Health Tips
There's a New Eye Test for Computer Users and It's Getting Rave Reviews
by Linda Dove
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"I can't even read a newspaper in the evening anymore," an overworked editor complained recently, and she's not alone. The Newsletter's phone has been ringing constantly since we asked for members with tired eyes to volunteer for an new eye-test and glasses. It seems everyone is worried about their eyes.
Computer-related eyestrain is epidemic in the Guild these days and we're not alone. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found almost 60 million U.S. workers suffer from eyestrain. But it's not inevitable, there is a lot you can do to remedy the problem.
When you go to your optometrist you'll be asked to read a conventional Snellen testing chart, printed rows of single letters. Unfortunately that doesn't begin to address the problems you face when viewing a video monitor. The image on a monitor is composed of glowing pixels of light, fuzzy dots without crisp edges. Your eyes have a hard time trying to focus on that virtual image. In fact your eyes will constantly give up and slide out to their "resting point of accommodation" before you force them back on the job. A few hours of that and of course your eyes are tired.
Now there's a new testing system which simulates the characteristics of a video monitor. This PRIO system enables the optometrist to accurately prescribe glasses specifically for your working environment, in fact they come with a case you can Velcro to your monitor because you won't need them anywhere else. PC World magazine said when wearing PRIO glasses "the difference was like night and day" and Eyecare Technology magazine also gave it the thumbs-up. Even for people with great eyesight they provide relief from eyestrain, and the prescription can be bifocal if that's what you want.
A picture editor, an assistant, and a sound editor will be trying out the PRIO testing system and glasses in the next few months and reporting back on their experiences in the Newsletter. We'll see if our members' particular experience with the strain of looking at text, numbers and moving pictures all improve with the right glasses.
"Eye dryness is another problem that's often overlooked," says Dr. Les Miller, an optometrist in Santa Monica. When you're concentrating, your blink rate slows down, causing your eyes to dry out. Solution? An artificial tear lubricant like Hypotears, Tears Naturale or Bausch & Lomb's Moisture Drops.
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Dr. Miller offers his patients a leaflet from the American Optometric Association headlined "Using Your Eyes and Your VDT." This details the best, ergonomic way to arrange your work space. Position your monitor so you're looking slightly down at it - your eyes will be more relaxed, and your neck will feel better too. If you can't lower your monitor, raise your chair. Your elbows, thighs and knees need to be at comfortable right angles so, if you have to raise your chair, you might want a footstool. Your monitor should be at least 21 - 25" from your eyes. Keep any documents, script or whatever, near the monitor and the same distance from your eyes so you don't have to keep refocusing.
"Try to match the brightness of your surroundings to that of the screen," says the American Optometric Association. Soft, indirect lighting is best. Don't make your eyes struggle with reflections and glare on your screen either, move your workstation or cover the source of the reflection.
An anti-reflection coating on your glasses is a good option too, apart from further improving your vision, when someone looks at you they see you, not a reflection of what's behind them. Another coating can provide UV protection, and a final scratch-resistant one is a good idea.
Count the number of hours you spend in front of a video screen per week and think about how many more years you hope your career will continue. That should provide all the motivation you need to start doing everything possible to improve your working environment and protect your eyes.
If you want more information before our guineapigs report back, call (800) 621-1098 or for a PRIO doctor in your area call (818) 366-3801.
For a followup on this article, see Computer Glasses Followup
Reprinted from
The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter
Vol. 17, No. 3 - May/June 1996
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