At Your Computer All Day? 3 Ways To Take Care Of Your Eyes
If you work a desk job where you spend a significant amount of your time sitting in front of a computer all day, you want to make sure that you are taking steps to protect your eyes. Looking at computer screens all day can really strain your eyes, which is why you want to be proactive about protecting your eye health.
Check Your Lights
The first thing that you need to do is check your lights. When working on a computer, you actually don't want really bright lights. You don't want the lights to be too bright or to have too much outside light coming into your workspace.
If you have control over the lights in your office space, try to use floor lamps instead of overhead lamps. The best lights are incandescent or halogen lights when working on computer screens all day. Too much light causes glare and can hurt your eyes when competing with the light from the computer screen as well.
Reduce the Glare
Next, you want to reduce the amount of glare in your office. Position your computer so that it is not being hit directly by light from the windows or overhead lights. See if the walls in your office can be painted with a matte finish and a darker color; stark white walls tend to reflect light too much.
Put a hood over your computer to reduce the effect of glare from the lights. Alternatively, you can put an anti-glare filter over your monitor to reduce the glare that you experience while working.
Upgrade Your Screen
Next, be sure to upgrade your computer screen. LCD computer screens are designed specifically to reduce the stress on your eyes and to reduce the glare on your screen. The image is smoother on LCD screens. Many newer laptops are equipped with LCD screens, but many desktop monitors, especially older ones, have CRT screens.
CRT screens are not as easy on the eye. They flicker when displaying images. The flicker is so fast that you may not mentally register the flicker, but the flicker can still strain your eyes and make you feel more tired when working on your computer.
When you upgrade your screen, go for a larger display over a smaller display. A larger display will allow you to better see things on your screen and use larger fonts for your work. This will help reduce eye strain as well.
When you work in an office, do what you can to create an environment that is easy on your eyes. For more information, talk to companies like Battery Park Vision Associates.