Misc: Using Safety Glasses to Reduce Eye-Strain Caused by Monitors

I work in front of two widescreen monitors for at least 40 hours a week (more, if you count the majority of lunch breaks I spend at my desk watching anime on hulu) in a poorly lit cubicle with no windows or natural light of any kind.

Recently, I noticed that my eyes were hurting and I was getting headaches.  At first, I tried turning down the brightness on my monitors - which were, admittedly, a bit 'hot' - to 50%, but that only slightly lessened the discomfort I was experiencing.

At some point in my surfing, I had run across a reference to Gunnar Optiks' digital performance eyewear.  I seriously began to consider purchasing a pair of their CRySTALLINE glasses, which are clear for people who work with color. Unfortunately, even their low end frames do not come cheap.

$79.00

I was on the verge of purchasing a pair, but then it occurred to me, what if a pair of polarized sunglasses worked just as well? That's all well and good, but the tinted lenses might throw off my color perception. That's when I had the bright idea to try out a cheap pair of UV-rated safety glasses.

I purchased these glasses - but with clear lenses - for $10.00 at Home Depot

After three days' use, my eyes are not as strained and the headaches have gone away.

I do not have any sort of scientific data or information to prove how or why this seems to be working, only the fact that it no longer hurts to look at my monitors. I'm certainly not wearing a pair of clear safety glasses at my desk to look cool.

This is not to discredit Gunar Optiks in anyway - their glasses may even work better. But, if you're not rich (I'm not) or have a tendency to lose or break your sunglasses (I do), I would strongly encourage looking into something like this as an affordable, low-risk alternative.