How often should you take a break from a PC, and for how long?!


Question: How often should you take a break from a PC, and for how long?
I'm working as an accountant for a small London firm. The firm is taking off, but my boss said he didn't want me taking ANY breaks during my 8-10 hour day; to have my lunch at my desk. After I had established myself, I asked for a break and he permitted me one 30 minute break for lunch. After getting to know him well, I asked for 20 mins every 2 hours, not neccesarily to break but to handle paperwork and calls etc... just to look away from that friggin' screen. He relented.

Basically, is 20 mins every 2 hours enough? I know by the rule book it's probably not, but we're talking in reality. I can't afford to take any more. I knew a guy who really made himself ill through excessive pc use at his work and was suffering all kinds of visual problems, vomiting and twitching.

Thanks in advance :)

Answers:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

First of all wear the correct prescription glasses.
Then do a few.near and distance fixations making sure to completely relax your eyes for distance.



About all you can do in a bad situation like that is make the best of it by following a few simple rules.

Keep your monitor at least 28 inches from you. The farther the better.

Dim the monitor brightness a bit, that helps a lot.

Train your self to look away from the screen, across the room , even for a few seconds , every few minutes. It becomes second nature before long. Letting your eyes refocus at distance for a few seconds at least helps enormously in reducing strain. I look away from the screen about every 5 minutes at the most, for maybe 15 or 20 seconds and can go for hours without any eye strain feelings.

Keeping a good posture also is important.

If you wear glasses , you should have an anti reflection coating on them also to eliminate glare that happens on the lenses.

Your boss sounds tough , and doesn't seem to know that rested employees are more productive.

Optician




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