How to reduce eyestrain

Working long hours in front of the computer can cause eyestrain, particularly when your computer monitor has not been properly set and does not include any screen filter. Common symptoms of eye fatigue include the difficulty to focus on your screen, seeing color fringes when you look somewhere else other that your screen and difficulty concentrating from your paper work to your computer screen. Severe eyestrains can also lead to migraines and in the long run damage your eyesight. This article will give you some small tips on how you can reduce these effects.

Solution 1: Adjust the right refresh Rate

How often your screen is being refreshed is an important factor to consider. Choose a refresh rate that ranges between 85 Hz and 120 Hz. This is particularly advised for CRT monitors.

Solution 2: Configure properly the screen contrast and brightness

If the screen is either too dark or too bright, this might also cause eyestrain. Hence, remember to always adjust your monitor to a lower level when working on text documents. You can also choose to reduce to 6000 the color temperature option of your monitor. However, if you are working with images, configure the gamma settings of your monitor accordingly.

Solution 3: Correct your screen’s working environment.

If you are using word windows with black backgrounds and yellow or white fonts, it might be very fancy but not very healthy for your eyes. Choose light colors and darker fonts to ease your reading. Also, the layout of your taskbars, desktop and working windows are also important. Hence, do not use too many contrasting colors. Choose those that harmonize with the surrounding screen environment as well as your eyes.

Solution 4: Avoid light reflections and glares

If you have a window behind you, ensure that you have closed the curtains to avoid any reflections on the monitor’s screen. Do not make use of fluorescent light in your working room. If you are used to work at night, use a table lamp placed preferably on your left and facing the keyboard, with a white light rather than a yellow one.

Solution 5: Don’t forget to take breaks

Breaks will allow you to rest your eyes for a few minutes and hence building less stress to avoid eyestrain problems. I would hence suggest you to take small breaks of 10 minutes every hour or of 15 minutes every 2 hours.