg » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 4:42 AM UTC

> I have a scheduled appointment with a vision specialist next week.

I was having eye strain towards the end of the day, and getting some "occupational lenses" pretty much fixed the issue. I think visiting an Optometrist is the way to go.

-------------------

You might check if the lights in your home office flicker with the slow-motion camera mode on your phone. I haven't researched whether it actually causes eye strain, but it's so easy to fix I went ahead and purchased some Phillips LED bulbs like the ones talked about here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19098678

Some random things I do:

- Lower brightness on your monitor (mine is at 75% currently, I think most people go lower)

- Use night shift/flux to make the monitor colors warmer at night

FYI getting used to the lower brightness and glasses will take a day or two. My glasses made my eyes hurt at first.