Having constant headaches at work
polycounter lvl 9
So I've been working the past month in a studio and everything went well at first during the first month.
However, recently,these past days (weeks!), every day after a few hours of work, my eyes start to burn and so does my forehead. In the end, I'm having these terrible headaches in the middle of my work and they can last the whole day.:(
My only way of reducing my pain is to close my eyes or back off from the computer for a bit but the moment I get back in front of the screen, the pain gets to me again...
It's weird because the first weeks I stayed over time to work on my projects and was fine. Now, I leave at due time so I can sleep early but still have these headaches...
It's really starting to weight heavy on my productivity. The other day, to solve the problem, I closed my eyes to lay my mind at rest and ended up sleeping . Both the CG supervisor and the anim lead came to wake me up which really made things awkward.-_-
Anyone ever been through this?
It's weird cuz last year during my short film,I would work 12 hours a day non-stop in front of the screen and never had any problem...
Edit: I'm taking breaks every fifteen minutes or so but still, if anyone has a better solution..
However, recently,these past days (weeks!), every day after a few hours of work, my eyes start to burn and so does my forehead. In the end, I'm having these terrible headaches in the middle of my work and they can last the whole day.:(
My only way of reducing my pain is to close my eyes or back off from the computer for a bit but the moment I get back in front of the screen, the pain gets to me again...
It's weird because the first weeks I stayed over time to work on my projects and was fine. Now, I leave at due time so I can sleep early but still have these headaches...
It's really starting to weight heavy on my productivity. The other day, to solve the problem, I closed my eyes to lay my mind at rest and ended up sleeping . Both the CG supervisor and the anim lead came to wake me up which really made things awkward.-_-
Anyone ever been through this?
It's weird cuz last year during my short film,I would work 12 hours a day non-stop in front of the screen and never had any problem...
Edit: I'm taking breaks every fifteen minutes or so but still, if anyone has a better solution..
Replies
or you´re not getting enough oxygen ?
iam not a doctor.. but these would come to mind
Since it's seriously affecting your work I'd suggest going to a doctor as well.
Well,I don't experience this at home so it's probably where I'm at .
I'm startin to think it has alot to do with the temperature...
It's sweating hot here...
About sleeping at my desk, it was not on purpose -_-!
Not sure about the eye strain though. All of these could have multiple causes and may not be directly related to each other.
Aside from that, monitor or lighting conditions can do it-- see if your monitor has PWM (pulse width modulation) ie 'flicker' which can cause eye fatigue. You could also try investing in a pair of computer glasses, which block glare and harmful blue light. Not a great option if you're doing sensitive color work, but can definitely help in the long-term health of your eyes. Would suggest either Gunnar or Gamma Rays.
I prefer the mist because I have a phobia of putting things into my eyes but the drops offer more relief.
I'm dealing with some bad fatigue/ headaches myself but I just had a blood test done and I'm going to do a "sleep study" so that should hopefully offer some insight. I'd definitely recommend seeing a doctor.
Caffeine is basically the only thing that enables me to function at the moment. Also make sure you exercise enough and watch your diet.
Im glad the burn isn't permanent.
Try compare what's different from your working environment and when you are at home. Those difference maybe the things causing your headache. Technical things is huge too, like the refresh rate of your monitor, chair height, even smells of something.
Or somethings is that you are so used to your home setting, that your work setting is similar that your body doesn't really adjust, but since there are actual differences, the body starts to do weird things.
When you are aware of those differences that are causing your headache, your body may start to adjust and your headache may be gone.
Isn't the studio air-conditioned?
But everyone is different. They have special tinted glasses to prevent eye-strain that might be worth looking into (har har), but seriously, I hear they work great.
This and water drinking have been my best solutions right now. Especially the water, thx for the suggestion.
It's 25 in there which is allright but some days, the air is really heavy on me, I admit.
I'm not going to complain at the studio though, I'm still just a small guy here.
thx for the kind words and will definitely look into eye water drops (if they dont cost too much)!
Maybe they're just dry..
as above drink more water and take regular breaks (also look at if you are lacking sleep and make sure to take breaks at home as well), even go outside a few times a day/walk around the block.
light can also have a significant impact (for example right now its dark and I havent turned on my lights yet and I can feel a headache/eye strain coming so I will adjust the lighting in the room right now...).
when it comes to home lighting you have full control over the setup whereas in the office you have almost no control. so here are a few things to consider.
1. are you sat next to a large window? if so, close the blinds (if possible) so there is no peripheral sunlight/skylight when you are looking at your screen or move/position your monitors so there is none.
2. where are the nearest office lights located? do you get glare or again peripheral bright light? move/adjust your monitors again to compensate.
3. what are the light levels? is the ambient light in the room considerably darker than your monitor? is it considerably brighter? either adjust your monitor brightness to be a similar level or alternatively turn a desk lamp on behind your monitor if the room is too dark.
the above seems to work for myself but it can depend on the person.
further things to consider:
1. distance from your monitor: in general you want to be able to reach your arms out full stretch and just be able to touch your monitors with your fingertips.
2. every 15-20 minutes it is a good idea to focus/look at something far away or direct your attention away from your monitor.
3. get in the habit of getting up from your desk to go talk to people instead of using in office IM. this provides you with a break and it is often easier and faster to communicate.
4. if you have had eye strain/headaches during the day at work, avoid using your computer that evening and take a night off, get a good nights sleep, relax away from all screens.
5. generally avoid continuous high contrast in your environment (colour, light, sound, smell, heat).
defiantly go and get your eyes checked by a optometrist and explain your circumstances to them!
poor lighting or glare could contribute to strain.
drink a tonne of water
check monitor and desk posture. distance you have to look at the screen etc..
good luck! i know the pain all to well.
you could also try gunnars but I found them a waste of money, some people love them though.
Left on factory settings it really harmed my eyes.
I needed some time to understand that these bright monitors where my problem.
At the end I hardly could look at my iphone in darkness - the contrast was killing me.
Now, after I reduced brightness to 25% everything is fine again.
Next problem I had was with low monitors like laptops.
Looking downwards for some time really caused headaches and dizziness.
My monitors are pretty high now, forcing me to watch horizontal.
That helped me a lot.
And sure, drinking water is pretty important and helps
I had terrible migraine every day, my vision drops of a minimum 0.5 every year it was catastrophique
I got gunnars RX almost 4 years ago ( and i'm kinda of blind -5.25) I wore them as my main glasses, Good bye daily migraine, good bye eye strained, my vision almost DIDN'T change, It really changed my life and no, you don'T saw everything in yellow.
Was going to say the same thing after reading the comments. I have problems with headaches, but not the same problems that most others do.
Good suggestions around, I'd pay a little attention to when and how you get them. Hydration/eye/neck strain can be common. Also congestion, stress, sleep, diet, worms, perfume, dubstep, etc. Whatever questions and observations you can answer to a doctor, the better.
I talked about eye strain with an optometrist once several years ago just about general concern with staring at a screen for hours on end. He said eye strain is very often caused by dry eyes, and if you are in a hardcore work groove and really focused, its possible that you will start blinking less.
Ever since I've gotten in the habit of blinking more when my eyes feel dry...I've had very, very few (if any) eye strains...even when working long hours.
Secondly, are there air vents or fans near you? I found that sitting at certain positions where the ventilation is near me causes my eyes to dry out. It's so slight that I don't notice it but after a couple of hours my eyes burn and hurt.
Next up would probably be to check your eyes out, sounds like you're straining them a lot and you might have some issues that you don't know about? Quick eye-doctor checkup would probably be good
Here at my office its your typical overhead fluorescent fixtures and I HATE them. After just a few hours or so if I don't get up and walk around or pop outside for a bit I'll start to get a headache. Worse yet, when the ballasts get old they will cause the bulbs to flicker.
Conversely, at home, I've got a warm colored LED lamp behind my displays, and I can happily sit there for hours with no issues at all.
Try getting a little fan just for your desk.
Look around a bit, there are quieter ones etc that might be nicer.
Another thing you can try is one of those neck braces that cools you down.
never tried them though.
At home, ti's so fresh, I can wear my hoodie.-_- I never experience this problem.
I'm not going over and complain though, I will just try to survive through this for the next 2 weeks until my time here is done.
I also avoid putting on my headphones, noise just worsen my case.
I'm considering the Gunnar glasses thing though, because the ''burning eye'' problem, I still have it at home after long periods behind the PC...
It's funny cuz I see many people with sweat all over their face and wet spots on their armpits, yet when I ask them if they think it's hot, they tell me it's allright haha
I have a handful of these types of glasses, mostly Gunnar and they work very very very well. Literally removed eye strain altogether, no more headaches either. I recommend the Steelseries Desmo if you can find then, they can get a bit pricey though. Otherwise the RPG series is pretty good (also has with a Razer theme). For non Gunnars, theres the CoD branded ones by Allure which work pretty good too. https://www.allure-eyewear.com/call-of-duty/
You'd think so, but it's brain parasites.
I know, I know, but to an extent, we all pass our day focus on screens all week long and I wondered how you people handled it in the long run and if you felt any sort of sickness.
I've got warnings to stop doing thread like this, I'm sorry.