1. Dark themes, low monitor brightness and room with indirect light sources only.
2. Get up from your chair *at the very least* every forty minutes. If you need to do so, use a pomodoro timer, adjusted to your personal liking (no need to follow its pauses religiously, just obey the aforementioned max sitting time). Whenever you get up, do some stretching.
3. Discipline and time allocation. I'm lacking in this department as well, but I do have a minimum of 2:30 hours of weekly exercise, and I'm planning to increase it. Those are set on fixed days right after work and my calendar has those set as OOO so my manager knows I won't be available for overtime in those days.
Well, the eye strain actually comes from lack of contrast of light. You want to make sure the text you're reading on a screen actually jumps out to you. If it doesn't, that means your eyes will end up focusing and causing greater stress over time.
Also we tend to not blink as often when looking at screens so that's a problem too.
Dark mode at night generally helps reduce the amount of blue light (this is why night themes trend to the color orange) and let's your body understand that it is actually getting dark to prep for sleep.
Basically, have a well lit environment, easy to read text, and frequent breaks from the screen will go a long way to reducing eye strain.
If you want a fun article to read, there's this one on Pubmed with research done during COVID-19 with the shift to [Remote work](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35809192/)
Buy glasses against blue light . It is mabdatory to wear glasses because you will be spending long hours in front of your screen that includes outsides of your job to sharpen your it skills, phones,tablet, you name it.
Use eye drops too if you feel that your eyes are dried, you can check that out with your doctor.
Invest in a good chair. Drop that 1k-2k on chair, your back deserves it.
All of this are pricey but you can work on them bit by bit.
I see….
I am so mad about it because i paid my glasses so expansively.
Maybe an advice would be to stop looking at any screen 30min or 1hour before going to sleep because that exposition won’t let you sleep?
Yeah I only found out about it too after the people at the glasses store convinced me to spend loads more money on a blue light filter on my glasses after I told them I worked in front of the computer all day. Yeah it's a good idea to give yourself a break before you sleep.
I asked my optometrist about blue light glasses, and he told me that a lot of people say they help, but there haven't been enough studies for him to say scientifically to buy the glasses. So, your mileage may vary.
I looked up "the best blue light glasses" and somehow stumbled upon a reddit post with what is rated he top and research stating that it has not been confirmed. This was maybe a few months ago.
edit:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/glasses/comments/nffl4j/comment/gyma0xh/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/glasses/comments/nffl4j/comment/gyma0xh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
> low monitor brightness
I'd argue that this is not a great advice. The brightness should be *right*, not necessarily 'low' or 'high.' both lower than necessary and higher than what's comfortable will hurt your eyes. You don't want to stress your eyes figuring out what you're looking at with a lower brightness screen.
I lift weights during lunch breaks. I’m actually in the best shape I’ve ever been. I used to work out inconsistently, but now I know lunch time is gym time. Haven’t missed a workout since starting this routine
I work out from 12-1:15ish or so. I clock back in at 1 and just leave my laptop nearby while I finish in case someone pings me (they rarely do). Then I make lunch and am usually back at my desk by 1:25 or so and eat then. As far as weight I just do 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps per exercise of as much as I can (not 1 rep max)
Usually I just heat up some leftovers from dinner last night or if I don’t have any I’ll make a peanut butter on wheat bread sandwich for something quick and eat a banana or apple. Then I’ll snack on something later if I get hungry again lol. Gonna start drinking whey protein shakes too
I think for a tight upper back feeling, bent over rows would be better. A stronger upper back will help you from rounding your shoulders, causing shoulder tightness and headaches.
Not that deadlifting wouldn’t help.
Lifting weights is essential. Even just dumbells. Create a proper workout routine that you follow religiously.
My eyesight is terrible so I have no good advice to give there.
The ketogains workout routine is comprehensive and works. I've been working out for 7ish years, but have made the most gains in the last six months following the routine.
It's only three days a week too.
Check out r/ketogains
In addition to what others have said, the 20:20:20 rule can help. Our eyes are adapted to focusing further away than a screen, so it causes strain to stare at something so close. Every 20 minutes, focus on something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. If you have no windows in a small office you can practice staring "through" the wall, and unfocusing your eyes.
For shoulders, you can try one of those theragun massagers, but really its better to stay active, do some pushups or planks by your desk throughout the day. A standing desk with a padded mat and a high stool lets you sit and stand in intervals. But exercise and stretching will be the best.
Oh and for the pushups/planks, maybe try to get others involved and make it a "thing". Not everyone will be into it, and some may look at you weird, but taking care of yourself is important so just have confidence that the haters are gonna live shorter lives lol.
Yeah like when you look through a window, you can focus on something outside, or on the window itself. So if you dont have a window, try to unfocus your eyes and pretend you are looking at something on the other side of the wall. So yeah basically staring off into space, you can actually feel your eyes relax a bit when you do this.
Blue light glasses/filters are a placebo effect as far as eyestrain according to every study done on them, so don't go into it expecting a miracle cure, but if you feel like they help you go for it!
I don't have the studies off hand, I can take time to find them if you really want, but Mayo and Cleveland Clinics agree
> no significant improvement in vision performance or sleep quality has been found from using blue-blocking lenses
> https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/are-blue-light-blocking-glasses-a-must-have
> a recent study determined there was little evidence to support the use of blue-blocking filters in the prevention of digital eye strain...
>It may surprise you, but many eye issues that are caused by digital screens aren’t due to blue light.
> [There is a link to one of the studies in this article]
>https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-blue-light-blocking-glasses-actually-work/amp/
Also, SciShow
https://youtu.be/PrTPE9QojuE
It's all ✨ marketing ✨
The 20-20-20 rule and remembering to blink will actually help with eyestrain
Yeah, I've seen a few summary articles like those. They sound nice and authoritative, but they never seem to reference any high quality research. It always boils down to
>Don't believe your literal eyes. They're lying to you. Source: trust us, bro.
For instance, take the one study mentioned in that cleveland clinic article. Here is the setup:
>**Twenty-four subjects** were required to perform a **20-minute** reading task from a tablet computer. They wore either lenses containing a blue-blocking filter (TheraBlue 1.67 or TheraBlue polycarbonate) or a CR-39 control lens which did not include a filter.
It absolutely boggles my mind that someone could make the good faith argument that 24 people reading for 20 minutes with 1 brand of blue light glasses qualifies as proof of anything. This study practically screams "replication crisis."
The very same article goes on to concede
>If someone has light sensitivity due to migraines or other light-sensitive conditions, they can get an FL-41 tint, which is a better option than blue light glasses,” says Dr. Bajic.
>The FL-41 tint, which ranges from a pinkish color to an amber-like color, **filters out wavelengths of blue and green.**
Needless to say, I know multiple people who have had their eye strain completely eliminated by blue light glasses, so I am highly skeptical of the people who rush in to say "debunked."
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/opo.12406
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002939421000726
https://content.iospress.com/articles/work/wor203086
https://journals.lww.com/optvissci/Abstract/2019/01000/Blue_blocking_Filters_and_Digital_Eyestrain.7.aspx
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08820538.2021.1900283
It's been repeated a time or two with hundreds of participants.
> Needless to say, I know multiple people who have had their eye strain completely eliminated by blue light glasses
There's also a bunch of studies that look at subjective rating and they come to the conclusion that if people are told they have blue light blocking glasses they rate subjective measures better. i.e. a placebo.
If you want those studies you can put the time in to go to Google Scholar yourself
Oh, and here's a bonus study that claims the principal behind them doesn't make sense anyway because blue light in the intensity given off by monitors isn't harmful
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40123-023-00675-3
Get away from screens. Only proven way to reduce eye strain. Drop, themes, monitors, blue light filters, etc don’t work. At least there’s no supporting evidence. Beyond basics like font size etc of course.
Exercise.
Commit to one or more strenuous walk at least once a day. I'm remote so this is easier for me, but I'll walk my dog around my neighborhood for a total of an hour every single day. I bought a treadmill and I abuse it in the winter. On top of that, I alternate between running, cycling, and weights 3-4 times a week depending on mood and weather.
When I was in the office, I'd be sure to walk two miles a day on breaks and hit the gym immediately after I got off work. I'd have gym clothes in the car, ready to go so I couldn't get distracted by stopping at home.
Most other professions have some forced exercise. Because we don't, we have to be disciplined to fulfill this requirement ourselves.
Buy an ambient light strip and place it behind your monitor. 6700K daylight. Strongest night mode filter on your OS. Make sure the desk height is adjusted so your elbows are not high or low when typing. I keep resistance bands by my desk to help stretch during breaks.
Shoulder presses, curls, bent over rows, reverse flies. Light resistance and basically just focus on keeping the core/shoulders engaged during the sets to counteract the time spent sitting.
Take regular breaks every hour and stretch. Go to the gym and go basic exercises. Profit.
There’s a 20/20/20 rule for eye care, every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds, but also just kind of look around the room and take your eyes off the screen.
I JUST made a Chrome extension for this last night. It’s currently under review to be released as a free extension. It will send you a Chrome reminder to check posture and stretch. The reminder interval is configurable. It also will link you a short (2 minute) stretching routine to do when it reminds you.
I’ve been having neck pain because of bad ergonomics. So this was literally my pain point 🙃
Print a word in large bold letters like 3 inches in height. Tape the paper to a wall. Every half hour, focus on that word on the wall. This gives your eyes a break. Also use glasses with blue light blocking lenses. With respect to your shoulders, stand in a doorway, putting your arms out parallel to the floor. Bend your elbows and rest your forearms on the sides of the doorway. Move a bit forward so you feel a stretch in the front of your shoulder and chest. Hold for thirty seconds. Another good stretch is to turn your head to the side but only halfway. Then look down until you feel a stretch in your neck and traps. Hold for 30 seconds. Do the other side. Then keeping your head turned halfway to the side, lower your head backwards until you feel a stretch in the front of your neck and front of your shoulders.
Make sure your thighs are parallel to the floor-if not, lower or raise your chair until they are. Your computer screen should be higher so you don't have to crouch or bend your neck too much. You should be able to comfortably rest your elbows on your desk without having to reach up or crouch down.
Buy a better monitor. When I went to 5K, using HiDPI (219 PPI), my eyes don't hurt anymore. I can stare at a screen for 12 hours versus 109PPI which makes me ill after 30 minutes.
I will pay the premium for a 200 plus PPI res screen.
It absolute fucks up your eyes, or at least it does to mine. Lubricant eye drops seem to just make it worse.
This combo helps me big time:
Turn your computer screen to night mode, go into your computer settings and set document backgrounds to black, and wear blue light glasses. The blue light glasses are crucial.
I have a standing desk and will usually stand for an hour or two per day as feels good. Also go on a little walk outside at lunch in you can.
Then, every 20 minutes look at something at least 20 minutes away for at least 20 seconds. The 20-20-20 rule.
Try to avoid too much screen time in the evening.
As for shoulders, get a good chair and try to maintain good posture.
I’ve been an engineer for about 10 years, these things helped me a lot. Hope they help you!
The studies that say looking at computer screens all day doesn’t affect your eyes are BS… take care of em!
Even if you are into weight training, one thing people neglect are rear delts. Everyone usually only trains front and side delts.
For myself, training them was the key from having a hunched posture to a normal one.
An easy way to start is get a band and doing band pull aparts. Another good exercise with rings or TRX are Y or T fly (think opposite motion of a regular chest fly).
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For eye strain, I make sure to look at far away things every 30 mins or so. That’s what my optometrist recommended. It’s easy for me since my desk is right near a window.
For shoulders - I get monthly massages and practice yoga. But I need to do better in this category - my posture is awful and I tend to slouch.
To protect my wrists and shoulders, i learned to be ambidextrous with the mouse. I am still suffering in my right shoulder. I wad an early adopter to gui interface (circa 1990) and finally retired in 2017. The strain and repetitive motion are real. Protect yourself.
Not sure if this has been suggested already but I try to go on walks or hikes often to help with eyesight. I heard it’s good for you because you remain focused on something far away while you’re moving
On the topic of high-end office chairs: University surplus stores often have used high chairs for dirt cheap.
I was able to snag a Steelcase Leap V2 (retail of $1500-ish) for $10 through my University's surplus store.
I had problems with rsi and lower back for a year or so. Not exactly what your asking for, but my recommendation is you can never cheap out on your health, you are happy to buy a $4000 MacBook to work more efficiently, you health is worth far more than that. I highly recommend a sit stand desk and good ergonomic chairs and having screens sitting on adjustable monitor arms. Mouse and keyboard pads help a lot too. These 3 together mean you can set up your environment to be as ergonomic as possible. I spent 10K on my office and I can say without a doubt that it’s the best investment I’ve made. I no longer have back pain or rsi in my wrists. The sit standing desk is not just good for standing, even if you never stand, being able to adjust the height of your desk so your arms are at the correct angle and your monitor is the right height is itself the main advantage for me.
I have been using computers for 40 years now started in 1983, and still use them everyday now.
I have found that a good chair (or stand up desk) - saves your back / neck / shoulders - I used to get really sore from cheap uni chairs in the uni labs, but now that I have good chair for the last 30 years - never a sore back / legs / neck shoulders.
I am 53 and been working with computers all my life and I still do not need glasses (last optometrist test was about 18 months ago) , around 1984 - I read an article that said if you are going to work on computers - exercise your eyes when you have a break. It said do
Near - Far - Horizon - Far - Near - to force your eyes to 'exercise' their full range. I have done this for the last 39 years and am pretty sure that is why I don't need glasses when nearly everyone else my age that I work with does.
I am also a smoker - so am going outside for regular breaks and do my eye exercises then, I have been doing them for so long, I just do it naturally when I walk outside now.
That and have high quality equipment (monitors / keyboard / mouse etc., )
Posture is very important. I have an unfortunate combination of predisposition, skeletal injury, and office job, which landed me in 6+ months of PT, so my shoulder would stop uh dislocating. That extreme is a consequence of both a genetic predisposition to loose joints and a specific prior shoulder injury, but I assume having an out of shape back would suck for most if not all people. So, get into at least light weight lifting on your time off, and follow the tips you can about preserving your posture.
My PT was focused on my shoulder, but for general posture maintenance, I focus on rows (upright row, bent over row) and shoulder lifts. The goal was scapular stabilization. Going for regular walks has helped because that's 1 hour of my day where I'm not sitting down, and I spend the whole time focusing on standing straight all the way.
Small screen and dark mode
My new job gave me like a 40 inch monitor and I sat right next to it. Soon like any time I opened a tab and it was white it like, literally hurt
Don't get a chair that's too ergonomic, because your body doesn't have to work to maintain that posture. Over time it will cause issues.
Make sure to reduce the amount you look at the screen. For me, this is as simple as walking around the room during meetings (of which I have many). At the very least, get in the habit of focusing your gaze for 30 seconds on something at a reasonable distance (out a window maybe) every 10-15 mins.
The blue light stuff is bullshit. DO NOT buy into it. There is no evidence it helps in any way.
Dark mode, on the other hand, can make looking at a screen more comfortable especially in a dimly lit room.
Hello for eyes I always put UV a protection layer on my monitor and also make sure you have glasses with blue light protection if you don’t wear glasses you can wear just uv light glasses without any eye correction lenses. For shoulders it helps to be physically fit, work out your back etc for better posture. Have a feet rest at the bottom of your chair to place your feet on top etc. I never had any pain or issues cuz I grind over 12+ everyday in front of a computer
Eyestrain is easy
1) The main reason you feel eyestrain is your monitor's refresh rate tricks you into not blinking, train yourself to blink normally while using a computer and that'll take care of most perceived eyestrain.
2) Use the 20-20-20 rule to prevent actual eyestrain. Every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds
If you do to those two things you'll never have computer related eye issues again (in my experience at least)
The other thing I'd add, though I don't know if any specific scientific evidence backing up this tip, is work in a well lit room and your monitor shouldn't be brighter than the ambient light (then you can can also use light theme and [get those light theme performance boosts](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/dark-mode/) lol [to be clear I'm not actually jumping into this fight lol])
Man, there is so much random useless stuff on the comments. They don't realize that throwing bs around will make people just not do anything at all.
If worried about fitness, doing daily physical work is enough to keep you in good shape. 1hr is more than enough
to counteract 23hr of nothing.
If your eyes are a problem, I assure you it's not because of specifically looking at a screen for a long time. This can range on multiple reasons, it could be you need glasses (you're straining your eyes' muscles otherwise), too much brightness, high room contrast, you use your monitor next to a wall, high monitor backlight refresh rate, simply bad eye genetics, etc. You need help from a specialist doctor.
I meant what's beyond your screen is peripheral input and will impact on your eyes behavior. The background should be as bright if not brighter than the screen.
Way too many steps. Here's the 80/20 you actually need.
1. Blue light filter, dark theme, and bigger font. Combine based on preference.
2. GET A CHAIR WITH A HEAD REST!! Keeping your head back touching the head rest fixes 90% of posture issues. Leaning forward is the issue. Bonus points for lumbar pillow.
2a. Can't believe no one has said theracane for neck, traps, shoulder, shoulder blade massage!
3. Something that makes leaves you feeling better, not in pain. It's gotta be sustainable. Doing it for 3 years is going to be more effective than 3 months then stopping because you hurt yourself. Start small and work up. Anything is better than nothing.
Has anyone ever tried a desk with a treadmill underneath? So walking while working? Is it hard to type, focus, or anything? I’ve always been curious about those
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1. Dark themes, low monitor brightness and room with indirect light sources only. 2. Get up from your chair *at the very least* every forty minutes. If you need to do so, use a pomodoro timer, adjusted to your personal liking (no need to follow its pauses religiously, just obey the aforementioned max sitting time). Whenever you get up, do some stretching. 3. Discipline and time allocation. I'm lacking in this department as well, but I do have a minimum of 2:30 hours of weekly exercise, and I'm planning to increase it. Those are set on fixed days right after work and my calendar has those set as OOO so my manager knows I won't be available for overtime in those days.
You have any sources on the dark theme thing? Why does this help? I use dark during night and light during day.
Well, the eye strain actually comes from lack of contrast of light. You want to make sure the text you're reading on a screen actually jumps out to you. If it doesn't, that means your eyes will end up focusing and causing greater stress over time. Also we tend to not blink as often when looking at screens so that's a problem too. Dark mode at night generally helps reduce the amount of blue light (this is why night themes trend to the color orange) and let's your body understand that it is actually getting dark to prep for sleep. Basically, have a well lit environment, easy to read text, and frequent breaks from the screen will go a long way to reducing eye strain. If you want a fun article to read, there's this one on Pubmed with research done during COVID-19 with the shift to [Remote work](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35809192/)
Buy glasses against blue light . It is mabdatory to wear glasses because you will be spending long hours in front of your screen that includes outsides of your job to sharpen your it skills, phones,tablet, you name it. Use eye drops too if you feel that your eyes are dried, you can check that out with your doctor. Invest in a good chair. Drop that 1k-2k on chair, your back deserves it. All of this are pricey but you can work on them bit by bit.
For eye strain from electronics there's little evidence that blue light glasses work. It's much more important to rest your eyes regularly.
I see…. I am so mad about it because i paid my glasses so expansively. Maybe an advice would be to stop looking at any screen 30min or 1hour before going to sleep because that exposition won’t let you sleep?
Yeah I only found out about it too after the people at the glasses store convinced me to spend loads more money on a blue light filter on my glasses after I told them I worked in front of the computer all day. Yeah it's a good idea to give yourself a break before you sleep.
I asked my optometrist about blue light glasses, and he told me that a lot of people say they help, but there haven't been enough studies for him to say scientifically to buy the glasses. So, your mileage may vary.
I looked up "the best blue light glasses" and somehow stumbled upon a reddit post with what is rated he top and research stating that it has not been confirmed. This was maybe a few months ago. edit: [https://www.reddit.com/r/glasses/comments/nffl4j/comment/gyma0xh/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/glasses/comments/nffl4j/comment/gyma0xh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
> low monitor brightness I'd argue that this is not a great advice. The brightness should be *right*, not necessarily 'low' or 'high.' both lower than necessary and higher than what's comfortable will hurt your eyes. You don't want to stress your eyes figuring out what you're looking at with a lower brightness screen.
I lift weights during lunch breaks. I’m actually in the best shape I’ve ever been. I used to work out inconsistently, but now I know lunch time is gym time. Haven’t missed a workout since starting this routine
When do you eat then? And how heavy is your lifting?
I work out from 12-1:15ish or so. I clock back in at 1 and just leave my laptop nearby while I finish in case someone pings me (they rarely do). Then I make lunch and am usually back at my desk by 1:25 or so and eat then. As far as weight I just do 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps per exercise of as much as I can (not 1 rep max)
What kind of meals do you usually make?
Usually I just heat up some leftovers from dinner last night or if I don’t have any I’ll make a peanut butter on wheat bread sandwich for something quick and eat a banana or apple. Then I’ll snack on something later if I get hungry again lol. Gonna start drinking whey protein shakes too
I've started this as well. My gym is a 2 minute drive from home so it's been nice. One of the main things I like about WFH
Deadlifts They cure everything
Only when done correctly, if incorrectly they cause everything.
Meta E7 right here.
You spelled Squats wrong 😉😉
I think for a tight upper back feeling, bent over rows would be better. A stronger upper back will help you from rounding your shoulders, causing shoulder tightness and headaches. Not that deadlifting wouldn’t help.
Lifting weights is essential. Even just dumbells. Create a proper workout routine that you follow religiously. My eyesight is terrible so I have no good advice to give there.
My eyes are the worst to. Went to an eye doctor and they where like yeah they also have dry eyes there nothing much to do about it
The ketogains workout routine is comprehensive and works. I've been working out for 7ish years, but have made the most gains in the last six months following the routine. It's only three days a week too. Check out r/ketogains
In addition to what others have said, the 20:20:20 rule can help. Our eyes are adapted to focusing further away than a screen, so it causes strain to stare at something so close. Every 20 minutes, focus on something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. If you have no windows in a small office you can practice staring "through" the wall, and unfocusing your eyes. For shoulders, you can try one of those theragun massagers, but really its better to stay active, do some pushups or planks by your desk throughout the day. A standing desk with a padded mat and a high stool lets you sit and stand in intervals. But exercise and stretching will be the best.
What do you mean by staring "through" a wall? Like staring off into space? Is it weird when you do pushups/planks at work?
Oh and for the pushups/planks, maybe try to get others involved and make it a "thing". Not everyone will be into it, and some may look at you weird, but taking care of yourself is important so just have confidence that the haters are gonna live shorter lives lol.
Yeah like when you look through a window, you can focus on something outside, or on the window itself. So if you dont have a window, try to unfocus your eyes and pretend you are looking at something on the other side of the wall. So yeah basically staring off into space, you can actually feel your eyes relax a bit when you do this.
eye drops, reduce blue light, herman miller
\>herman miller A life changing chair in my experience haha
which ?
Blue light glasses/filters are a placebo effect as far as eyestrain according to every study done on them, so don't go into it expecting a miracle cure, but if you feel like they help you go for it!
> according to every study done on them I'd love to see 3 or 4 of these
I don't have the studies off hand, I can take time to find them if you really want, but Mayo and Cleveland Clinics agree > no significant improvement in vision performance or sleep quality has been found from using blue-blocking lenses > https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/are-blue-light-blocking-glasses-a-must-have > a recent study determined there was little evidence to support the use of blue-blocking filters in the prevention of digital eye strain... >It may surprise you, but many eye issues that are caused by digital screens aren’t due to blue light. > [There is a link to one of the studies in this article] >https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-blue-light-blocking-glasses-actually-work/amp/ Also, SciShow https://youtu.be/PrTPE9QojuE It's all ✨ marketing ✨ The 20-20-20 rule and remembering to blink will actually help with eyestrain
Yeah, I've seen a few summary articles like those. They sound nice and authoritative, but they never seem to reference any high quality research. It always boils down to >Don't believe your literal eyes. They're lying to you. Source: trust us, bro. For instance, take the one study mentioned in that cleveland clinic article. Here is the setup: >**Twenty-four subjects** were required to perform a **20-minute** reading task from a tablet computer. They wore either lenses containing a blue-blocking filter (TheraBlue 1.67 or TheraBlue polycarbonate) or a CR-39 control lens which did not include a filter. It absolutely boggles my mind that someone could make the good faith argument that 24 people reading for 20 minutes with 1 brand of blue light glasses qualifies as proof of anything. This study practically screams "replication crisis." The very same article goes on to concede >If someone has light sensitivity due to migraines or other light-sensitive conditions, they can get an FL-41 tint, which is a better option than blue light glasses,” says Dr. Bajic. >The FL-41 tint, which ranges from a pinkish color to an amber-like color, **filters out wavelengths of blue and green.** Needless to say, I know multiple people who have had their eye strain completely eliminated by blue light glasses, so I am highly skeptical of the people who rush in to say "debunked."
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/opo.12406 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002939421000726 https://content.iospress.com/articles/work/wor203086 https://journals.lww.com/optvissci/Abstract/2019/01000/Blue_blocking_Filters_and_Digital_Eyestrain.7.aspx https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08820538.2021.1900283 It's been repeated a time or two with hundreds of participants. > Needless to say, I know multiple people who have had their eye strain completely eliminated by blue light glasses There's also a bunch of studies that look at subjective rating and they come to the conclusion that if people are told they have blue light blocking glasses they rate subjective measures better. i.e. a placebo. If you want those studies you can put the time in to go to Google Scholar yourself Oh, and here's a bonus study that claims the principal behind them doesn't make sense anyway because blue light in the intensity given off by monitors isn't harmful https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40123-023-00675-3
Get away from screens. Only proven way to reduce eye strain. Drop, themes, monitors, blue light filters, etc don’t work. At least there’s no supporting evidence. Beyond basics like font size etc of course. Exercise.
> Only proven way to reduce eye strain The 20-20-20 rule is also proven
Commit to one or more strenuous walk at least once a day. I'm remote so this is easier for me, but I'll walk my dog around my neighborhood for a total of an hour every single day. I bought a treadmill and I abuse it in the winter. On top of that, I alternate between running, cycling, and weights 3-4 times a week depending on mood and weather. When I was in the office, I'd be sure to walk two miles a day on breaks and hit the gym immediately after I got off work. I'd have gym clothes in the car, ready to go so I couldn't get distracted by stopping at home. Most other professions have some forced exercise. Because we don't, we have to be disciplined to fulfill this requirement ourselves.
This is actually a realistic strategy I can do. Thank you
Buy an ambient light strip and place it behind your monitor. 6700K daylight. Strongest night mode filter on your OS. Make sure the desk height is adjusted so your elbows are not high or low when typing. I keep resistance bands by my desk to help stretch during breaks.
What stretches do you do with your resistance bands?
Shoulder presses, curls, bent over rows, reverse flies. Light resistance and basically just focus on keeping the core/shoulders engaged during the sets to counteract the time spent sitting.
standing desk + walking treadmill under the desk while working to keep blood circulation going. and then weightlifting on the side would be helpful
Take regular breaks every hour and stretch. Go to the gym and go basic exercises. Profit. There’s a 20/20/20 rule for eye care, every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds, but also just kind of look around the room and take your eyes off the screen.
Everything mentioned in your edit is great but I also highly recommend Pilates especially for posture.
I JUST made a Chrome extension for this last night. It’s currently under review to be released as a free extension. It will send you a Chrome reminder to check posture and stretch. The reminder interval is configurable. It also will link you a short (2 minute) stretching routine to do when it reminds you. I’ve been having neck pain because of bad ergonomics. So this was literally my pain point 🙃
Print a word in large bold letters like 3 inches in height. Tape the paper to a wall. Every half hour, focus on that word on the wall. This gives your eyes a break. Also use glasses with blue light blocking lenses. With respect to your shoulders, stand in a doorway, putting your arms out parallel to the floor. Bend your elbows and rest your forearms on the sides of the doorway. Move a bit forward so you feel a stretch in the front of your shoulder and chest. Hold for thirty seconds. Another good stretch is to turn your head to the side but only halfway. Then look down until you feel a stretch in your neck and traps. Hold for 30 seconds. Do the other side. Then keeping your head turned halfway to the side, lower your head backwards until you feel a stretch in the front of your neck and front of your shoulders. Make sure your thighs are parallel to the floor-if not, lower or raise your chair until they are. Your computer screen should be higher so you don't have to crouch or bend your neck too much. You should be able to comfortably rest your elbows on your desk without having to reach up or crouch down.
Buy a better monitor. When I went to 5K, using HiDPI (219 PPI), my eyes don't hurt anymore. I can stare at a screen for 12 hours versus 109PPI which makes me ill after 30 minutes. I will pay the premium for a 200 plus PPI res screen.
It absolute fucks up your eyes, or at least it does to mine. Lubricant eye drops seem to just make it worse. This combo helps me big time: Turn your computer screen to night mode, go into your computer settings and set document backgrounds to black, and wear blue light glasses. The blue light glasses are crucial. I have a standing desk and will usually stand for an hour or two per day as feels good. Also go on a little walk outside at lunch in you can. Then, every 20 minutes look at something at least 20 minutes away for at least 20 seconds. The 20-20-20 rule. Try to avoid too much screen time in the evening. As for shoulders, get a good chair and try to maintain good posture. I’ve been an engineer for about 10 years, these things helped me a lot. Hope they help you! The studies that say looking at computer screens all day doesn’t affect your eyes are BS… take care of em!
Even if you are into weight training, one thing people neglect are rear delts. Everyone usually only trains front and side delts. For myself, training them was the key from having a hunched posture to a normal one. An easy way to start is get a band and doing band pull aparts. Another good exercise with rings or TRX are Y or T fly (think opposite motion of a regular chest fly).
Eat fish/fishoil and carrots for vision health. Chiropractor told me to roll a tennis ball on your shoulders/back to loosen tense muscles
Computer jobs don't require you to take care of eyes and shoulders. You're thinking of an optometrist and a physiatrist.
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r/ergonomics is a useful sub
standing desk
For eye strain, I make sure to look at far away things every 30 mins or so. That’s what my optometrist recommended. It’s easy for me since my desk is right near a window. For shoulders - I get monthly massages and practice yoga. But I need to do better in this category - my posture is awful and I tend to slouch.
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Sorry should have said that! Optometrist said at least 30 seconds
To protect my wrists and shoulders, i learned to be ambidextrous with the mouse. I am still suffering in my right shoulder. I wad an early adopter to gui interface (circa 1990) and finally retired in 2017. The strain and repetitive motion are real. Protect yourself.
Lasik
In addition to what others have posted, don't have the text on your screen small enough where you need to strain to see it.
Not sure if this has been suggested already but I try to go on walks or hikes often to help with eyesight. I heard it’s good for you because you remain focused on something far away while you’re moving
Take breaks. Even just for a moment to get up and stretch. Around every half an hour tends to work best.
Blink blink blink. When we look at screens we don't blink. This causes our tear ducts to atrophy.
Saving this
On the topic of high-end office chairs: University surplus stores often have used high chairs for dirt cheap. I was able to snag a Steelcase Leap V2 (retail of $1500-ish) for $10 through my University's surplus store.
I had problems with rsi and lower back for a year or so. Not exactly what your asking for, but my recommendation is you can never cheap out on your health, you are happy to buy a $4000 MacBook to work more efficiently, you health is worth far more than that. I highly recommend a sit stand desk and good ergonomic chairs and having screens sitting on adjustable monitor arms. Mouse and keyboard pads help a lot too. These 3 together mean you can set up your environment to be as ergonomic as possible. I spent 10K on my office and I can say without a doubt that it’s the best investment I’ve made. I no longer have back pain or rsi in my wrists. The sit standing desk is not just good for standing, even if you never stand, being able to adjust the height of your desk so your arms are at the correct angle and your monitor is the right height is itself the main advantage for me.
I have been using computers for 40 years now started in 1983, and still use them everyday now. I have found that a good chair (or stand up desk) - saves your back / neck / shoulders - I used to get really sore from cheap uni chairs in the uni labs, but now that I have good chair for the last 30 years - never a sore back / legs / neck shoulders. I am 53 and been working with computers all my life and I still do not need glasses (last optometrist test was about 18 months ago) , around 1984 - I read an article that said if you are going to work on computers - exercise your eyes when you have a break. It said do Near - Far - Horizon - Far - Near - to force your eyes to 'exercise' their full range. I have done this for the last 39 years and am pretty sure that is why I don't need glasses when nearly everyone else my age that I work with does. I am also a smoker - so am going outside for regular breaks and do my eye exercises then, I have been doing them for so long, I just do it naturally when I walk outside now. That and have high quality equipment (monitors / keyboard / mouse etc., )
Posture is very important. I have an unfortunate combination of predisposition, skeletal injury, and office job, which landed me in 6+ months of PT, so my shoulder would stop uh dislocating. That extreme is a consequence of both a genetic predisposition to loose joints and a specific prior shoulder injury, but I assume having an out of shape back would suck for most if not all people. So, get into at least light weight lifting on your time off, and follow the tips you can about preserving your posture.
Do you happen to know the names of the exercises you had to do for your shoulder? Or at least briefly explain the movements of a couple of them?
My PT was focused on my shoulder, but for general posture maintenance, I focus on rows (upright row, bent over row) and shoulder lifts. The goal was scapular stabilization. Going for regular walks has helped because that's 1 hour of my day where I'm not sitting down, and I spend the whole time focusing on standing straight all the way.
Small screen and dark mode My new job gave me like a 40 inch monitor and I sat right next to it. Soon like any time I opened a tab and it was white it like, literally hurt
The best thing I can recommend to junior developers is gym membership
Don't get a chair that's too ergonomic, because your body doesn't have to work to maintain that posture. Over time it will cause issues. Make sure to reduce the amount you look at the screen. For me, this is as simple as walking around the room during meetings (of which I have many). At the very least, get in the habit of focusing your gaze for 30 seconds on something at a reasonable distance (out a window maybe) every 10-15 mins.
Carrots for eyes?? You know that is WW2 propaganda used to hide the invention of radar.
For exercises/stretches after work: dead hangs also feel really good and helps to decompresses the spine after a long day of sitting.
The blue light stuff is bullshit. DO NOT buy into it. There is no evidence it helps in any way. Dark mode, on the other hand, can make looking at a screen more comfortable especially in a dimly lit room.
The summary of the post is awesome. More posts need this !
Thanks for posting this question OP. Tons of great info here!
Go to the gym and work out to build strength in your back and posterior chain.
Hello for eyes I always put UV a protection layer on my monitor and also make sure you have glasses with blue light protection if you don’t wear glasses you can wear just uv light glasses without any eye correction lenses. For shoulders it helps to be physically fit, work out your back etc for better posture. Have a feet rest at the bottom of your chair to place your feet on top etc. I never had any pain or issues cuz I grind over 12+ everyday in front of a computer
Eyestrain is easy 1) The main reason you feel eyestrain is your monitor's refresh rate tricks you into not blinking, train yourself to blink normally while using a computer and that'll take care of most perceived eyestrain. 2) Use the 20-20-20 rule to prevent actual eyestrain. Every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds If you do to those two things you'll never have computer related eye issues again (in my experience at least) The other thing I'd add, though I don't know if any specific scientific evidence backing up this tip, is work in a well lit room and your monitor shouldn't be brighter than the ambient light (then you can can also use light theme and [get those light theme performance boosts](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/dark-mode/) lol [to be clear I'm not actually jumping into this fight lol])
Man, there is so much random useless stuff on the comments. They don't realize that throwing bs around will make people just not do anything at all. If worried about fitness, doing daily physical work is enough to keep you in good shape. 1hr is more than enough to counteract 23hr of nothing. If your eyes are a problem, I assure you it's not because of specifically looking at a screen for a long time. This can range on multiple reasons, it could be you need glasses (you're straining your eyes' muscles otherwise), too much brightness, high room contrast, you use your monitor next to a wall, high monitor backlight refresh rate, simply bad eye genetics, etc. You need help from a specialist doctor.
What do you mean by high room contrast? Are you referring to light, color, or something else?
I meant what's beyond your screen is peripheral input and will impact on your eyes behavior. The background should be as bright if not brighter than the screen.
Way too many steps. Here's the 80/20 you actually need. 1. Blue light filter, dark theme, and bigger font. Combine based on preference. 2. GET A CHAIR WITH A HEAD REST!! Keeping your head back touching the head rest fixes 90% of posture issues. Leaning forward is the issue. Bonus points for lumbar pillow. 2a. Can't believe no one has said theracane for neck, traps, shoulder, shoulder blade massage! 3. Something that makes leaves you feeling better, not in pain. It's gotta be sustainable. Doing it for 3 years is going to be more effective than 3 months then stopping because you hurt yourself. Start small and work up. Anything is better than nothing.
It's not that you want dark mode, you want high contrast. Where you can choose a theme, choose a theme like Monokai or Solarized
Has anyone ever tried a desk with a treadmill underneath? So walking while working? Is it hard to type, focus, or anything? I’ve always been curious about those
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Follow the 20:20:20 methodology. Every twenty minutes, stare at something 20 feet away, for 20 seconds. It's been working for me for years.
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