How I reduced eye fatigue

Alex_J

This will be obvious for a lot of people but just want to report what I learned in case its helpful. Been working on computers since 2017 and most days I feel fatigue in my eyes at end of the day. Sometimes it's even still there when I wake up. 

I just assumed it was endemic to the work. But finally I stopped being a dumbass and actually searched about eye fatigue. There is a number of apps available, some free, some paid, which are designed to reduce eye fatigue. Usually they change the temperature of the screen or reduce brightness.

I use one called CareUEyes (great name) which I think was found on the microsoft app store. It's pretty good cause dims the brightness in addition to color temperature.

I dramatically lower the brightness of my screen - usually 30-50% depending on brightness of the room. I make color temp about 25% warmer. I've noticed that I feel almost no eye strain any longer even though I am working same amount of hours as usual. So it seems to actually have a positive effect.

Eric Chadwick

Nice one. I use a browser extension called Dark Reader, to darken bright-themed websites.

poopipe

I don't want to dismiss any techniques that work for people but a lot of people I know personally who've complained about eye fatigue were sitting in the dark all day. 

either that or they're using the cheap 4k screens that Dell were shitting out 3-4 years ago, those things are a blurry mess

Alex_J

@Eric Chadwick  I use that as well! I find it handy even for some sites that have a dark mode, because with dark reader you can also control the contrast and temperature. For example reddit has high contrast that bugs my eyes, but with that extension I can adjust it for comfort. Polycount is perfect as is, of course.

@poopipe I do use a somewhat lousy old tv which probably isn't the best thing. But luckily my office is pretty well lit. It seems to feel best to me to get the brightness of the screen to where it's about the same brightness as the wall behind it, and also for the contrast to be very low. About like reading text on paper. 

Obviously for a lot of art task this isn't viable but for majority of my time, keeping it that way seems to help. What I like about using the app is that you can just toggle it all on and off easily.

gnoop

Usually any affordable  screen calibration device  when you try to calibrate for sRGB   suggests you  to make your screen  100-120  lm2 .  Usually like 3 times  less nuke  than your screen can .       With higher  target values you need somewhat expensive pro level  calibrator and quickly dying sensors  while affordable one  just can't work reliably .      So it's sort of natural .  Your eyes are ok  , your calibrator lives longer too .

I have another issue . My eyes are getting dry and sore  because of lack of tears  or something.    It's still my best cure  years after:  https://youtu.be/fVJmMq0aIYk?si=aHVbI6MCNHZfeRlO

Alex_J

@gnoop thanks, i'll check that out, would be interesting to see what default values for my screen is outputting. after using dimmed screen for awhile, going back to normal display feels like a mag light shining at me.

lol, celine  for the win. my mom used to listen to that on repeat during long car trips. great memories

iam717

Over head fans or central air units = A.C.'s can add to issues, also need natural lighting in the room is a good bonus and figure out a way to deflect the bounce light, a very old program called f.lux i used to use now i do not use anything, no tricks i just be sure to get natural light onto my eyes and viewing long distances more that i used to.  There is also a defect the eyes go through when they adjust to the screen which starts to seemingly collapse the eye shell and cause warping, which once i learned about this i took very seriously.

metamorphopsia

Ophthalmoplegia

& for those that have had eye surgery/s: eye collapse syndrome

Just a heads up.

eating well is really important for all functions of existence, sadly it would seem that 95% of people living at anytime are not told how to even eat.  I won't change this threads topic cause i can bring up all causes of issues and it wouldn't be helpful to the concern currently, wanted to inform about the dysmorphia created with long term screen use.

Yerus

Basically have a lot of natural light incoming from your computer side, use 'night light' 24/7 if you are using Windows. Screen to be located up to your eyeline (to avoid half blinks and consequent dry eyes). Do self healing exercices, here in Brasil we have Tatiana Gebrael  teaching those, Idk about english speaking people doing that. I've done those exercices when my doctor told me to use glasses because of eye fatigue, but I refused to use them olny because of fatigue, so I fortified my eyes and reverted the fatigue, no need for glasses, they will only worsen your eyesight. And the most important advice: don't rush to go to your computer in the morning, take big deep breaths scanning through the window, or even going outside for a bit to behold the landcape. Trust me, makes a night and day difference!

rodrigocox

I'd say, get tons of indirect light on your workspace as much as possible. If you have a bright window, perfect, but still get a overhead warm led light against the wall your monitor is in, and another one behind you. 
I work on a hybrid company and just attend to the office once a week. They have a kinda "gamer vibe" environment at the office with very poor lighting, I find myself with red eyes and super tyred by 2pm already. At home I can work 12h without a problem.
Make sure there is no direct light going on your eye, I had a very bad eye fatigue problem in another studio where the lights where direct, I had to work with a visor on.
cheers.

Alex_J

@Yerus @rodrigocox
yeah i've been trying to work outside on my laptop as much as i can lately, and it definitely helps a lot. it can be a little hard to see the screen at some times of the day, but overall feeling a lot less fatigued if i spend at least a few hours outside like that

Shrike

While the other comments are true, you also have to eat right and there are surely supplements which help with that as well

Alex_J

what do you eat which effects eye fatigue?

iam717

What you want to do is eat what is meant for the system not try to figure out what is causing the issue. 

(sadly you will find 90% of "food" to be not so great, i suppose people base the "judgements" on what is "worth it" against its taste of satisfaction level.)  For me having learned about eating by experience has been beneficial but i would have rather the people before me to have handled that situation ahead of my "entry".  I suppose then i do not learn why i had to learn it in the 1st place anyway, to topic.

Just going to add what has been "working for me",before i start you need to be aware that some people in existence $ benefit from your ill-nesses so when "conflicts of interests in topics arise", they will come along to deflect with anything they can.

Having said that, I basically did all the "fad" diets... and all the "sleeping tricks", go to sleep if you can at 8:30pm - 9:30pm 8 is better (so right after sun down your time), get up way earlier starve till 12.pm your cells clean out the dying cells and replenish with healthier cells.  

To say this next part it is easier for you to search the matter out, at the beginnings of the "scriptures" the very beginnings the creator tells you what is food, expand on it, you will get it.  The clue is there put a little effort into it and you'll get it it is not very hard.  I do not want to out right say it cause, you will select your own & if everyone learned about it i do not see supply meeting demand if that makes sense.  

Which then goes into why we need our own gardens and become family "farmers", in a way, which then leads to us needing our own lands, which is how i think this "world" should have been run, which then gets us out of the hands of these "criminals" which then brings about our "free-expressions" without 3rd party hindrances, but i suppose until then that is "wishful" thinking.  This is why i have to hold back typing in topics cause it all leads to the same issues.

Alex_J

so bread then? the staff of life?

Shrike

For Eyesight / Strain
Omega 3 helps reduce eye strain and in general is extremely important to live a healthy life. Salmon, Tuna etc
Spinach, Kale have height lutein and zeaxanthin which help against degeneration
Carrots and Sweet potatoes beta-carotene
Citrus / Vitamin C in general, and Zinc
Blueberries and Grapes also can help blood flow to the eyes

General Health:
Overall what I learned is that everything is connected.
Lets say you don't get enough Vitamin D, or you eat too much carbs or not enough protein. This reduces your testosterone and general energy levels. Low testosterone gives you less energy again, makes you slower and makes you take worse decisions as your brain degrades. Being more sluggish and less smart makes you eat even worse food. This then again reduces your testosteron levels even further, leading you to a terrible downwards spiral even if just one thing is neglected.
I had terrible hand strain on my right hand. I thought its because I work too much. Resting the hand did very little and it quickly reappeared. Turns out I was lacking Vitamin D and Magnesium simply.


In the end there's no magic tricks, eat the right mix of protein, omega 3 and vegetables (polyphenes) to keep inflammations down, check if your other levels are ok (Vitamin C / D / E, Magnesium, Zync etc) drink plenty of water and do physical activity and you will be in the best form for about everything. Nuts and spices have a lot of positive effects on your body as well. This is what I learned in the last years of doing a bit of research and starting to care about these things.