Reaction to Office Ergonomics Training: A Dozen Things You Should Know about Eyestrain

One of the most common things I experience is eyestrain especially since I am a BS ComSci student. This is especially true after using the computer for several hours and looking at the monitor throughout this period of time. Sometimes, if I use the computer for more than 12hours straight, I feel dryness of the eyes as well headaches. My eyes become tired and reddish. However, whenever I start feeling that my eyes are becoming strained, I would close my eyes for a while to relax my eyes and to lubricate them as well. Sometimes I would force myself to stay awake even if I am already so sleepy and even if my eyes are already closing on their own. Due to this, I not only feel as if my head is floating, I also start having double vision. There are also times when I watch TV and I feel my eyes strained. Aside from straining my eyes, I also have to look up which can also strain my neck after a while. There are also times when I watch movies on my friend’s computer monitor. The computer monitor is placed near the window. Sometimes, when the sunlight is bright, it causes a direct glare which frustrates me and my eyes a lot because it gives me a headache while watching the movie. Sometimes the Venetian blinds can solve the problem. But there are also times when the direct glare comes from the ceiling light of the room itself which really bothers my eyes.

All the while, I knew that my eyes are not comfortable with those situations above. However, I haven’t really thought about why they happen to me. Now I know that watching TV which is not on an eye-level is really eye straining. I also realized that glares are not only frustrating, they are also unhealthy for the eyes. Lighting is important especially when reading something from the monitor. I have always been told by my mother to not stay too close to the monitor because it is bad for the eyes. However, I did not know what is the proper distance. I did not know that the best distance to read documents in the computer is to read it as far away as possible yet at the same time they can still be clearly read. I think I will also try applying the 20/20 principle which I have never tried before.