Ask HN: Do you have any tips on how to preserve your eyesight as a programmer?

1) Use Nighshift/Flux permanently on your device. Not just during the night. Helps reduce the amount of blue light you're exposed to.

2) Look away from the screen for a minute at least every 20 minutes.

3) Take a longer break and look around a bit every couple of hours.

It's important to keep your blood sugar within reasonable range--diabetes can cause pretty severe vision problems.

Also, consider getting a pair of fixed-focus "computer" glasses. They won't "preserve" your eyesight, but it's kind of a one-time level-up to let you use those tiny fonts a few more years.

I've found two things helpful over the years.

1) Read books. When I'm staring at the monitor for hours my eyes don't move around as much and my eye muscles can get weak which leads to headaches. I've found that simply reading books forces me to move my eyes around enough to correct this.

2) Go for walks outside. When you're walking around outside you'll need to refocus your vision on things at all different distances. This has helped me a lot.

I have worn glasses since a child. Eventually I found I need one set of glasses for computer work and another for the rest of my life. Although I do go around the house using the computer ones, I rarely go outdoors with them.

Oh I forgot, I also have black background when doing code.

I take a break every couple of hours to look out into the distance.

I have great eyesight but I think that little exercise helps more with revealing strain rather than actually preserving anything.

1) I try to spend less time focusing on short distance. Replacing reading with audiobooks when possible was significant for me.

2) I try to notice the strain in eye muscles. As soon as I notice it I tend to relax and this seem to help.

3) I try to reduce load on eye muscles when possible. Like read less from small screen devices or use bigger font size when this doesn't affect usability.

Most of the suggestions so far are about short term comfort, I am not sure that there are specific ways for preserving eyesight except for the obvious- keep yourself healthy, periodic general checkups, and personal safety- use eye protection when necessary etc.

20-20-20 rule: every twenty minutes, look at something at 20 ft away for at least twenty seconds.

I do eye gymnastics and take care of my health. I try to eat more products containing vitamins A, E and C - key vitamins helping to maintain eye health. I also take dietary supplements for vision - Lutein and Zeaxanthin.

There are some glasses used to preserve your eyesight. I personally recommend Anti Blue light Glasses. https://techvella.com/best-glasses-to-protect-eyes-from-comp...