Ask HN: How do you take care of your eyes?
My eyes hurt when I look at the computer for short durations. My eyes are fatigued after a day of work. I think I'm okay when reading books. Not sure if its screen brightness or what. Seems to hurt no matter the brightness. I bought some cheap blue light blocking glasses. They take the edge but don't prevent fatigue later in the day.
I figure this is a common problem among devs. So, whats your eye care ritual?
9 comments
[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 27.8 ms ] threadI learned that:
* having a lot of space behind your monitor helps a lot: you raise your head and you focus at infinite: this way I relax my eyes (I read about it, it is not just my sensation)
* the above works also with your desktop's background image: choose one that let you focus infinite
* enable auto dark mode into your laptop (and in your phone)
* be 100% sure your graphic card is set well: I am not talking about Mac or Win, of course, but a Linux with maybe a stupid proprietary video card without proper drivers: this is may not the case anymore, but many years ago was a pain to work with Nvidia (I hate it!) and Linux: drivers where not available, and what apparently was working was a real disaster: I even feel sorry for having given my old working laptop to a friend: I still think the anti-aliasing and other setting on chars rendering makes a bit of a difference.
* select, of course, dark background and gray chars while coding :)
* try the so called "blue led" glasses: I do, but do not really know if it is just a trick to ask more money for your spectacles (btw, you do use spectacles, don't you)
* distance from your eyes to the monitor is important waiting for a feedback from others: I am so scared to harm my eyes :)
Couldn't the same effect could be achieved by looking out your window?
My best tip is to use gigantic font sizes. Not large - gigantic. 80x25 was all you needed back in the day and all you need today too.
yes, that's the best of course, and best is a bit far away window, not just behind your screen (which would sound perfect, but it's often 'too bright')
This is all very anecdotal and I think much of eyesight is caused by genetics. But my eyesight is pretty good and hasn't deteriorated much in the past few years. My optometrist also said using a dim screen is good although idk why.
Linux - 'Safe Eyes' which asks me to take a 20 second break every 20 minutes.
Browsers - 'Dark Reader' in FF/Chrome
Android - Night Light matched with local sunset time
uh, you are right! I just remembered Linux/Gnome have the "Display/Night Light" mode already present in Settings. It makes colors "warmer", and you can schedule it from Sunset to Sunrise.
The second prescription was still too strong. I ended up mail ordering contacts with my old glasses’ prescription.
- I use a BenQ anti-glare monitor [0] that automatically adjusts the brightness based on ambient lighting.
- I use f.lux [1] to automatically adjust the color temperature based on the time of day.
- I use Dark Reader [2] to enable dark mode on all websites.
- I work near a window that I can easily, and often, look out of away from the screen.
- I make sure to sit/stand with good posture while working. Slouching with your head forward causes the muscles in your face and neck to tense up which contributes to eye strain.
- I make sure to use f.lux (or adjacent apps) on my mobile devices and reduce the amount of time I use them before bed in order to get a decent amount of restful sleep. Tired eyes have to work extra hard to focus which contributes to eye strain.
One thing I've yet to do, but am going to soon, and highly recommend, is to see an eye doctor for a comprehensive exam. Uncorrected, or under corrected, vision problems can be major contributing factors to eye strain.
[0] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0749RC47S
[1] https://justgetflux.com/
[2] https://darkreader.org/
Edit: formatting