How can you properly position the monitor to prevent your eyes from getting tired?

When working at the computer, my eyes get red and tired quickly. What to do? There is no money to buy a new monitor. Maybe it's the way the existing monitor is positioned?

Tired and red eyes when working at a computer is the so-called computer vision syndrome (site available with VPN). It includes not only eye irritation but also blurred vision, headaches, back pain, neck pain and muscle fatigue. And adjusting your monitor is only the first step to solving the problem.

How to sit properly in front of the computer

According to statistics, 45% of people have a sedentary job. But our bodies are not adapted to spend so much time without movement, so organizations like WHO recommend getting up from your chair regularly and doing exercises for your eyes, back and legs.

Here are the kinds of exercises you can do. For the eyes:

1. The 20/20/20 rule - every 20 minutes, focus your gaze on something 20 meters away from you for 20 seconds. For example, on the house across the street or a coworker at the other end of the openspace.
2. Change focus - focus your gaze first on a glass or window frame and then shift it to an object on the street. Repeat 10-20 times.
3. Eight - draw the number 8 with your gaze.
4. Back and forth - move your eyes from top to bottom, from left to right.
5. Circular movements of the eyes.

For the neck:

1. Press the palm of your hand on your forehead, and with your neck muscles resist the pressure - so that your head stays in place.
2. Lying on your stomach with your head hanging off the bed, tense your neck and raise your head. After 20 seconds, lower it.
3. Tilt your head in different directions.

In addition to exercises, getting less tired from sitting will help with proper posture:

1. Watch the three main angles of the body - the bends of the elbows, knees and ankles. There should be 90-130° everywhere.
2. Keep your feet on the floor, don't pile them sideways.
3. Keep your knees at least 3-5 cm away from the edge of the chair.
4. Place the monitor on the desk directly in front of your eyes or at an angle of less than 30°.

It is also important to have an adjustable chair and a desk of the correct height - so that you can rest your hands on it at a 90° angle.

 

How to select and position a monitor

The diagonal or size of a monitor depends on how far away from your eyes it will stand. It is believed that you can't sit close in front of large screens, but this is a myth.

One thing to consider when choosing monitors and TVs is the field of view, or FoV

. This is an eye characteristic that indicates how much of the image in front of us we can keep in focus.

The size of the field of view will help determine at what distance a monitor of a certain diagonal and resolution will be completely in focus. In people without visual impairment, FoV is about 30°.

Position. Sitting in front of the computer should be the same as sitting at a desk: elbows, knees, and ankles bent at 90°, back straight.

The monitor should be positioned

:

1. Directly in front of you - not to your left, top or bottom.
2. At eye level - the top edge of the monitor should be aligned with them - or slightly lower, by 10-30°. If you have a large height and the height of the "leg" of the screen is not enough, it is not unreasonable to buy a bracket or an additional stand.
3. In a dark place or against a light source. This way you can avoid glare on the screen, especially critical on models with glossy coating. This is important because glare impairs visibility and increases eye strain.
4. At arm's length. A simple way to check if you are too close to the screen is to reach out to it.

 

There is only one optimal posture for working at a PC.

 

The height of the monitor stand was not enough for me, so I use the bracket. It is not a very convenient model: when adjusting the height, you have to hold the monitor on the weight, so you can't do it alone

How to sit in front of a laptop

No long you can sit as you like: if you work for 20 minutes in an uncomfortable position in a cafe, your eyes and neck will hardly get tired. It is not recommended to work at a laptop:

1. lying down - so you will definitely not be able to take a comfortable position and get up to stretch your eyes and neck.
2. In a moving car or bus - in them it is better not to use any screen. It will at a minimum [cause motion sickness](https://quora.com/As-a-passenger-and-not-a-driver-is-it-bad-for-my-eyes-if-I-use-my-smartphone-in-a-moving-vehicle#:~:text=· 6y-,As a passenger and not a driver%2C is it bad,can definitely cause motion sickness.)(site accessible with VPN), and at a maximum can lead to vision impairment.

Fundamentally you should work at a laptop the same way you would at a computer: with an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. Because of its compact design, a laptop is not designed for ergonomic and comfortable work.

It may seem as if your fingers lie better on the touchpad and your hand gets tired less, but it's not true: using a mouse is more useful for your hands. It doesn't affect your eyes, though.

How to fight eye irritation when working at a PC

Besides the obvious gymnastics:

1. Draw the curtains. If the room is very bright and the monitor is not bright, your eyes will be more tired trying to make out the text on the monitor. In such a room, it is better to draw the curtains.
2. Do not sit in the dark. Turn on a desk lamp to minimize the brightness difference between the environment and the monitor. But make sure that the light does not fall directly on the screen, otherwise there will be harmful to the eyes glare.
3. Opt out of fluorescent lights - they flicker faintly when in use, and your eyes get tired faster.
4. Adjust the monitor with the buttons on the case. You can almost always adjust the brightness, contrast, and color temperature to make it more comfortable to look at the screen.
5. Increase the font size - you can do this in Windows or macOS settings or in individual apps. A larger font will help keep your eyes comfortable when reading.
6. Type blindly without moving your eyes between the keyboard and the screen. This reduces strain on your neck and eyes.

In Windows, the text size is increased in the system settings, "Display" item. Here you can also adjust the size of windows and panels

In macOS, the text and interface are enlarged in the "Resolution" item of the display settings. The lower the resolution, the larger the elements. The detail of the picture is not lost