Ask HN: How to avoid going blind

It's mostly your genetics. I've been staring at the screen for 12-16 hours daily for 15 years. Still nearly perfect vision.

Resist the temptation to turn off the lights and bask in the LCD glow. The most influential thing you can do is to keep your workspace adequately lit.

No problems, 30+ years of staring at monitors of various types in all kinds of light.

I do have bifocals now (the type that have a gradual transition so one doesn't look like an obvious grandpa :) ). These helped enormously in my mid 40s, took less than a day to get used to.

Other than that, my corrected vision is better than 20/20.

I've been staring at monitors for close to 16 years now... mostly perfect vision except in very low light.

you can always get Lasik later

Weird request... but does anyone else take some form of stimulant or drug that dilates your pupils and work at a computer during the day? I've taken adderall and ritalin for ADHD and my eyes will actually be sore at the end of the day. It goes away by morning, but there's been times I just felt like shit at the end of the day and go home and sleep because I just can't stand any more light.

For OP's question... I don't think my eyes have degraded one bit, but I'm still in my 20s and I had 20/10 vision to start with.

http://www.eye-exercises-for-good-vision.com/eye-relaxation-....

Not in any way an expert…and I assume you don’t mean going blind in the most literal sense.

Two tips. Get back from the screen and use larger fonts: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/10/07/16-pixels-body-co.... Note the bit on “vergence”.

Second, against all odds I love F.lux: http://stereopsis.com/flux/. It adjusts the color temperature of your screen based on time of day. Try it for a while and then turn it off to see the difference, especially at night.

My wife had lasik surgery last month. Best decision of her life.

Keeping the lighting appropriate for your screen(s) is the most important thing, along with positioning your screen(s) at about arm's length. I try to use bright pure white lightbulbs whenever possible.

After that, using a larger font is good (I use 16pt Inconsolata with Monokai theme for good contrast). I tried out those Gunnar computer glasses and they work pretty well (I got the clear lens ones), but I always forget to wear them.

Is there any evidence that looking at screens for a longer period of time decreases eye sight?

I don't wear glasses, I've never worn glasses and I currently spend up to 12 hours/day in front of a computer. I'm in my late 40's.

I usually use some system to take frequent breaks, usually an egg timer set to 10-15 minute intervals.

Every couple weeks, I'll isolate each eye and practice focusing near and far. I use trigger point therapy to work on the small muscle around the eye-sockets.

In general, I practice a couple of movement and relaxation exercises - Qigong and the Alexander technique. I've been using a standing work station for last six months but been using the computer heavily since about 1990 this is just extra.

I tend not avoid categories like "bad eyes" or "need glasses". If my eyes happen to have trouble focusing, I assume the muscle are tired and need some attention. I've heard that glasses just encourage eyes to get worse. I don't know if that's true but seems plausible. I'd view the body in general as involving many nested feedback loops. I believe that people who experience "health problems" often assume that they are "broken" in fashion akin to a simple machine where they often simply need "recalibrating". Not that I won't eventually "wear out" but I'm aiming to stay functional as long as possible.

Your mileage may vary. I certainly get eye irritation if I use the computer too much or don't get light.

Decrease your screen brightness and invert its color. Remember to blink. Drinking lots of water will help keep your eyes hydrated and force you to take breaks away from your computer to go to the bathroom. Try to make a habit of zooming content rather than squinting closely at it. Give computer glasses a try.

My unscientific advice:

1. Invert the colors whenever possible. Dark background, light text. Zenburn is a good color scheme for this, and you can find it for just about everything, from Vim and Emacs to Xmonad, to tons of other stuff.

2. LCD only. Not a problem these days, you don't see CRTs much anymore.

3. Don't hunch over your computer. Back straight, lean back, recline if necessary or get a standing desk, and increase the font size.

4. Look up frequently and practice refocusing on items of varying distances. Treat your eyes like muscles, work out your focusing ability.

5. Stay hydrated.

6. Eat carrots.

7. Use F.lux or Redshift.

8. More if I think of it ...

- Mirror behind the screen, look at the wall behind occasionally (or when thinking) with the mirror, or even better, angle the mirror to see out a window. Maybe use two mirrors to do this.

- outdoor light directly on retina (?)

- lutein/zeaxanthin (raw eggs), epa/dha (seafood)

No problems here. 25 years of screen work/play and no sore eyes/hands/wrists or anything. I do have glasses but I've had them ever since I was little.

Epidemiologists have more or less proven that the more time you spend outdoors, the less chance of your eyesight worsening. You need to spend more time where you can see the horizon.

I posted this study twice before on HN. It's a really useful result because it could save u and your loved ones from having to wear glasses.

http://bjo.bmj.com/content/93/8/997

This is not the only paper citing this finding. Go through the references and you will see more.