Reducing Eye Strain? 69
torok asks: "Recently my optometrist prescribed corrective lenses, which is new for me. Being a programmer and staring at a screen all day doesn't help anyone's eyes, of course, but the default white backgrounds appear to be particularly troublesome. I wonder if others on Slashdot have noticed the same thing, and what they've done to help alleviate the problem. Is a grey or black background with white or grey text easier on the eyes, or worse due to lack of contrast or imperfect foreground colors? What about different lighting conditions and, of course, LCD vs. 100Hz CRT?"
Joy of Spex (Score:5, Informative)
In particular all of your questions are answered here [poynton.com], the second entry on Google's list.
On a more practical note, assuming that your existing monitor and video card are in good working order, and that the monitor is positioned properly, the one thing that you need to do is to focus your eyes somewhere other than your monitor at regular intervals - say every five minutes.
Look at the wall, look out the window - anything to break from focusing only at that screen 18 inches in front of you.
Understand that the lighting should be dimmer than the usual office setting.
And sad to say, your need for eye-glasses may just be a reflection of the aging process [grimmemennesker.dk], not your work environment.
Besides, who says glasses aren't a good thing [joyofspex.com]?
Re:Joy of Spex (Score:2)
In the rooms with the public PCs at my uni (which I'm using now as don't have own PC yet), they have loads of *extremely* bright flourescent lights (in the ceiling) which hurt your eyes even when you go into the room, and are really annoying when viewing the LCD screens.
Re:Joy of Spex (Score:3, Informative)
And an excellent program I've found to force you to do just that (and take regular breaks) is Workrave [workrave.org]
I also went back and forth looking for a "solution" to eye strain. I ended up getting my first pair of glasses. But that doesn't keep me from utilizing my little handful of tips I learned (some of which were learned from a similar Slashdot post 6-8 months back)
eyes every five minutes.- thank you sir! (Score:1)
now I have justification!
zerg (Score:5, Informative)
Find a timer, set it to 45 minutes, and each time it goes off, get up and walk around for a couple of minutes. Make sure while you're walking, you try to focus on something in the distance.
Problem solved.
(not satisfied? more [slashdot.org])
Dark Colors (Score:4, Informative)
Yellow on Blue (Score:2, Interesting)
It's still an option in MS Word from the good ol' text days.
Other tips (Walk around 5-10 mins. every 45 minutes or so.) have already been mentioned.
Re:Yellow on Blue (Score:2)
It's white text, not yellow, on a blue background.
And it's not left from the "good ol' text days", it's there because Jerry Pournelle (sci-fi author and Byte magazine columnist) told them to put it there to match the good ol' text days - he claimed no one would want to use it otherwise. Once again, default settings beat good sense.
--Ender
MS Word Possible Solution (Score:2, Informative)
Hope this helps. While it might not be personally applicable, most people do use Word XP so I thought it could be a possible answer.
Re:MS Word Possible Solution (Score:2)
Sub ToggleBlue()
'
' ToggleBlue Macro
' Macro recorded 8/6/2003 by Ender Stonebender
'
If Options.BlueScreen = True Then
Options.BlueScreen = False
ElseIf Options.BlueScreen = False Then
Options.BlueScreen = True
End If
End Sub
You can get to it through the m
Re:MS Word Possible Solution (Score:2)
Options.BlueScreen = Not (Options BlueScreen)
Not that an line of code matters in such a trivial place, haha. I was just wondering how restricted VBA really is. (I'm a VB/.NET/SQL coder; but I've never used VBA)
Re:MS Word Possible Solution (Score:2)
Larger text. (Score:2)
Also, a higher refresh helps, I find 85hz the lowest I'd go.
Re:Larger text. Ummm okay (Score:3, Informative)
boy do I hate this answer. Why? Because You can have big fonts with a hi-resolution. Just change your DPI settings and or your font settings. Windows and X-Windows will let you adjust your screen font to a larger size I am sure the Mac can as well. If you have two fonts of equal physical size the higher resolution one will be easier on the eyes.
Now having a higer refresh rate is a very good plan. I use the highest resolution that my monitor and video care will support
Re:Larger text. Ummm okay (Score:2)
Also, if you just change DPI, it doesnt change all programs, so things look off. DPI wont change fixed font's either, so any program like terminal programs (console anyone?) will still be 8point.
Windows have enough flaws, messing around with DPI and font settings is more pain than just dropping resolution.
Re:Larger text. Ummm okay (Score:2)
Re:Larger text. Ummm okay (Score:1)
ever
seen was with Noia2 theme on Firefox rendering an extra piece of each button in the Options. As for console windows, you can change the properties to any monospace type you desire, as well as background, foreground, size, and so on. Or is Properties too hard to do? In X-Windows it's even more trivial to set a default. Sheesh!contrast and environment (Score:2, Interesting)
Reducing eyestrain (Score:5, Informative)
1. Bright white text on a black background. Yellow or green also works. Less glare, good contrast, etc. Great for x-terms. Harder in Word. Find what works for you.
2. Dialup your font sizes and/or zoom in. My friends used to tease me about using "fonts for the blind" on my x-terms, but I like not squinting and leaning into the screen to read stuff. Yes, you cannot fit as much stuff on the screen, but what you can see is readable.
3. Bigger is better. Get at least a 21" CRT monitor or a 19" LCD. It helps make (2) easier -- you're less tempted to use small fonts to see everything you need to see.
4. LCD's seem to experience less glare, be clearer, flicker-free, and have a myriad of other benefits. I like them, but I still appreciate a nice, big flat-screen Trinitron CRT monitor. The moral of the story is to spend a few extra bucks for bigger, clearer, and higher-quality. Money comes and goes, but you only lose your eyesight once.
5. Your eye doctor can prescribe "computer glasses". For the older folks among us, this can be a huge help. The problem is that most computer users sit about 3' from the screen. This is too close for your distance/driving glasses but too far away for your reading glasses. Finding a mid-range prescription can make a huge difference and reduce eye-strain.
6. Don't work in the dark. Don't work under really bright lights. I find the best computer lighting to be just a little too dark to comfortable read by.
7. Follow all those ergonomics suggestions that your HR department hands out. For example, get up and walk around every hour or two. This gives you a chance to stretch, focus your eyes at a distance, etc. Drink more water -- it's good for you and you'll have to pee more, which makes you get up more. You'll actually be more productive, despite the breaks.
Re:Reducing eyestrain (Score:1)
I find white text on a black background very difficult to read on an LCD monitor. It's usually readable for the first few lines, but after a while it becomes very difficult to follow the lines, and scrolling the text causes visual phantoms which make it harder to read the rest of the text until my eyes adjust again. I find using white text on
Re:Reducing eyestrain (Score:1)
I've not experienced the "phantom" lines, though I use black text on white often (on webpages in general, e.g. Slashdot).
I actually have had my default window colors set as black on very light gray for some time now. I find it easier to read than black on pure white.
Re:Reducing eyestrain (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Reducing eyestrain (Score:1)
My eye doctor recommended an 'antiglare' tinting for my lenses since most of my day is spent sitting in front of a computer. It's part of the scratch coat, cost around $45/lens and is really only noticable when I take them off and look extra hard for it.
Also see http://workrave.sf.net/ [sf.net] for a Windows and Linux program to help you take breaks and avoid eyestrain, repetitive stress injuries, etc.
Re:Reducing eyestrain (Score:2)
(Cyan = full (bright) Green + full Blue)
Much easier on my eyes than white on black.
Green on black (Score:5, Interesting)
There is method in this:
1) it uses a single gun on CRTs which means there are fewer alignment problems even on shonky monitors,
2) it's typically the brightest phosphor, on CRTs, and I think the brightest filter on LCDs too, to my eyes,
3) the human eye picks up green very well, (might explain (2) to some extent),
4) picking a single colour means spectacle lens-wearers don't get chromatic aberrations which arise when looking at an angle through the lens.
The other thing I'd say is, pay extra if necessary for spectacle lenses with the anti-reflective coating. Ambient lighting glare on normal specs is a nightmare especially if you're using a screen all day and the coating does work.
Re:Green on black (Score:2)
Re:Green on black (Score:3, Interesting)
I daresay your eyes might like a little color workout - or are you doing a scientific study on the retina for burn-in?
Don't expect too much (Score:3, Insightful)
Some people approach this question as if by making a few simple changes they could have avoided the need for correction, any by making them now they can [stop|reverse] the damage. That is not realistic. In most cases there is no damage that is causing the problem. It is just a fact of like that your eyes undergo drastic changes at certain times in your life. Many people suddenly start needing glasses at 10, and bifocals at 45. Get over it.. No exercise, diet, or strain elimination program will solve the problem for most people.
Yes you should eliminate eye strain, exercise regularly, eat healthy foods, and all those other things you keep hearing about. Not doing some of that is not the cause of your problems (though it might make it worse), so changing won't change your problem.
Cleartype? (Score:3, Informative)
But I go home and stare at my XP desktop with Cleartype enable, and I have a *much* better time of it, even on the white-screen/black-text stuff.
Re:Cleartype? (Score:2)
Green on green (Score:1)
My Tips (Score:5, Informative)
My tips from my experiences - or: how I prefer to work.
At work, I have to live with two bands of linear flourescent lamps (22W each, I guess) each, shared for four tables. They produce enough light, but it is not as homogenous as the ring lamp. The desk at work has a light wood decor. Not optimal, but it works, because it is usually burried under heaps of paper.
Why: The low contrast between monitor and work environment reduces stress for the eyes. Try it: find a dark room and look onto a bright PC display (TFT or CRT) for a few minutes. I can't stand it longer than a few minutes.
For CRTs, adjust the refresh rate to something between 85 Hz and 120 Hz. Depending on the light, there may be some flicker effects if the frequency of your light's power supply and the refresh rate are small integer multiples of a common base frequency: 50 Hz power supply for the light and 75 Hz refresh rate (2 : 3) cause massive flicker on my monitors, followed by a headache after a few minutes. Setting the refresh rate to 85 Hz removes this effect. Use the resolution recommended by the manufacturer of the monitor, or the next smaller resolution. Do not use the theoretical maximum resolution from the data sheet or the catalogue, this is the resolution that just does not kill the monitor, but it is not the optimum resolution.
I recommend to use not more than 1024 x 768 on a 17 inch CRT / 15 inch TFT. Buy a larger monitor if you permanently need higher resolutions.
Re:My Tips (Score:4, Interesting)
CRTs have always been measured by the size of the picture tube. However, you can't project right to the edge of the tube, so they build the case over top of the unusable edges, and end up with a smaller viewable area (a stat most manufacturers have, although much harder to find). A 17" CRT often has closer to 15.5" viewable area. TFTs on the other hand are 100% usable. A 15" TFT has 15" viewable area.
It's still a dirty trick, but there is at least some merit to the measurement.
Re:My Tips (Score:2)
Place the monitor directly on the desk, don't place it on a desktop case or a monitor stand. Make sure you do not have to look up to see the entire screen. Many monitor manuals recommend to adjust the monitor so that you look onto the center of the CRT / TFT, but I prefer to look from above onto the monitor, with my eyes just above the case, in a distance of 1.5 times the monitor diameter.
The problem if you look down is that you are going to get awful neck problems with time. Your eyes should alway
If you're on OS X (Score:4, Informative)
Personally, I think it's a lifesaver - 8 hours of using my computer without it, and I feel like I've spent the day staring into a flashlight.
Re:If you're on OS X (Score:3, Informative)
When I check out the default color settings now I
Excellent posts on this subject 7 days ago... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Excellent posts on this subject 7 days ago... (Score:1)
Here's what I've found.. (Score:2)
This gives a few problems on things that still insist on using white backgrounds, unfortunately, but there's not
LCD all the way (Score:2)
Recently I purchased 2 19" LCD screens, and my comfort level has i
Re:LCD all the way (Score:2)
And for color scheme: After making websites and wondering about this here and there, I've found the most comfortable scheme to be a background at around 80-85% luminosity with black type.
reducing eye strain (Score:2, Informative)
- make sure your eyes are not tense - whatever you do (learn to be aware of it)
- avoid/minimize repetitive computer work
- split the workload over many sessions
- eliminate glares/reflections from the screen
- take frequent breaks (every 15min)
- make sure to get enough sleep
- dust-free environment is very important
- get enough fluids (2-3L/day for most people)
- good, crisp display at minimum 80Hz refresh rate
- eye relaxing exorcizes can be ver
Re:reducing eye strain (Score:2)
Thanks for reminding me. It's been a few weeks.
Re:reducing eye strain (Score:2)
Why is this?
Re:reducing eye strain (Score:1)
Lighting, Monitors and such (Score:1)
bookmarklet - zap white backgrounds (Score:2)
Black text on mid/light grey (Score:2)
Also LCDs are way better than CRTs. The image is just plain *sharper* and solid as a rock.
--
Simon
Re:Black text on mid/light grey (Score:2)
One of the more elegant descriptions of the problem that I've run across was someone who suggested the question:
"Would you ask your users to stare at a lit flourescent tube for hours at a time"?
Any sensible person would answer "Of course not!"
Then you just point out that a computer screen is in fact a flourescent tube, and a white window is a fully-lit portion of flourescent tube. If your windows have white for a background color, you
Workrave (Score:3, Informative)
Workrave [workrave.org]
My tips (Score:3, Insightful)
At home I have a small halogen desklight that is behind my 21". I turn it on at night and it iluminates my desk and the area around the monitor so your not looking at a bight monitor with darkness behind it.
And if you can use a LCD or a laptop.
LCD + CRT dual head = bad idea (Score:3, Interesting)
I have a dual head setup using a CRT and an LCD, and the combination does _not_ work well together.
My LCD is brighter due to it's backlight, while my CRT is blurrier. Moving my gaze between screens causes a nasty context switch to my eyes.
Look up (Score:3, Informative)
Hz HZ hz Hz (hertz( (Score:1)
what about slashdot (Score:1)
Re:what about slashdot (Score:2)
Proper setup (Score:2)
First, some background: Most CRT products are set up out of the box in what could only be described as "torch mode." The color temperature is set so high that the thing appears blueish in almost all lighting, and the contrast at such a setting that most shades of grey are pushed up the gamut until they're all white.
They're configured this way not as an engineering decision to improve visual quality, but as a marketing decision to sell
low cost solution (Score:2)