4 ms·

I'm nearsighted with no astigmatism, so I have a simple -2/-2 prescription (if I remember correctly). I sit at a screen 8-16 hours a day. I get strong headache

I'm nearsighted with no astigmatism, so I have a simple -2/-2 prescription (if I remember correctly). I sit at a screen 8-16 hours a day. I get strong headaches every single day, for which I keep a supply of ibuprofen at work and home. 400mg a day is generally plenty. I do not wear my glasses while at the screen, as it's close enough that I don't have any issues. I suspect my headaches are neck muscle related, not eyesight, but I haven't investigated further.

adityamwagh 2y ago
How much water do you drink? How much are you sleeping? Is your room dark when you sleep?
- Night_Thastus 2y ago
  I get 7-8 hours of sleep, in a very dark and quiet room. No loud neighbors, no room-mates. I think my water intake is fine, but I don't have a specific measurement.
  - vishalontheline 2y ago
    A good indication that you may be dehydrated is if your eyes are burning after a few hours of work or partway through a long drive.
jbornhorst 2y ago
Hey, thanks for replying! I’d love to chat briefly. Can you shoot me a quick email at jbornhorst [at] gmail [dot] com so we can coordinate?
- Night_Thastus 2y ago
  I'll send a message once I'm home from work, which could be a couple hours.
radar1310 2y ago
Get your blood pressure checked just to be on the safe side. Those headaches could be caused by other health issues. Taking that much headache medication all the time is not good.
- Night_Thastus 2y ago
  Does BP vary significantly throughout the day? Do I need to be measuring it while at work, or will a simple visit to a doctor be sufficient? My last appointment was a couple of years ago, and I don't believe they raised any issues about it then. I'll see about an appointment.
jolmg 2y ago
Taking pain meds daily for life doesn't seem like a good plan. Maybe try e-ink? There are e-ink monitors on the market if that works, if the problem's the light. You can also try software like Redshift[1] for regular monitors. If it's your neck, at least put some books under your monitor stand, if you're not able to get better monitor mounts. Or lower your chair. You should be looking straight ahead for your monitor, so your neck muscles shouldn't have to do much work. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift_(software)
- lanstin 2y ago
  If it's posture related, here's more free advise: try sitting on stools rather than on chairs with a back, and sit up straight and keep your arms actively powered while typing (not laying on a surface). Also, when you need to think for a minute get up and walk around.
  - Night_Thastus 2y ago
    A stool without a back would be very uncomfortable, but I do have ergonomic chairs (Herman Miller Aeron) which should do a decent job from what I understand. The rest I'll consider though, thanks.
    - lanstin 2y ago
      The point of sitting on a stool is that you have to use your core strength to sit up straight, and using that core strength reduces all sorts of pain in back and neck. I didn't start doing that (sitting on stools) till I had been meditating for a long time, so it wasn't that different than sitting on the floor in half lotus position, which I had extensive practice doing. I've been doing it for >10 years now; I will confess that when I have a meeting in a meeting room with proper chairs, I do really enjoy the chair back. It's all about using your body in a variety of ways.
- Night_Thastus 2y ago
  E-ink isn't possible for either my work or home solutions. I cannot replace any of the work monitors. I do use f.lux while at home, though that only triggers later at night. My monitor is at the appropriate height (eyes are roughly even with top of the screen) and distance (about arms-length), so I'm looking straight ahead.
gms7777 2y ago
If you haven't already, you should look into some stretches for tension headaches. For me at least, they don't make the headache go away completely (because often dehydration is a factor as well), but they sure take the edge off.
sgt 2y ago
Are you using a laptop (looking downwards) or are you using a proper screen setup?
- Night_Thastus 2y ago
  Proper screen setup, most of the time a 27-inch screen at about arms length.
- Gee101 2y ago
  This is a very important point. Staring down on a laptop screen strains neck muscles but it feels like you are getting headaches from your eyes. Make sure your posture is correct when sitting in front of a screen before attempting anything else.
dlandis 2y ago
"I do not wear my glasses while at the screen, as it's close enough that I don't have any issues." This could be the problem, especially if you are close to 40 years old. You may be starting to develop presbyopia, which is typical. In the early stages you can still read and focus on closeup things fine, so you may not realize it is starting, but in the background your eyes are, in fact, straining a lot and causing headaches.
- Night_Thastus 2y ago
  I'm not in my 40's, but I'll keep that in mind, thanks.
NikkiA 2y ago
You're probably suffering rebound headaches at least most of the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medication_overuse_headache https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medication_overuse_headache
hadlock 2y ago
If you're getting headaches every day and it's related to computer use, it might be worthwhile to talk to a professional about your workstation ergonomics, screen/font size etc. That is not normal. At all. I don't know anyone else complaining about having headaches daily. I put my monitor on an adjustable arm and it made a tremendous difference, just being able to move the monitor up/down half an inch throughout the day. Also as I've gotten older I've gone from 20 to 22 to 27" displays which helps.

adityamwagh 2y ago

How much water do you drink? How much are you sleeping? Is your room dark when you sleep?

Night_Thastus 2y ago
I get 7-8 hours of sleep, in a very dark and quiet room. No loud neighbors, no room-mates. I think my water intake is fine, but I don't have a specific measurement.
- vishalontheline 2y ago
  A good indication that you may be dehydrated is if your eyes are burning after a few hours of work or partway through a long drive.

jbornhorst 2y ago

Hey, thanks for replying! I’d love to chat briefly. Can you shoot me a quick email at jbornhorst [at] gmail [dot] com so we can coordinate?

Night_Thastus 2y ago
I'll send a message once I'm home from work, which could be a couple hours.

radar1310 2y ago

Get your blood pressure checked just to be on the safe side. Those headaches could be caused by other health issues. Taking that much headache medication all the time is not good.

Night_Thastus 2y ago
Does BP vary significantly throughout the day? Do I need to be measuring it while at work, or will a simple visit to a doctor be sufficient? My last appointment was a couple of years ago, and I don't believe they raised any issues about it then. I'll see about an appointment.

jolmg 2y ago

Taking pain meds daily for life doesn't seem like a good plan. Maybe try e-ink? There are e-ink monitors on the market if that works, if the problem's the light. You can also try software like Redshift[1] for regular monitors. If it's your neck, at least put some books under your monitor stand, if you're not able to get better monitor mounts. Or lower your chair. You should be looking straight ahead for your monitor, so your neck muscles shouldn't have to do much work. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift_(software)

lanstin 2y ago
If it's posture related, here's more free advise: try sitting on stools rather than on chairs with a back, and sit up straight and keep your arms actively powered while typing (not laying on a surface). Also, when you need to think for a minute get up and walk around.
- Night_Thastus 2y ago
  A stool without a back would be very uncomfortable, but I do have ergonomic chairs (Herman Miller Aeron) which should do a decent job from what I understand. The rest I'll consider though, thanks.
  - lanstin 2y ago
    The point of sitting on a stool is that you have to use your core strength to sit up straight, and using that core strength reduces all sorts of pain in back and neck. I didn't start doing that (sitting on stools) till I had been meditating for a long time, so it wasn't that different than sitting on the floor in half lotus position, which I had extensive practice doing. I've been doing it for >10 years now; I will confess that when I have a meeting in a meeting room with proper chairs, I do really enjoy the chair back. It's all about using your body in a variety of ways.
Night_Thastus 2y ago
E-ink isn't possible for either my work or home solutions. I cannot replace any of the work monitors. I do use f.lux while at home, though that only triggers later at night. My monitor is at the appropriate height (eyes are roughly even with top of the screen) and distance (about arms-length), so I'm looking straight ahead.

gms7777 2y ago

If you haven't already, you should look into some stretches for tension headaches. For me at least, they don't make the headache go away completely (because often dehydration is a factor as well), but they sure take the edge off.

sgt 2y ago

Are you using a laptop (looking downwards) or are you using a proper screen setup?

Night_Thastus 2y ago
Proper screen setup, most of the time a 27-inch screen at about arms length.
Gee101 2y ago
This is a very important point. Staring down on a laptop screen strains neck muscles but it feels like you are getting headaches from your eyes. Make sure your posture is correct when sitting in front of a screen before attempting anything else.

dlandis 2y ago

"I do not wear my glasses while at the screen, as it's close enough that I don't have any issues." This could be the problem, especially if you are close to 40 years old. You may be starting to develop presbyopia, which is typical. In the early stages you can still read and focus on closeup things fine, so you may not realize it is starting, but in the background your eyes are, in fact, straining a lot and causing headaches.

Night_Thastus 2y ago
I'm not in my 40's, but I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

NikkiA 2y ago

You're probably suffering rebound headaches at least most of the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medication_overuse_headache https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medication_overuse_headache

hadlock 2y ago

If you're getting headaches every day and it's related to computer use, it might be worthwhile to talk to a professional about your workstation ergonomics, screen/font size etc. That is not normal. At all. I don't know anyone else complaining about having headaches daily. I put my monitor on an adjustable arm and it made a tremendous difference, just being able to move the monitor up/down half an inch throughout the day. Also as I've gotten older I've gone from 20 to 22 to 27" displays which helps.