The trouble with sitting at the computer...

Never have I heard of that happening. Pretty odd. I believe I'd see a doctor, or an ophthalmologist. That can't be good. Sound slike you have more serious problems than depth perception.

On the other hand, you have to get up pretty darned often, or you'll kill yourself. I don't care how important the work is, if you're dead, it won't matter. The is no reason to sit at the computer for more than fifty minutes straight. Sit fifty, then get up and walk around for ten.

But, really, all the symptoms you describe could be serious.

Perks, you're hurting yourself, literally injuring yourself. Work is important. But so is your body, and it's not built for long stints at a keyboard.

Just like water is important to our bodies, yet it can poison us.

The cornea and iris are muscles, just like any other. Okay, technically, only the iris is a muscle, but the cornea is controlled by one. Like any muscle, if you hold them still for too long, they get stiff and sore. it's kind of the opposite of Repetitive Strain Injury, but the basic idea for prevention is the same.

TAKE BREAKS.

Like the UK's National Health Service says, it's better to take more smaller ones than one large one.

Take those breaks, and I think you may find to your surprise that your productivity goes up, not down. I still don't quite get how, but I've seen it work time and again.

Second the suggestion to seek medical advice. We can help with many things here but this is outside our remit.

Maybe try voice-recognition software? And maybe set an alarm to go off every hour or so, reminding yourself to stretch and look out the window for at least five minutes.

Try slacking off. That's what I do & it works like a charm.

*sigh*

I said 'slacking off', putPutt.

Big difference.

Tee hee.... Big

exercise sounds like a good idea.

Monitor size, monitor position, colors, contrast, height of eye, distance, chair position, all sorts of things could affect your eyes.

Cella said:

Tee hee.... Big

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Sounds more like a medium-small to me... hur hur hur

I had to give up chatting with friends on my phone cos my eyes went squirrelly. Okay, more squirrelly. 45 mins on the computer, then a complete break for at least ten minutes. That's the ticket.

** This is not medical advice yo **

I get the depth perception thing. I spend a LOT of time in front of my screen, being a developer.

For me it is eye strain, as the others have suggested. My ophthalmologist told me it was caused by the muscles inside the eye seizing through overuse. Basically, when I tried to adjust to longer distances (i.e. outside), my eye were unable to focus on them, because the muscles hadn't recovered and thus couldn't move effectively. This can evidently be exacerbated by dryness as well, due to focusing on the screen and not blinking.

I'm in the same boat as you--family history of glaucoma, and generally good vision. But I have a low prescription for reading glasses, which helps enormously, and I use eye drops to keep my eyes moving. Maybe ask your doctor about that?

I would even advocate Pomodoro Technique timing. 25 minutes work, 5 minute break. Get up and move around. After one block (four 25-minute stints which is two hours), take a 15 minute break. Again, get up and move around.

After two four-Pomodoro blocks (which is eight 25-minute stints, or four hours), take a half hour. Eat something.

Otherwise, take care of yourself.

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv.

That said, if I spend more than a few hours straight in front of the screen I get nauseous and dizzy, four hours or more will leave me wiped out with a migraine.

Pretty typical among friends of mine with chronic migraines.

I take lots of breaks.

Perks said:

When I write for long stretches for days on end, I end up spraining my depth perception. It makes me a little ill.

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My wife has been disabled for 21 years because of her inability to get up from the computer for long stretches of time. She even tried setting a timer, but when it went off, she'd think, "I'll just finish this one line of code." A half hour later, she'd realize that she'd forgotten about the alarm entirely.

This was before the days of ergonomic design. She came down with back pain, tendonitis, leg problems, and finally fibromyalgia. She had to give up her well paying job as a programmer-analyst team leader. To this day, if she attempts to use a computer, all the old pains and aches come back.

Getting up every 30 minutes and walking for 3 to 5 minutes would likely have avoided the whole thing. A trackball instead of a mouse, and an infrared keyboard would have allowed her to move about while working.

Perks said:

When I write for long stretches for days on end, I end up spraining my depth perception. It makes me a little ill.

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Ahem. Could you just - pace yourself? Because we want you to write lots of books. So don't be a silly child, alright?

I believe there are programs you can download that will actually lock your PC after a specified time and not give you access again until you've had your break.

I try to sit not longer than 45 minutes, or I get trouble with my back. So my ideal I try to do is 45 minutes, then a fifteen minute break to get up, move about, make a cup of tea, go to the loo, refill the hot water bottle I have to ease the back muscles (writing is so glamorous, isn't it? ) Then crack on!!

I have the same problem. I have depth perception problems to begin with (had a bunch of eye surgeries as a child) and the screen can give me headaches that make me sick. I agree that taking breaks is necessary, but for times when I just can't look at a computer screen, I either print the manuscript and edit by hand or I send it to my e-reader (it's one of those cheap ones with a screen that isn't lit). Those tactics are both for editing, but if you mix them up with the writing at the computer, it might reduce the eye strain? Just a thought. I hope you find some relief!

I will send my small children to your house STAT.

There will be no way you can spend that much time glued to the screen after that.

*Makes plans to actually write instead of diffusing physical sibling spats.*