About 90% of computer users report symptoms of eye strain, including computer-screen headaches. Chronic computer eye strain and headaches affects your efficiency and productivity since the pain may be so strong that you cannot continue working on the computer. Since it might not be possible to stop using computers, especially when working remotely, you can reduce their frequency by refining your home office and workstation setup. Read on to learn how you can also include simple routine adjustments to help you minimise eye strain computer-screen headaches.
1. Get Ergonomic Furniture
Ergonomic furniture such as home office chairs and desks is designed to enhance your sitting posture. Computer headaches are as a result of pressure build-up in the muscles around the shoulders, neck, and the head. However, the pressure on your upper body is reduced when you sit upright with your eyes directly facing the computer. To achieve this posture, you will need to refurnish your home office with the right furniture.
Ensure your chair is at a height that gives you an upright posture. A conventional chair should have an adjustable seat height or at least come with a fixed seat height of between 16 and 21 inches (0.53 metres). The chair should also have backrest lumbar support to allow you to maintain the natural S of the spine. In addition, the right chair should have a headrest that allows you to rest your head and ease the pressure on the neck and head muscles.
Additionally, your office desk or table should be high enough to accommodate your legs when you are seated in an upright position. The table top should also provide enough space to hold your computer and other materials. Once you get the right table, you should place your laptop or desktop screen between 20 and 24 inches (0.61 m) away from your eyes.
2. Adjust Your Screen Settings
Computer headaches are caused by eye strain that results from the light emitted by your computer monitor. An imbalance in the room lighting and the brightness of your monitor forces your eyes to operate under two contrasting lights, causing a strain. To minimise the strain, you need to balance the brightness of the monitor with that of the surroundings.
You can achieve the right light balance by ensuring your office is well lit. If you feel the light is not well distributed, you can place your workstation next to the window. The aim is to get as much natural light as possible. If natural lighting is not an alternative, you can use a desk lamp.
3. Reduce the Amount of Blue Colour on Your Screen
The blue colour on your computer has a shorter wavelength than bright colours. Unfortunately, research shows that shorter wavelength colours increase the strain in your eyes. You can reduce eye strain by adjusting the temperature on your screen to get longer wavelength colours like orange or red. If you are reading or working on a document, always use black font with a white background to reduce eye strain.
4. Get Computer Migraine Glasses
Computer headache or migraine glasses also help to filter the blue light from your monitor to reduce eye strain.
5. Adjust the Font Size
The font size on your computer screen should be large enough to avoid squinting. Squinting too much increase the strain in your eyes, resulting in computer headache. While there no rules on the right font size, you can try a font size of 12 or any other font size that reduces your squint.
6. Take Frequent Breaks
Fixing your eyes on the computer screen for long hours increases the chances of developing computer headaches. To minimize the risks of a headache, you need to take short breaks between your working sessions.
Experts recommend the 20-20-20 break model. The model recommends taking a break after every twenty minutes of working and observing an object twenty feet away for twenty minutes. When practised regularly, the 20-20-20 break model helps to relax the eye muscles and reduce the risk of a computer-screen headache.
You can also take a short walk, sip on a glass of water, or engage in any activity that helps you take your eyes off the computer.
7. Schedule Regular Eye Check-Ups
If you spend long hours in front of a computer, you need an eye check-up once a year. An eye check-up helps to identify and manage eye problems that may increase eye strain when using computers. Your optician will also confirm whether the prescription on your glasses is up-to-date.
Bottom Line
Other than adjusting your computer screen setting, using the right furniture helps to reduce eye strain and computer headaches. At FlexiSpot, we provide you with the ergonomic furniture to help you maintain the right posture to reduce eye strain.
