Health Question -- Eyes

[Bene505]

Does anyone else find that flourescent lights at work makes their eyes hurt?

Our office moved from the 20th floor of one building to the 2nd floor of a building across the street. Now that I'm way down in a "canyon" of buildings, there's little sunlight reaching me. Or maybe it's age (approaching 50), or the new laptop with smaller characters (Lenovo T60 to Lattitude E6410).

Anyway, my eyes have started hurting a lot during the week.

There is such a big difference between the weekend and the work week. Looking to get back on the boat as soon as possible (a few days).

Regards,
Brad

EDIT: Just tried to delete this and post it in off-topic. It wouldn't let me delete it. -- Brad

[JohnRPollard]

Brad,

When I worked in buildings with fluorescent lights, I experienced similar problems to what you describe. Can you turn off the overhead lights in your office, and bring in your own incandescent floor lamp? That's what I did and it really helped.


P.S. I'll move the thread over to O-T for you. Members can't completely delete the opening post to a thread -- only mods can.

[kd3pc]

Brad

IF they will let you, get a small desk lamp, non-flourescent and use it near the laptop...I have had the same thing happen to me in cube city, as the flicker from the overheads and the refersh rate of the laptop seem to be out of whack...causing the eyes to do the work.

best of luck
dave

[sailingdog]

I'd point out that LCD screens, like those in laptops don't really flicker the way CRT monitors do. The persistance of the LCD element pretty much prevents it for the most part. The smaller font size/higher resolution of the screen is probably more the issue. Try using reading glasses or increasing the default font size.

[QuickMick]

that 'flicker' drives me crazy. these guys came in and installed some lights in my office--100 percent improvement.

Lighting Specialist - Lights by H&H Industries

[4arch]

Going somewhere outdoors or with a lot of sunlight for lunch and other breaks can be a big help too, especially on short winter days.

[jackdale]

Years ago when I worked for the Alberta Department of Education, there were complaints about the fluorescent lights in schools. One of my colleagues conducted a study which indicated no problem. However, his office had full spectrum fluorescent lights. Go figure.

Here is link to some Canadian government info: OSH Answers: Lighting Ergonomics - Light Flicker

[rockDAWG]

Fluorescent light comes with many color temps, choose the one fits your best.

[rmeador]

I'm a software engineer, so I use my computer 10+ hours a day. I normally wear glasses, but I'm nearsighted in such a way that I can't read or use the computer while wearing glasses, so I take them off for those activities. My eyes used to get really strained and start to hurt. The number one thing I did that helped was switching the colors in my code editor to a black background with white text. It seems from what I've read that a lot of the eye strain has to do with staring into a light all day (the backlight of the monitor). By switching to white on black, you greatly cut down on the brightness of the light you're staring at, and it is a lot less stressful. Most programs have an option to do this, but if you're doing something like photoshop I guess it won't be possible

Originally Posted by rockDAWG

Fluorescent light comes with many color temps, choose the one fits your best.

Your best bet is to mix different color temps to get a more complete spectrum of light (more like sunlight).

[Bene505]

I've been contemplating getting some small incandescent fixtures from Target. That and forcing myself to go outside at lunch.

I can (and do) walk to South Street Seaport and look at the ships and a schooner while I eat something.



Regards,
Brad