Have you ever left the office at the end of the day and had blurred vision, dry eyes, or difficulty reading? The cause might be eye strain, or asthenopia.
It is a condition that, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in America (NIOSHA), impacts over 90% of those who use computers on a daily basis. In fact, eye strain is the number one complaint of office workers.
The good news is that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides some suggestions for lighting adjustments to minimize eye strain.
Light should be directed so it does not shine into your eyes while looking at the computer screen. The light should be adequate enough so you can see the text on the computer screen, but not so bright that it causes glare or reflections. Additionally:
- Position the computer so it is parallel to the rectangular overhead florescent lighting fixtures and to windows. The key is to limit direct brightness on the computer screen.
- Remove the middle bulbs of 4-bulb fluorescent light fixtures to reduce the brightness of the light to levels more compatible with computer tasks.
- Provide supplemental task/desk lighting to adequately illuminate writing and reading tasks while limiting brightness around monitors.
Additionally, we have resources to provide those “hard to find” bulb or ballast for older lighting fixtures. Give us a call today at 800-242-1400 and let us light your world!
> Read OSHA’s “Working Safely with Video Display Terminals”