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Adrian Twarog
Adrian Twarog

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Don't lose your eyesight as a Developer (5 Tips to Reduce Eye Strain)

Eye strain is something overlooked for those of us in the field, yet it affects many of us.

I wanted to take time to remind us that its an important topic, as usually its one we dont think about until its too late and the damage is done.

Making sure that you look after your eyes will benefit you now and in the long run. Vision will get worse if you don't put effort into taking care of it.

Here are the 5 Tips I recommend to reduce eye strain:

  • 20/20/20 rule, every 20 mins, spend at least 20 seconds looking at something 20 feet away
  • Reduce the brightness of your monitor
  • Use a lamp or light source when working at night
  • Wear glasses that blue harmful blue light
  • Use dark mode when possible for viewing sites

If you want to see more, check out the video below where I cover this topic and my experiences of it.

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Top comments (5)

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justchapman profile image
Chapman

While dark mode appeals to many people, studies show that light text on dark backgrounds actually increases eye strain, especially in users with astigmatism. (Personally I like to change it up every now and then.)

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adriantwarog profile image
Adrian Twarog

Interesting, do you have a link to the studies, love to read that

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justchapman profile image
Chapman • Edited

I'm trying to find a direct link for you but, here's an article in Gizmodo about it. gizmodo.com/the-surprising-reason-...

And here's a study of reading comprehension using dark vs light backgrounds. Interesting stuff. sciencedirect.com/science/article/...

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tropicalchancer profile image
Chance

Thank you. I needed that reminder today. :)

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darthwalsh profile image
Carl Walsh • Edited

I'm not sure if there's any benefit for adults where nearsightedness has already settled, but there's some "tentative evidence indicates that the risk of near-sightedness can be decreased by having young children spend more time outside." Wikipedia