Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1316380
10 I M PS E . O R G lighting is the key. I'm going to try those fancy LED lights on the back of my monitors and see how that helps. You can also add a glare fi lter to your monitor. There are also blue light eyeglasses to help beat eye strain: Felix Gray (https://felixgray.com), Zenni Optical (https://www.zennioptical.com) or just go to good old Amazon.com and check out the options. Rearrange your workspace. The best position for your monitor is slightly below eye level, about 20 to 28 inches away from your face. You shouldn't have to stretch your neck or strain your eyes to see what's on the screen. Put a stand next to your monitor and place any printed materials you're working from on it. That way, you won't have to look up at the screen and back down at the desk. Give your eyes a break. Follow the 20-20-20 rules. Look away from the screen every 20 minutes or so and look at something around 20 feet away for about 20 seconds. Blink often to keep your eyes moist. If they feel dry, try some eye drops like Tears. Do not use Visine or similar brands, as they aren't for daily long- term use. Tweak your settings. Adjust the brightness, contrast, and font size until you fi nd what's best for you. We all know editing programs are sometimes challenging to see all the options on the screen. Double or triple screens help as the information can be adjusted to a larger size. Is There an App for This? Well, yes there is! There are apps that make working on your computer more comfortable. There are some good free ones out there to try out, as well as some that cost money. Our editor Christina Horgan found one she recommended and has been using for a few years called 'f.lux' https://justgetfl ux.com. It's free and the latest 2019 update is version 40.1. The basic functionality of 'f.lux' is tuning your screen's color temperature according to time of day. This has been part of f.lux for years and a recent version adds some groovy new features: You can now change your screen's brightness using Alt+PgUp and Alt+PgDn, which is really helpful for desktop users which most editors use. Another new feature is the so-called Darkroom Mode. Whereas the normal f.lux effect just warms up your colors, Darkroom Mode completely takes over your display, shading everything in dark, reddish hues. This makes videos unwatchable, but also means you can probably use your computer at 3 a.m. without losing your night vision. Since we don't all work with the same ambient lighting, f.lux lets you dial in a color temperature for nighttime. It uses Kelvin notations (commonly used for color temperatures), but also offers human-readable explanations ranging from "Ember" (1200k) to "Sunlight" (5000k). All of these color changes are great, unless you happen to be trying to watch a movie. That's where Movie Mode comes in: This mode tones down the color effects for 2.5 hours, to let you watch a movie without having everything tinged red. You can also completely disable f.lux for one hour (for doing color-sensitive work such as photo editing) or until the next morning. F.lux was a very good app to begin with, and this release only makes it better. If you're not using it yet, but do use your computer at night, you really should try it out today. Computer Vision Syndrome continued Another option to 'f.lux' is 'Iris' (https://iristech. co). For one thing, it is available in other languages other than English, but it's not free. To check out the differences between these two apps, go to https:// iristech.co/best-alternative-to-f-lux/ Don't forget! Visit your eye doctor regularly for exams and keep your prescriptions up to date. You may need glasses or contact lenses. He'll decide if you can wear your regular glasses for computer work or if you need a special pair. He might prescribe a single or bifocal lens, or tinted lens material to boost contrast and fi lter out glare. iristech f.lux