Why do my eyes hurt after working at the computer?
I sit in front of a monitor 8 hours a day, and by the end of the day my eyes start aching, and everything gets kinda blurry. Is that normal or should I do something about it?
3 answers
★ Best answer
The 20-20-20 rule is totally legit, it actually works. i'll just add from my own experience - when i worked as an engineer, even that didn't always help if the monitor was set up poorly. check your screen brightness, it should be roughly the same as the surrounding light, not glowing like a spotlight. also the distance to the monitor matters - usually it's 50-70 cm, no closer. if the screen is hung too low, you end up looking down, which puts extra strain on your eyes and neck.
but the main thing is really the breaks. after an hour of work it's better to take 5-10 minutes to look away, gaze out the window, blink a bit. when people work, they blink less often, so their eyes dry out. if it gets really bad, eye drops like Artelac help, just don't overdo it with them.
if the blurriness doesn't go away after resting, you should see an ophthalmologist. you might need glasses for computer work - as you get older that often becomes necessary.
It's computer vision syndrome - your eyes get tired from constantly focusing on the screen without breaks. The 20-20-20 rule helps: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds, plus turn down your monitor brightness and blink more often - usually when people concentrate, they forget to do that.
That's completely normal and it's actually called computer vision syndrome. When you're staring at a monitor for eight hours, your eye muscles are under constant strain - they're focused on one point, not moving, not resting. Plus the screen is shining right into your eyes, and we blink less than usual, so the eye surface dries out. That's where the aching and blurriness toward the end of the day come from.
The 20-20-20 rule that was mentioned above actually works. I use it myself, though honestly I'll admit I don't always remember to do it at work when I'm caught up in appointments. But when I do take breaks, it definitely gets noticeably easier. Along with breaks, I'd also suggest: move your monitor a bit further away, dim your screen brightness, especially in the evening, and get some moisturizing eye drops - I use them at the end of my shift. If it doesn't help in a couple of weeks, you should still go see an ophthalmologist, you might need glasses for computer work. Some people don't even realize they have mild myopia, which actually creates this kind of effect at close range.
Your answer
Log into answer.