If you have to work on your computer all day, do your eyes and head become painful/uncomfortable sometimes?

Question

I think I need a vacation. It hurts to read things on and off the computer. I recently had an eye exam. My eye doctor is off work today. I just took some medicine and increased my font size. Thanks for any serious suggestions...

Answer 1

When you stare are something, mainly a computer or a book, your eye muscles lock up and have tension from stress. This will more than likely cause your eyes to hurt. This, also, is one of the biggest reasons of bad vision; It causes you to see blur. People with good eyesight have relaxed eye muscles. Doing some palming will relax your eyes. Simply rub your hands together fast for about 15 seconds so they are hot then cover your eyes so no light comes in and visualize seeing black. You want the bottom of your hands to be on your cheekbones and your hands cupped and not touching your eyes. This is the best relaxation technique out there for your eyes and actually should improve your vision. Doing this after working on the computer should help. You should be in a quiet place so you can relax. Maybe in a nice hot bath.
Make sure you have enough light when on the computer (or there will be more eyestrain!) and use rewetting drops every 30 minutes or so to refresh your eyes. Also look away from the screen every 20 minutes or so and move your eyes around. You may have Computer Vision Syndrome. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

First of all, I'd like to disagree with the person who suggested working in a dimly lit environment, that will only make your eyes have to work harder when they adjust to and from the brightness of your screen. I would strongly recommend working in a well lit environment.

You mention that you wear glasses. If your prescription is out of date it can hurt your eyes and give you headaches.

Also, a monitor works a little like film in that the movement you see is created by still frames that are replaced quickly, one after another. Your monitor has what is known as a 'refresh rate'. This measures the maximum number of frames that can be displayed on the monitor per second at a given resolution. The more frames that it displays per second, the less eye strain. But your monitor doesn't produce a frame all at once, it draws it pixel by pixel, left to right, top to bottom. This takes some time, not much, but enough to cause some people to notice 'flicker', which causes eyestrain. If you are using 1024x768 then it may make enough of a difference if you just switch down to 800x600. To do this in Windows, right click on your desktop, select 'properties', click 'settings' and then scroll the 'screen resolution' bar. If that doesn't help, there are screens you can buy that fit over your monitor and reduce eyestrain; I'm not sure how they work.
Really nasty flicker is the result of a failing cathode ray tube, in which case you would need to have your monitor replaced or repaired. (LED screens do not have have cathode ray tubes.)

Other than that, yes, it is important to give your eyes a rest now and then.

P.S. The link will give you more technical information on refresh rates if you want it.

Answer 3

Being on the computer on for long hours will cause computer vision syndrome. Symptoms include light sensitivity, dry/burning eyes and loss of focusing ability. Computer vision syndrome is not permanent when you experience it that just means your eyes need a break. Every 20 minutes, focus the eyes on an object 20 feet (6 meters) away for 20 seconds. Also, the use of over-the-counter artificial tear solutions and computer glasses can reduce the effects of CVS."
Try lubricating eye drops such as optive to keep your eyes moisturized.
If you wear glasses make sure you get an antireflection coating on them to help protect your eyes from the glare.
Also if you are at the presbyopic stage of life (40+) you may want to talk to your eye care professional about computer glasses with progressive lenses that are especially designed for your computer use. This may help reduce eyestrain from computers :)

Answer 4

Yes. You might need computer glasses, or a better monitor.
It helps if your computer is not right up against a wall, because when you are tired, you can look up and into a distance to give your eyes a rest from focusing. If your room is dark, your eyes may be opened wider than normal and you could be making your eyes dry. I find if I'm wearing contact lenses while on a computer, my eyes tend to get drier, and more tired.

Answer 5

Of course.. you´re eyes get tired of staring at the computer all day.. try to take a few breaks during the day, that way you won´t get all those awful headaches ! ( that's what i do).. Anyhow and work in dim light if possible....

Hope that advice helps!

Good Luck..

Bcn_mimosa from Barcelona, Spain

Answer 6

I have an aromatherapy heating pad I keep at work and will heat it up and put it over my eyes for 5 minutes and it is super soothing. Make sure that it has the herbs in if you get one. They are under $10. If you wear glasses make sure they have the anti-glare and reflective coating on them.

Answer 7

1

Answer 8

every day that is why you are suppose to break every 30 minutes and look at something in the distances and try not to really focus on anything!
also stand up and stretch your neck and arms and wrist and hand ect...

btw another way to increase font size is to hold the CTRL key and spin the wheel on your mouse!

Answer 9

Hello,
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Try it out

Answer 10

Yes they can.

Try taking a break, even if it is only a minute every 15 minutes.

Good luck
A.D.