my eyes hurt from using computer - what to do?

[valance]

anyone else suffer from this? if i play just a couple hours a day, i am completely fine. but if i use the comp for maybe 6 hours, they start getting bloodshot and painful. other than the obvious (not using comp so much), what are little things i can do? use degauss more? more/less light on monitor?

any little advice would be great. thanks.

[soulwish2003]

Move closer to the monitor? Maybe a foot to a foot and a half away?

[Scorch]

Get a girlfriend.. spend time outside.. get a job..

[bignick]

Gotta take a little break every hour. Im usually about a foot and a half from the monitor.

[KyPEn]

Use a higher refresh rate.

[defender]

stop using the computer as often seems logical...also try to increase the monitor refresh rate

[c]

Get a girlfriend.. spend time outside.. get a job..

Shut up. :( Being a member of an internet web forum puts you on the same level as someone who is on the computer for hours a day, so you have no place to talk.

Anyway, I think keeping the room lit well would help. That's just a guess, but I think it's worked for me a bit.

[valance]

how do i up the refresh rate? i cleaned out all the dust from my fans - there was a lot of it, so that will likely help.

so keep monitor brightness to as high as posible also?

[Acrylic]

the brightness should hurt your eyes more, so I think you should keep the brightness down.

[PsyClerk]

Refresh rate is in your Display Properties.

[David85]

I'm sorry but I have to agree.

If you are at the computer for 6 hours straight and your eyes start to hurt than get off your ass and do something else.

[Moxio]

I generally take a break every 1 or 2 hours and go do something. Maybe you could try rubbing your eyes with warm water or something.

[Sartori]

My eyes actually get irritated with the outside air around here after exposure for a while. It's.. weird.

[rvdrock]

I cant find refresh rate under my display...but now I want it...help

[Moxio]

Right click > Properties > Settings > Advanced > Monitor. Your Refresh Rate default is probably 60 Hz.

[Graystone]

change the resoution to a bigger one. you might be strainer you eyes trying to read and see fine print.

[dafoomie]

1. Change refresh rate to at least 85hz. 60hz will kill your eyes. 75hz is ok but not good enough. 85hz is where you want to be.
2. Reduce brightness.
3. Every 20 minutes or so, look around the room at different things, pictures, etc, to allow your eyes to focus on things at different distances.
4. Take a break from the computer every couple hours, walk around, do something.
5. Buy a glare filter or wear glasses (optional).

[zionoverfire]

Are you using a LCD or flat screen monitor. I know several people who have eye problems when they use regular monitors for extended periods of time.

[valance]

using a regular monitor. i don't play for 6 hours straight lol. i'm a writer and i play games, so off and on throughout the day i'm on.

my refresh rate was indeed 60, and i upped it to 85. thanks a lot for that info. i put the brightness down too. i wasn't sure if it was better higher or lower, so now i know!

thanks a lot for your help everyone. i was getting really confused, and here there's like 10 great people all offering aid. :D

[valance]

for knowledge purposes, what exactly is refresh rate?

[dafoomie]

for knowledge purposes, what exactly is refresh rate?
Its the amount of frames that are shown on your monitor every second, i.e. what your looking at right now is shown that many times per second.

Thats why theres 'flicker' when its at a low refresh rate, its refreshing slow enough that your eye can see it. Once you start getting above 60-70hz you don't notice a difference, but 85+ is much much better for your eyes.

[Sheik Rattle Enroll]

Refresh rate is how fast the screen is redrawn.

[epobirs]

for knowledge purposes, what exactly is refresh rate?

It is the number of times the screen is drawn in a given period of time, in most cases 1 second. The faster the refresh rate the less you can detect the refresh in the form of flicker and the less strain on your eyes. The reason movies are called flicks is that in the early days the flicker was very annoying until the invention of gating mechanisms in the projectors reduced that a great deal. This was many decades ago but the name stuck. At only 24 frames per second watching movies by just running the film past a bare lightsource is very annoying.

Another thing is to remember to blink. You can be completely unaware of it but computer users often go many minutes without blinking. You'd be shocked to see how you look if you a videotape of you using your computer unaware of the camera. The stare is the sort of thing that would creep out another person if you looked at them that way for a prolonged period. This lack of blining can leave your eye very dried out and feeling awful.

You can find tons more by using Google
http://www.empireblue.com/member/my_health/newsletter/protect_eyes.shtml

[gamegeizer]

Some very helpful knowledge posted. I would like to add get youself a perfectly true flat monitor of at lease 19" this will reduce glare and distortion and go a long way in keeping your eyes healthy. I suggest getting a Viewsonic monitor. I aslo suggest staying away from a shadow masking type CRT and getting a aperture grille type tube (Trinitron type) they have a superior picture and reduce glare.

[Scorch]

Get a girlfriend.. spend time outside.. get a job..

Being a member of an internet web forum puts you on the same level as someone who is on the computer for hours a day

Oh man, please elaborate. This should be interesting.

[valance]

guys ignore scortch. there is a lot of great info here. next time i get a monitor i'll get a flat screen then, since they're much healthier. i think i acutally notice a difference running at 85 refresh. ahhh =) now i can work and play in great peace. i'll remember the name 'viewsonic' for flat screen monitor too.

[valance]

sweet that google article says computers aren't know to cause permanent damage, only eyestrain. phew, another worry gone.

[The-Bavis]

I have perfect vision, but a ton of floaters in my eyes, so I also find it much less of a strain if I change the window color to a gray from the standard white. It will ease your eyes when using Word and stuff since you said you're a writer. It isn't pretty that way, though, and red text and a few other colors are pretty unreadable, but it is worth it. I can't go back to white now. It's blinding.

[Lootr2Core]

anyone else suffer from this? if i play just a couple hours a day, i am completely fine. but if i use the comp for maybe 6 hours, they start getting bloodshot and painful. other than the obvious (not using comp so much), what are little things i can do? use degauss more? more/less light on monitor?

any little advice would be great. thanks.

wow 6 hours a day.. you must be playing KOTOR, I think every video game instruction book says don't play for more than an hour at a time( i know its hard advice) but it does work. Just take a 10 min break and go outside, I've discovered just getting sunlight for a few minutes lets me play games for a longer period of time.

[Quackzilla]

Ooh, sore eyes, wow. Thats nothing.

You haven't REALLY played until you have sat in your chair long enough for your blood to begin clotting in your legs. And get carpul tunnel syndrom at the same time.

It does not feel good, and it FORCES you to get more excercise (or die).

[Moxio]

Ooh, sore eyes, wow. Thats nothing.

You haven't REALLY played until you have sat in your chair long enough for your blood to begin clotting in your legs. And get carpul tunnel syndrom at the same time.

Blood clotting in your legs? What the hell?

[Quackzilla]

Believe it or not it happens to people who do nothing but sit all day everyday only moving to the fridge and back.

If your legs feel sore just from sitting than you need to start excercising. Go running every other day, at least a half mile, to stay in shape for nonstop gaming.

It only hapens to people who really don't move at all except when they eat and go to the batchroom for an extended period of time.



And if/when you get carpul tunnel get a good pair of wrist braces that totally restrict movement so you can play video games without doing more damage. Carpul tunnel can HURT VERY BAD, lol! I know from firsthand experience.