In the past, there have been many ways I’ve described working in front of the computer for a long time.
- It’s a cool concept.
- It’s the worst.
- It’s made me a lot of money.
- It’s killing me slowly.
- It’s convenient.
- My brain is cooked.
- F*ck this computer.
Working in front of a computer has caused me a number of physical issues. Including some of the most stubborn pain I’ve ever had. The injury I’m going to focus on in this article will be eye strain from a computer, and how you can prevent it. It’s also referred to as computer vision syndrome.
This is not to be confused with proper computer screen height. That’s a different topic, which causes neck strain. This article will be about eye strain. And keeping the computer screen a comfortable, safe distance away from our eyes.
Making small adjustments to our habits and environment can lead to large improvements over time. Especially when practiced consistently. This applies to preventing eye strain, as well as other possible health issues in the future.
In this article, I’m sharing a guide on how you can effectively reduce, better yet, avoid eye strain from computer screens.
How to Prevent Eye Strain from Computer
I’ll talk about what causes eye strain from computer. Because we need to understand the computer posture mistakes we’re making, before we can fix them. This will help set expectations on what to avoid.
What Causes Eye Strain from Computer
Any habit that reduces eye strain, is an important factor of how to improve posture while sitting at computer. So first, let’s learn the posture mistakes that cause eye strain from computer.
Luckily, my eye strain has never gotten too extreme. I’ve never had dry eyes. And I’ve never used tear drops or artificial tears.
But I know what it’s like to have my eyes feel tired. And I’m sure it’s had an effect on other aspects of my health too, especially my sleep patterns. Here are the reasons computer vision syndrome affects me.
Keeping my eyes too close to the monitor screen.
This one is pretty obvious. Just like the human body wasn’t designed to sit for long periods of time, we weren’t designed to closely look at the same thing for long periods either.
Screen time is too long.
We also weren’t designed to stare at digital devices or bright lighting. In which a monitor is basically a bright, neon light.
Most computer screens use blue lights.
Digital eye strain is common when staring at a monitor for 8 hours a day. The lights from digital devices are commonly known as “blue lights.” They’re called blue because they fall on the blue end of the visible light spectrum. This part of the spectrum carries more energy than other colors. This is why they can have a stronger effect on digital eye strain and sleep patterns.
How To Avoid Eye Strain from Computer
I keep my monitor at a safe, comfortable viewing distance.
This is the first thing I do that reduces eye strain. I’ve heard people say that 18 to 24 inches from the face is good. But personally, I like to keep mine slightly farther than that.
Keep in mind, that I’ve never felt the need for wearing glasses or contact lenses. So a comfortable distance for me, may very well be different for someone else. The farther away the screen is from me, the better, as long as I can still read it comfortably.
I follow the 20-20-20 rule to decrease constant screen time.
This means that every 20 minutes, I look at something 20 feet away, for at least 20 seconds.
I know this may not sound like a big deal. And I’m a recovering knucklehead that would blow this off and take it for granted. But now that I do it, this has become a very helpful habit in reducing my eye strain caused by a computer monitor.
I change (or reduce) the blue lights on my screen.
Some digital devices have options where you can remove the blue light from the screen. It may cause the screen to appear as a reddish color, or greyscale. It makes for a much more pleasant, less harsh, viewing experience. I always do this when I’m working on my computer in the evenings (as soon as the sun is down). Because looking into bright, blue lights used to affect my sleep patterns. It took me longer to fall asleep on nights that I looked at the blue lights on my monitor, compared to nights that I did not. And anything that improves my sleep quality, also helps me improve posture at computer.
If my monitor doesn’t have an option to remove the blue lights completely, I’ll do the second best option. I’ll turn off the overhead lights in the room, then I’ll dim the monitor screen to a lower level. This way the blue lights are not as bright. This has less of a negative effect on my eyes.
If you liked this article, you’ll love my Computer Posture Checklist.
Learn how to:
- Improve computer posture
- Decrease computer-related pain
- Improve work productivity
- Improve mental clarity
Here’s exactly what you’ll get:
- A 4-page PDF checklist
- All 27 computer posture cues that I use
- How to sit at a computer
- How to stand at a computer
- How to turn your desk into an asset that promotes good computer posture
- The minimal posture info that’ll produce the most results
Whenever you’re ready, click here to snag your Computer Posture Checklist.
Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
Todd Bowen – Computer Posture Correction and Pain-Free Ergonomics: For Office Workers Who Want to Increase Work Productivity