How far do you sit from your screen?
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- BusterBoy
My eyes are about 2 feet from my screen at work. By the end of the day I feel like I am cross eyed...think I need to move further away from the screen.
- Amicus0
I read somewhere that 55cm is good, but that was probably for a smaller screen.
The problem with newer, larger screens is that they are often too bright for extended periods of viewing. The increased resolutions of some monitors also means the text tends to be smaller which can be a problem also.
Make sure you have a break at least every hour. Have your eyes tested regularly and wash your eyes morning and night with luke warm water after washing your hands. Eye drops can be really beneficial as designers tend to blink less while doing detail work which dries the eyes.
- dorf0
about two feet for me as well. resolution is 1920x1200 on a 24". I do turn the brightness of the screen to a low as possible setting though, regular brightness just kills my eyes. I read somewhere that having a window so you can look outside and focus on distant objects helps.
Aren't there glasses that supposedly relieve eye strain?
- tOki0
It's more important to sit in a well lit room than it is to have your monitor brightness down. This is because clear natural ambient light is the best light for your eyes to read in. (subsequently the best for photography too?) Basically having it too dim will cause eye strain as details will not be as clear to read/see. If you must use a screen in a dark environment, then yes turn the brightness down!
Having a window to look out does help to let you relax your eyes, but you should have a flat neutral coloured surface behind your screen so as not to distract your eyes and cause strain (even if you are not actively looking past your monitor). You should avoid having any light source that competes with your screen from behind it such as a desk lamp, rather have the light source above & behind you. If it is too low down this will cause glare which is obviously bad.
Personally I sit about 50cm away
- fugged0
I sit about 24+" away. (17" MBP @ 1920x1200).
Eye strain is temporary. I have yet to read conclusive evidence that having low/no light in the room when using the computer is going to do any damage.
If there's natural light available, I'm all over that. But if the only light source is fluorescent, I'm turnin' that shit off and working in the dark.
- Atkinson0
2 feet from a 27" or 1 foot from a 17" mbp
- neue75_bold0
in another room, whilst having the junior do the work...
- jurassica0
2ft for me, but i have a terrible habit of moving my head quite close to the screen when i'm doing precise work instead of using the zoom tool =)
- Haha, classic. Me too. When collegues see you're face pressed against the screen they think 'Ctrl-+ you moron'.Hombre_Lobo
- Atkinson0
there's a zoom tool?
- detritus0
Fuck light rooms. Only times I've ever suffered eye strain was in well (which is to say probably over-) lit environments.
I've spent over 20 years staring at bright screens in dark rooms and I'm the only person in my family who doesn't wear glasses.
About 50cm here.... and I exercise the neck-based zoom too :)
- Hombre_Lobo0
^yeh, ive heard that the whole 'watching tv in the dark is bad for your eyes' stuff was spread by the light bulb company Ever-ready to increase light bulb sales.
- Hombre_Lobo0
i sit about 2 feet away form a 22" monitor.
*****
the important thing is to have regular breaks and focus on objects at varied distances. Looking out a window for instance.I have a timer on 45 mins (working), then 7 mins (break) then repeat.
Those 7 mins i stand looking out a window, or grabbing a snack or w/e just not looking at a screen.
- Hombre_Lobo0
Ive also noticed since having regular short breaks, you can work for longer. Probably a mixture of eye stamina and concentration levels (regular breaks are good for concentration).
- bulletfactory0
Also, I think the fact that monitors keep getting larger, yet we're sitting the same distance from a 27" that we were a 15".
- canuck0
1.5-2 feet away. using 27" screen.
Every time I go to get my eyes checked (every 2 years), my prescription needs updating. I blame the monitor.