Avoiding Eye Strain

1. Position your monitor 16 to 30 inches away from your eyes, depending on what's comfortable. The monitor should be four to eight inches lower than eye level, so you're looking slightly down towards it. And it should be tilted slightly up, as if it were a book or magazine.

2. Place light sources perpendicular to your computer, so they won't shine in your eyes or reflect on your screen. If you have a glare problem, consider installing a glare screen or a three-sided hood on your computer, or wearing an old-fashioned sports-style visor when you work.

3. Use a large enough typeface. Experiment with different fonts and background colors to see if one is easier for you to read.

4. Make efforts to blink frequently. Use artificial tears or contact lens wetting solution to keep your eyes moist.

5. Use an anti-static cloth to keep dust and fingerprints off your monitor.

6. If you're typing from documents, keep them as close to your monitor as possible so you don't have to swivel to gaze back and forth.

7. If you're shopping for a monitor, look for one with a high pixel count and a high refresh rate. Pixels are the colored dots that make up an image; a higher refresh rate means less flicker on your screen.

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