What do you do for Computer Eyes

I have a great deal of trouble with this to the point I am sometimes sure I am going blind.

You are straining your eyes.

#1 Look away from your computer one time per hour - look at something as far away as you can for a minute. (this has been taught in Ergonomics in large corporations for years).

#2 Get up and move around at least every few hours and do anything except look at your computer.

#3 Actually close your eyes and rest them for at least 15 minutes when you are really feeling the EYE STRAIN. (some days this is literally the only thing that helps)

#4 Get some eye drops and use them - up to 4 times a day - they have ones that are for dry eyes -

#5 Eye strain is also caused by poor lighting AND if your monitor is not at eye level - that means you are not looking up or looking down but straight ahead.

#6 If you do not have glasses already - You may need them - the best are tinted to reduce the glare from the screen or flourescent lighting -

Mine are progressive - they are for reading and computer (short range and mid range)
Every year they get stronger at about $500 per year.

Don't have a cavalier attitude or be in denial - you can really go blind from certain conditions that may not seem like anything but eye strain - so be sure to see an eye doctor every year or two max.

P.S. Your keyboard can help you too - if you hold down Ctrl (control) and click the + key you can make your display larger which helps alot. (or control and - sign for smaller to put it back to regular)

Smoke LOTS of pot.

Okay - yeah, I was kidding.

Pat's nailed it down pretty well. I usually do the look out the window bit about every 15 to 20 minutes, then I shut my eyes for one or two minutes. Every 50 minutes I go outside for a few minute break,too - it's not only eyes that get sick of sitting in front of a computer.

After every hour I take a break of 10 minz or so and then watch all my plants in my balcony !!

That gives me a lot of energy and freshness !!!

That is also my problem because my eyes is aching nowadays. Maybe the best thing to do is to limit you computer usage.

Maybe you could try putting a cucumber to avoid your eyes from getting dried.

Those are great tips, Patrician. You pretty much covered it.
I have a really hard time actually following those tips though. I work an 8-5 desk job and basically stare at the the computer screen for eight hours. I really find it difficult to actually take the time out to rest my eyes. I've been getting killer eye-strain headaches lately.

I find it helpful to schedule "eye breaks" on my outlook calendar to remind me throughout the day, when exactly I should be taking my breaks. That makes it a little easier.

hy friend i do have a problem only solution is to use optics.

this is a huge weakness of mine.

i need totake pauses of 20 seconds each 30 minutes or 1 hour.

take brakes....thats it.

I'm not doing anything about this issue but thankful because Patrician really did an amazing job for sharing those tips.

I use a matte screen on my glossy macbook, which has also helped

I try all the time to never stare at my monitor. Its not that hard once you get accustomed to it.

Bernard

I'm a graphic/print designer by day looking at my 27" iMac as close range for 8-9+ hours a day, so I have looked into this quite a lot as I now wear glasses for reading and didn't use to.

The reason your eye's are aching is because your eyes are focused on the same point at a fixed point. It's like staring at a wall for 9 hours.

So I do these following things everyday..

1. Everytime my drink is finished, I go and make another one. This gives me a good 5 minutes to let my eyes explore and massage themselves.

2. I go on youtube and listen to some song's I havent heard before and just close my eyes and listen to them.

3. I have got myself in the habit of not focusing on my screen so much. I constantly look around while I am working.

4. DONT USE YOUR COMPUTER IN THE DARK. This makes your eyes work twice as hard.

Other tips?

If your a smoker, don't smoke at your desk, go outside and have a break.

Hope this helps.

this is a huge weakness of mine ....i just am too concentrated on the damn screen, I need to take brakes. This is awful for my eyes.

I take breaks so that my eyes had time to rest away from computer screen or I close my eyes for a minute then work again.

I worked in EDGE Systems International College for one year. I was working as an IT lab instructor. There was a student shahar bano she was facing some problem like this. after some time working on computer her eyes became wet. i asked her to contact some eyes expert.

I think alot of factors go into eye problems. Definitely looking at computers for multiple hours don't help. I remember when I just passed the age of 30 & then BAMM I had to get glasses. At that point of my life I was on computers for about 8 years already. So put 2 + 2 together and now I have glasses. I agree with alot of the above posts. Take a break and give your eyes at least 5 minutes rest.

After I got mac to work, My eyes have really stopped irritating and headaches have literally stopped. So I guess, getting a good screen can be useful for your eyes.

I'm very fortunate to have a disability which forces me to get up and move around some every hour or so. I do confess to falling asleep in my new office chair a time or two (OK, a dozen times). I hate waking up at 4:00 am to go to bed.

Thomas

Get a better monitor perhaps?
I've never had eyes problem, and I spend roughly 14 hours a day online.

I run into the same problem ALL the time. Sometimes, I do not think that there is a way around it. We stare at computers so much, of course it's going to affect our eyes. I always keep eye drops with me. Sometimes I try to eat well before a long period on the computer because I find that I am less irritated and don't get headaches. If all else fails, I simply take a break. I work from home so I might shower just to relax and let the warm water hit my face or I take a nap or do something just requires minimal to no eye use/strain. Even a quick 5 minute session with your eyes closed can make a huge difference. Especially when added with eye drops

If you work on a computer, you should get up every half hour for at least 5 minutes and walk around. Helps the whole body, and the brain, not just the eyes. Learned that years ago when I was just starting in college.

Take a rest once in a while....may be 10-15 mins. break.
Have an eye drop.
Take vitamins or supplements like vitamin A which is good for the eyes.

Drinking more water really helps. Also doing some body exercises every day.

This happened to me last night at about 3am!! eye drops are the way to go and great tip about looking at something far away for 1 minute every hour or so I will diffidently give that a try to sort give my eye a stretch. :p

This thread is very helpful. Thanks for bringing this up cgbaloot. I know when I need a break when eyes start watering - like Im crying infront of the monitor - this makes my eyes itch a lot.
NEVER rub your eyes.
I go then get a drink and lay on the couch until my eyes relax back.

madzstar did you read the title?

Take short breaks...Short breaks is like 15 minutes maximum in between 4 hours of working infront of your computer and after four hours take an hour break and so on so forth..

Unless I'm working on something creative I turn the brightness right down and wear sunglasses - in fact I've got my Oakleys on as I type this! Felt weird at first but my eyes have adjusted now and never seem to get tired or spur on headaches.

My doctor recommended that I take frequent breaks to 'roll' my eyes.

That is, look away from the computer and move the eyeballs by looking (smoothly, without moving your head) - left to right, right to left, right-up-left, left-up-right, right-down-left, left-down-right.

I'm guessing that after staring at a computer, fixated on one point for so long the eyeballs need to move a little to either relax or lubricate themselves properly. Not really sure what moving the eyeballs does anatomically, but it helps.

ive been getting this problem a lot lately. It just burns whether its the night or day. I tried to stay away from the CPU 1 day only and no results. I need to take brakes i guess but why the burning? maybe the computer light had big effects.

It's recommended to just stare at something in the distant for a few seconds to avoid this

For me, Bias Lighting is the best solution - plus everything everyone else has suggested in this thread.

Bias backlighting is simply a strip of certain color temperature LED lights arrached to the back of the computer monitor.

There's an interesting review of Bias Lighting here:

Bias lighting and your computer monitor: $13 for more comfortable gaming

Antec, who makes an inexpensive and popular bias light strip for computer monitors has not very professional video here:

http://youtu.be/ujut3M1y-Is

You can purchase a good bias light online at the following url. (Not an affiliate link.) Alas, when I checked today they are temporarily out of stock, but they do have a good description of why Bias Lighting works.

Antec.com - Product: BIAS LIGHTING

When they get bad just turn off the PC.

Other things that help ME.

Use LCD monitor vs old style tube. Turn down screen brightness. Using the computer in a dark room.

Taking a break definitely can help. And just splash some water on your face.
Go outside and get some fresh air. After a short time the eyes come back to
normal.

what i do is wear sunglasses with UV protection

1. blink
2. blink
3. blink
4. blink
5. blink

get reading glasses and be sure to take a break every so often. Personally, I make it a point to stare down the keyboard whenever Im typing so I dont stare much on the monitor.