How do I adjust my workplace to reduce eye strain?

Question

My vision is worse than average for software developers. In addition to accuity (not the subject of this question), one problem I have is light-sensitivity. I find that staring at a computer monitor all day with the standard Windows black-on-white scheme is painfully bright.

I already have anti-glare treatment on my computer glasses (a special pair tuned for the monitor focal distance), and I've dialed down the brightness on my monitors (LCD) as far as it will go. I've walked through the temperature-color settings on the monitor to find the combination that, to my uneducated eye, looks best, and I've walked through all the display settings in the Windows control panel, including the acessibility ones. My opthalmologist is not technically savvy and does not have specific advice to offer (beyond the special glasses).

Even so the screen was too bright (headache within the hour), so I switched to a reverse-video scheme (light tan on dark brown rather than white on black, which seems more comfortable). This works well in general, but some applications and some web sites hard-wire colors that then don't work for me (for example, hard-wiring black text without setting a background color). It seems I would be better off if I could switch back to a dark-on-light scheme (not necessarily black-on-white but something more muted), if I could figure out how to make it work.

So my question is: with a dark-on-light color scheme, what strategies can I use to reduce the bombardment of light-colored pixels that hurts my eyes? My desk is in a dark corner of an open-seating plan (though I have two full-height walls). There are overhead fluorescents nearby but I've gotten the ones closest to my space turned off. I am free to add any type of lamp and change my monitor settings. I am not free to install new software (except via a long approval process that often ends with "no"). OS is Windows XP now, but answers for Windows 7 will also be welcome (we'll be moving to that). I see flicker at 60Hz so avoid fluorescents.

Trying every possible combination of {Windows control panel, monitor color/brightness, Windows color scheme, desk lamp} is combinatorically implausible, hence this question.

Answer 1

To help your eyestrain you need to take your eyes off the screen in front of you and change your focus at regular intervals. Our sight works by detecting edges and movement and works best if our eyes are constantly looking at new things at different distances and in different light conditions.

You don't have to do this every 10 minutes, but every hour (or so) you should turn away from the screen and look at something in the middle or far distance. If you can see a window from where you sit so much the better. Getting up and talking a walk will help - you can combine this with a toilet or coffee break.

Get your eyes tested and if you need prescription lenses wear them. You might need to get a pair of glasses specifically for computer work. Changing these for your regular glasses (or no glasses) when you take your breaks is also a good idea.

If you are still using a CRT monitor try to increase the refresh rate to 85Hz. This should eliminate the flicker. Better still would be to swap it for an LCD monitor that doesn't flicker.

The "computer" glasses you see advertised don't really do anything other than tint the view and possibly magnify slightly. They are not a substitute for prescription lenses. Check my answer on Programmers to a very similar question.

Answer 2

One thing no-one else has mentioned: keep your glasses scrupulously clean.

I find that if my glasses are even slightly dirty, for instance a single light fingerprint, I start getting eye-strain much more quickly.

I usually clean my glasses by washing them in soapy water, and then drying them with either a previously unused tissue or a lint free cloth. The important thing is to remove any trace of dust or grease that could cause vision to be blurred or tempt the eye to refocus on the glasses lens itself.

The reason I wash with soapy water is that it's the only practical way to actually remove the grease rather than just spread it around. Typical glasses cleaning cloths usually just soak up grease for the first few days but after that they start to deposit it back on the glasses, so I have never found them useful.

My levels of eye strain also reduced significantly when I started taking the advice of the UK Health and Safety Executive advice and positioned my monitor such that the top of my monitor was at eye level (Working with VDUs 740k pdf). This left my monitors at a much steeper angle (rather than angled up, with me looking down on it), resulting in fewer reflections from behind me and this also completely eliminated reflections of ceiling lights. Few monitors have enough height adjustment to allow this without a monitor stand, but getting this right is well worth the investment.

You may also find that if your current LCD display has a gloss coating, then a matt coating might suit you better. Matt screens are often criticised for not being as bright or as vibrant, but they can eliminate or at least substantially reduce reflections which will be even more of a problem if you generally use a dark background.

Also, a high quality screen with a wider brightness range, a high contrast ratio, and better black levels at low brightness could allow you to create a more comfortable workstation. Plus, if you argue that it will increase your productivity, then business case of a more expensive monitor should be fairly straightforward.

Finally, make sure your glasses prescription is up to date. Nothing will give you eye-strain more quickly than an out of date prescription. I would rather have replacement lenses every year than a new designer frame every other year and in the UK all VDU workers are entitled to claim the cost of one eye test per year from their employer.

Answer 3

Are you sure it's brightness? I know a number of people that have issues with "flicker" causing headaches after an hour or so. The headaches are usually in the cluster or migraine family which can significantly amplify light-sensitivity.

There are multiple people in my office that swear by these glasses to prevent eyestrain and reduce headaches.

Another former colleague of mine would have the fluorescent overhead lights use a green-tint lightbulb rather than the normal ones to reduce the impact of the flicker.

Finally, it might be the refresh rate on your monitor. Most likely your monitor is refreshing at a rate of 60 hertz. For some very sensitive people, this is too slow. You might see if you can somehow borrow or test out a monitor with a higher refresh rate.

Do you encounter the same issue if you watch TV for an extended period of time? What is the refresh rate on your television?

Answer 4

It sounds like you need something a little bit more powerful than the Windows color schemes tool (basically something that intercepts the whole graphics stream at the video card and tweaks it)?

A little googling lead me to PowerStrip, which seems to be able to tweak color curves and gamma globally. It might be able to help you out with taming the stray pixels that Windows isn't catching.

Caveat: I'm a Mac/Unix guy - I know nothing about this software except what I read in this forum thread and on the manufacturer's site, so while it looks promising it's equally possible I'm talking out my behind.

Answer 5

I use a program called F.Lux that modifies the temperature and other gamma/color settings in a way that significantly reduces eyestrain (at least for me).