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1) Don't sit too close to your monitor(s). They should be as far away as they are big, so if it's a 23" monitor, at least 23" away from your eyes. 2) Place the

1) Don't sit too close to your monitor(s). They should be as far away as they are big, so if it's a 23" monitor, at least 23" away from your eyes. 2) Place the top of the monitor at eye level 3) THE BIGGEST: The 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet (6m) for 20 seconds. These three changed my computing life forever, and for the better, especially since I'm on a computer 10 hours a day most days. Laptop users- get an external screen or a laptop stand that allows the screen to follow those rules.

balfirevic 6y ago
> Don't sit too close to your monitor(s). They should be as far away as they are big, so if it's a 23" monitor, at least 23" away from your eyes. So if I have two monitors side by side I can have them a lot closer than if I had one ultrawide monitor?
- geocrasher 6y ago
  For an ultrawide monitor, pretend it's not ultra-wide. Based on how tall it is, what would it's non-ultra wide size be? 24" Then use that.
KerrickStaley 6y ago
Echoing this: periodically focusing on a distant object seems to help my eyestrain substantially.
dartdartdart 6y ago
Put a mirror on top of your monitor so you can easily focus 20 feet away, and to see what's going on behind you
KineticLensman 6y ago
All of the above. Also, if you wear glasses, check your prescription. A while ago, I switched to what in the UK are called Occupational lenses. The bottom of the frame is for close-up (less than 30cm) and the upper half is objects that are about an arms length away - my screen position. This helped me sit further back from my monitor but still have good visibility. Before changing, the position where I could see the screen the best wasn't ergonomically good and if I sat with good posture I couldn't see fine detail so well. It only took a few days to get used to the vari-focus.
falcolas 6y ago
> Place the top of the monitor at eye level After years of doing this, I've come to change my opinion about this. I put the monitors so I see the middle of the screen. It means that my eyes are moving in every direction, and I'm less likely to bend my neck downwards, resulting in neck strain. EDIT: This does result in the monitor being very high up off the desk, but a good monitor arm will handle it without a problem.
verall 6y ago
If you work in GUIs a lot, your menus and stuff are at the top of the screen, and you can keep the top of the monitor eye level. If you're a programmer and you use a fullscreen terminal, with the line you type on the bottom, your monitor needs to be higher.
- hertzrat 6y ago
  Guake is a nice approach too: a drop down terminal that puts your current line in the middle, at normal eye height. Configurable of course
- selfhoster11 6y ago
  What I really want is a terminal that puts the prompt at the top, aka in reverse order to what most terminals are doing today.
m463 6y ago
You can also use reading glasses if you're perpetually too close.
ashtonkem 6y ago
For #2, get a monitor arm that lets you readjust the height of the monitor, especially if you regularly alternate between sitting and standing. The mono price one is good value for money here.
simonebrunozzi 6y ago
> 3) THE BIGGEST: The 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet (6m) for 20 seconds. What is this suggestion based on?
- geocrasher 6y ago
  Doing research of my own on the subject. Just google "20/20/20/ rule". I just did, and found the following article. An eye care professional tracked it down and attributed to... another eye care professional. https://www.optometrytimes.com/view/deconstructing-20-20-20-rule-digital-eye-strain https://www.optometrytimes.com/view/deconstructing-20-20-20-...
kazinator 6y ago
If you go from, say, a 2K 23" monitor to a 4K 46" monitor, you want to be at the same distance to see the same pixel density, and just have more monitor real-estate subtending a larger slice of your vision. You don't sit farther back if you install a second monitor; why would you do that if you obtain more size in a single unit?

balfirevic 6y ago

> Don't sit too close to your monitor(s). They should be as far away as they are big, so if it's a 23" monitor, at least 23" away from your eyes. So if I have two monitors side by side I can have them a lot closer than if I had one ultrawide monitor?

geocrasher 6y ago
For an ultrawide monitor, pretend it's not ultra-wide. Based on how tall it is, what would it's non-ultra wide size be? 24" Then use that.

KerrickStaley 6y ago

Echoing this: periodically focusing on a distant object seems to help my eyestrain substantially.

dartdartdart 6y ago

Put a mirror on top of your monitor so you can easily focus 20 feet away, and to see what's going on behind you

KineticLensman 6y ago

All of the above. Also, if you wear glasses, check your prescription. A while ago, I switched to what in the UK are called Occupational lenses. The bottom of the frame is for close-up (less than 30cm) and the upper half is objects that are about an arms length away - my screen position. This helped me sit further back from my monitor but still have good visibility. Before changing, the position where I could see the screen the best wasn't ergonomically good and if I sat with good posture I couldn't see fine detail so well. It only took a few days to get used to the vari-focus.

falcolas 6y ago

> Place the top of the monitor at eye level After years of doing this, I've come to change my opinion about this. I put the monitors so I see the middle of the screen. It means that my eyes are moving in every direction, and I'm less likely to bend my neck downwards, resulting in neck strain. EDIT: This does result in the monitor being very high up off the desk, but a good monitor arm will handle it without a problem.

verall 6y ago

If you work in GUIs a lot, your menus and stuff are at the top of the screen, and you can keep the top of the monitor eye level. If you're a programmer and you use a fullscreen terminal, with the line you type on the bottom, your monitor needs to be higher.

hertzrat 6y ago
Guake is a nice approach too: a drop down terminal that puts your current line in the middle, at normal eye height. Configurable of course
selfhoster11 6y ago
What I really want is a terminal that puts the prompt at the top, aka in reverse order to what most terminals are doing today.

m463 6y ago

You can also use reading glasses if you're perpetually too close.

ashtonkem 6y ago

For #2, get a monitor arm that lets you readjust the height of the monitor, especially if you regularly alternate between sitting and standing. The mono price one is good value for money here.

simonebrunozzi 6y ago

> 3) THE BIGGEST: The 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet (6m) for 20 seconds. What is this suggestion based on?

geocrasher 6y ago
Doing research of my own on the subject. Just google "20/20/20/ rule". I just did, and found the following article. An eye care professional tracked it down and attributed to... another eye care professional. https://www.optometrytimes.com/view/deconstructing-20-20-20-rule-digital-eye-strain https://www.optometrytimes.com/view/deconstructing-20-20-20-...

kazinator 6y ago

If you go from, say, a 2K 23" monitor to a 4K 46" monitor, you want to be at the same distance to see the same pixel density, and just have more monitor real-estate subtending a larger slice of your vision. You don't sit farther back if you install a second monitor; why would you do that if you obtain more size in a single unit?