What kind of eye wear can I use to protect my eyes from being irritated from staring at a screen all day?

Many of us stare at computer screens all day. Lately, my eyes have been irritated from prolonged staring at my computer screens. Does anyone use or know of any eye wear technology that helps with this? About five years back, I bought a pair of non-prescription eye glasses that had a no-glare layer put on them by an optometrist. It helped a lot, so I'm considering getting another pair. Is this the best option I have at this point?

Thanks so much in advance for your wisdom!

Asked by dr dork on May 17, 2010. Last Edited on May 17, 2010.

Gunnar Optiks have gotten positive reviews.

An optometrist explains to Ars Technica why these are not just hype or placebo effect:

The tints are pretty standard in the optical community. The advantages stated are all true... they haven't reinvented the wheel, so to speak," she explains. The amber tint is going to increase contrast when looking at computer or television screens, and the anti-reflective coating will also help. Anderson says that should help you "get back 8-10 percent of the 12 percent of usable light that we lose to glare, when worn in front of a light-emitting source such as a computer or oncoming headlights.

Some testimonials from a thread on Hacker News:

I have a pair of Gunnar Optiks (http://www.gunnars.com/) that I LOVE.

I used to have ridiculous eye strain when staring at the computer screen for hours, but after getting a pair it's all but gone away... after using them for close to a year, I can honestly say they have made a great impact on my ability to do work. I'd highly recommend that anyone who hasn't and has issues with eye strain give them a try.

...

Agree on Gunnars - ever since I started using them (about 2 months ago) my eyes are not nearly as much tired at the end of the day as they used to be. Also, no more headaches.

I was also very skeptical about them, however something had to be done about all the pain I had after using computer for 8-10 hours.

Answered by Leftium on May 17, 2010. Last Edited on May 17, 2010.

Polarized glasses help (what you probably had with the "non glare" coating). The best idea is to fix the "real" problem.

• If you have a CRT, ditch it an get an LCD.
• Set the resolution and/or DPI to a setting that doesn't cause eye strain.
• Get an LCD that's big enough to fit everything you need on the screen.
• The more indirect and natural the lighting in your workspace the better. Standard light bulbs that aren't frosted flicker at 60Hz; florescent do as well, but much less noticeably. Uniform brightness helps; also when looking at your screen you should not be able to see any light elements directly.

Answered by Chris S on May 17, 2010.

best way is to look anywhere else at every 15 minutes for a 30-60 seconds ..my father is a doctor ;) ...

Answered by xpugur on May 17, 2010.

I don't have any idea about the eyewear. If I had this sort of problem the first things I would do would be (1) turn down the brightness on the monitor, and (2) think about getting a larger monitor so text can be larger and easier to read. A large new monitor is cheap (say 22" for less than $200), while your health is priceless.

Also, as another poster said, definitely switch to LCD monitor if you're still using CRT.

Answered by Herbert Sitz on May 17, 2010. Last Edited on May 17, 2010.

There's nothing really out there beyond anti-glare technology, but a lot of the strain doesn't come from the glare.

Your best bet is to take a 5-10 minute break every hour or two. Get up, talk to team members, get an answer in-person for something you normally would have written an email for, etc. These little breaks help significantly.

Answered by MarkM on May 17, 2010.

This is more of a software fix, but the effect that adjusts the colors of everything based on time of day, making it slightly easier on the eyes.

F.lux

Answered by Andrei Krotkov on May 20, 2010.

If you are on Windows something else you could consider is changing the background window colour to an off white which will cut down the glare. You might have to experiment to get a shade that works for you.

This won't work if an application ignores the system settings and uses its own values for backgrounds.

Answered by ChrisF on May 17, 2010.

I've been staring at screens ever since they replaced teletypes(!), without, and then with, glasses, and I haven't had this particular difficulty, but: I wonder if you might not be blinking often enough? I'd try 1) paying attention to when or how much you blink and making it a habit if you find you aren't; 2) putting a drop of artificial tears in each eye every few hours; 3) taking regular, short breaks away from the screen, even a 60 second walk around your work area, during which you look alternately in the distance and at something nearby. You might find you back appreciates this as well.

The main physical issue I had was a sore back and neck. I used to set my watch's chime to go off every hour and half hour, and take a break each time. Eventually it became habit and I no longer need the watch but I still need the breaks.

Answered by JRobert on May 17, 2010.

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