Reducing & Protecting from Eye Strain for Programmers

Recently I tweeted about having burning sensation and tiredness around my eyes. I believe the main reason, I'm having them is due to the amount of time I spent in front of a computer, and my phone.

I got scared, I don't want to stop my programmer lifestyle. And there may arise more such health issues, due to this lifestyle. So I want to make a plan to reduce such issues, and maintain my health. I'm creating this article for the public to benefit from this information as well.

Mainly, this condition is called, eye stress or eye fatigue. Doing a quick search, I was able to find out that it was due to the amount of blue light we receive from the screens. I knew about this, so I tried to buy books to replace my amount of time consuming information, digitally. But still, I'm only making my near focus and missing out the far focus. But that isn't all, bad air quality & less sleep can also contribute to this condition.

Causes as a list:

  • Blue light from too much screen time
  • Less sleep
  • Bad air quality
  • Only near focus

So, what should we do?

From the causes list we can come up with a few ideas of our own. But let me provide a bit more, after all you came here.

20/20/20 rule

The 20/20/20 rule states that for every 20 minutes spent in front of a screen, you should shift your focus at something 20 feet away, for about 20 seconds.

Get more sleep

The right amount of time is between 7 to 9 hours. So make sure you get enough rest, your rest is part of your productivity.

Use system built in features to reduce blue light

Most devices has a built in feature called night light that adds an amber tint to the display. You can schedule it to switch on after sunset and switch off after sunrise. Which is kind of weird at first. But it helps in reducing the blue light, and is said to help you sleep better. Also you can try switch to dark themes for various applications, there might be a way to even force dark mode. But it still has some issues. So try using services/applications that support dark mode.

Position your screen

You should adjust the screen you are viewing a few feet away, about an arms distance, below the eye level is appropriate.

Use eye drops

When you are too much focused on the task at hand, you might even forget to blink, which causes dryness and irritation of your eyes. So using artificial tear drops is said to be a good alternative. You can even try to blink more.

Find the right light

Change the lighting of your environment, I used to work without lights, crating a dark environment. Which was cool at first until the eye strain happened. Also try changing your display if there is glare on the screen. You could also add shades to your windows to avoid glares on your digital device.

Get a humidifier or clean up the air ventilation

Dry or polluted air may contribute to eye strain, so try adjusting the heating or cooling, or use a humidifier. You may even relocate to a spot with better air quality. You can even add some indoor plants

Wear blue light filtering eye wear

It is not proven if these eye wear can reduce eye strain. But it is not harmful if you wear them. These are eye wears are said to be specifically designed to fliter out blue light, they have a tint that filters out blue light, similar to the amber tint shown using the night light feature.