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[recursive]

I get dry eyes and blurry vision when gaming with my contacts in. I also can't track fast motion with them in as well as when wearing my glasses. Especially happens when playing shooters since I tend to not blink much. I either have to keep some eyedrops nearby or wear my glasses to keep my vision clear when gaming.

 

[ugh_the_boot]

Here are my tips to avoid tired/strained eyes during gaming:

1. Blink more (no seriously....remember to blink).
2. Have a light source in the room other than the TV when playing at night.
3. Smoke less weed.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I work for an Opthamologist and the most common thing they get is the complaint of dry eye's. Best thing you can do really is to blink more, get some sort of tears substitute like Mondrian suggested, or play less or a combination of all three to some degree. Having another light source in the room will also help reduce strain, which will help as well. It's also kinda a natural progression in aging for a lot of people too, so you may wanna look into taking better care of yo' eyes. Eye's is important.

 

[Bear_King]

Do you know you can turn off the camera shake?

Yep, I turned it off and lowered the camera and aim sensitivity

 

[cyborg009]

You simply need to blink more. I'm not kidding - most people don't blink enough when playing games.

Here are my tips to avoid tired/strained eyes during gaming:

1. Blink more (no seriously....remember to blink).
2. Have a light source in the room other than the TV when playing at night.
3. Smoke less weed.

I also agree with these really helped me out a lot.

 

[joecanada]

You gotta take breaks man. It's not healthy. Every large company that has people on monitors for hours a day invests in programs to keep their employees healthy by encouraging breaks away every hour or so.

Go get some water, take a piss, do some push-ups, roll your shoulders, stretch, focus out the window. Really anything you want.

Truth man I enjoy gaming but it's tough when using a computer all day. Gotta rest those eyes I've had Fridays where my eyes wouldn't even focus anymore

 

[Lonewulfeus]

I have tried restasis and it didn't do jack shit except fatigue my eyes more and burn like hell. I wanted to get another dose, but insurance decided I should pay three times the amount I originally paid. Well fuck that. My eyes are pretty fucked up these days. After a few severe pain attacks, and going through the later few years of school with insanely tired and dried eyes, I just power through the pain when it comes to games.

The key with restasis is time, most doctors should have discount cards for the drops also, I know they can be expensive and generally take 3-6 months to start noticing an improvement but man it can make a world of difference.

 

[Extra Sauce]

That's just the computer trying to get some extra practice over you in order to beat your ass senseless in the game. Never trust computers.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Nothing like a contact falling out during the third lap on Mario Kart.

 

[xamidoxhua]

I have this - I spoke to an optometrist about it and he said its common in gamers. When playing or staring at screens apparently people just don't blink enough. He recommended regular breaks and eye drops, and reducing long stints into short bursts. I have to say I haven't really followed the advice.

 

[SirMossyBloke]

If you have some throw away cash get Ambivision. Looks cool and reduces eyestrain.

 

[vocab]

The key with restasis is time, most doctors should have discount cards for the drops also, I know they can be expensive and generally take 3-6 months to start noticing an improvement but man it can make a world of difference.

I just deal with my issue. I don't go outside anymore unless necessary due to the pain, and night time is equally as bad. Ah well, just another aspect of my shitty life.

 

[jax]

Damn, GAF sure has a lot of time to consecutively play games. I'm pretty jealous. I'd suggest not playing games for 5+ hours straight, but I'd get yelled at.

Take breaks when you're playing games guys, geez.

 

[vazel]

https://justgetflux.com/

Also, I noticed stereoscopic 3D makes my eyes feel more relaxed and focused, so sometimes I'll play a game in 3D for half an hour or so to make my eyesight feel refreshed. Some people get eye strain with 3D so this will not work for everyone.

 

[Amirai]

Check the airflow in the room. Air moving across the eyes dries them.That's what was causing dry eyes for me. I just get fresh air in my room when I'm not in it using a fan instead.

For my eyes getting tired, f.lux, changing the brightness of the screen and how close I am to it, looking into the distance for 20 seconds every 20 minutes and taking longer 15-45 minute breaks every few hours helps a lot.

 

[Messofanego]

Wait, are people mentioning having a light source meaning that there are people who play games in the dark with just the screen being used as a light? If so, that seems odd.

 

[Cronox]

Wait, are people mentioning having a light source meaning that there are people who play games in the dark with just the screen being used as a light? If so, that seems odd.

More people do this than you'd think.

 

[Auto-Reply]

Don't play in the dark, put a light behind your tv to illuminate the wall. That takes a lot of stress off the eyes.

When you concentrate for longer periods of time on the screen then you unconsciously forget to blink, you can try and remind yourself to blink more or buy some medical liquid to wet the eyes.

 

[daxy]

Had that too. Like others said here, my optician told me to blink more often. It's worked for me. As you're playing you're really concentrated on a game and always on guard to react to things the game throws at you, so you will typically blink less often. It's weird to have to actively think about it, but it's solved all my problems with eye strain and dryness.

Also, indeed have another light on in the room apart from the screen.

 

[IchigoSharingan]

Are you on a super low carb diet?

That can mess with tear production for some people.

RUH ROH.

No wonder the squinting does nothing!

 

[Frodo]

I get dry eyes when playing SSB or Bayonetta or similar stuff


Every.Time.
The blink more advice is legit.

 

[glaurung]

Dry eyes? Just use eye drops or get a humidifier for your gaming area. It's not wise to put it bang next to a console, but anywhere else is fine.

I have recently noticed that I get an anxiety headache from playing MGS5. It's the tension.

 

[Hanmik]

Read this some years ago..

One of the most common causes of eye strain is watching a small, bright object in an otherwise dark room. Because the room is otherwise dark, your irises are wide open, allowing lots of light to enter. The TV, being a small percentage of your overall field of view, doesn't cause your irises to close as much as they should. To put it another way, if everything in the room was radiating 80 foot-lamberts, your irises would be much more closed then when the room is totally dark and only the TV is radiating 80 foot-lamberts. That "pinpoint" of light in the darkness can be causing your eye/headaches. It can also lead to viewer fatigue, where there isn't sharp pain, just a overall tiredness of the eyes.

http://www.cnet.com/news/why-do-my-eyes-hurt-while-watching-tv/

 

[Sidewinder]

Damn, GAF sure has a lot of time to consecutively play games. I'm pretty jealous. I'd suggest not playing games for 5+ hours straight, but I'd get yelled at.

Take breaks when you're playing games guys, geez.

Dry eyes will become a more common problem (it probably already is) thanks to the screens being everywhere in our life...working in an office?? PC screen all day long. Have a Smartphone or tablet (who doesn't, right?)?? Mobile screen the rest of the day. Playing videogames, watching TV?? Even more staring at a screen at short distances and being bombarded by artificial light.

It isn't only (rabid) gamers that are affected by this.

I myself would love to sometimes play all night long, but I can't, not because I've got no time, but because my eyes are already dry enough, amongst other problems...

 

[Finaika]

I sometimes think it's the act of staring at the TV that makes my eyes dry, but it ends up being the overhead fan in my room lol

How does a fan makes your eyes dry?

 

[TDonk]

As everyone has said.

Improve the lighting in the room, very important. A consistent light throughout.

Use eye drops....Blink Intensive Tears, don't use them too much.

Blink a bit more often.

Throw in the odd break. Even 10 minutes will help. Look into distance, eyes relax more at long range focus.

If you dont wear glasses, get an eye test. Even slight problems can cause issues. I get bad headaches from games/driving/TV/reading despite clear vision without glasses. My glasses help alot.....also look into the blue light filters.

 

[TDonk]

How does a fan makes your eyes dry?

Like a hand dryer for your hands.

 

[Iced Arcade]

A Co worker has a pair and swears by them. We work 10hr shifts in a room with 25 monitors. Debating getting a pair myself

 

[Sidewinder]

As everyone has said.

Improve the lighting in the room, very important. A consistent light throughout.

Use eye drops....Blink Intensive Tears, don't use them too much.

Blink a bit more often.

Throw in the odd break. Even 10 minutes will help. Look into distance, eyes relax more at long range focus.

If you dont wear glasses, get an eye test. Even slight problems can cause issues. I get bad headaches from games/driving/TV/reading despite clear vision without glasses. My glasses help alot.....also look into the blue light filters.

What about playing with a VR helmet might this be all around better than staring at a screen? The eyes are focusing at long distance, right? And the display fills up most of the viewing angle, so should be better than a screen in a poorly lit room?

 

[Hazaro]

Try f.lux
Get more FPS and lower screen tearing
*reduce brightness

 

[AdanVC]

I'm gonna follow some tips in this thread because I feel the same as OP. My eyes look like shit and I should take care of them

Sleeping well is very important. When I was at the peak of my anxiety I could barely look at monitors, I would literally feel pain in my eyes within 5 minutes, because I was tired since I was sleeping so poorly.

Keep the lights on too while playing/using a PC, it helps a lot. I've also noticed that some monitors are worse than others. I don't have any problems with the screen of my Mac but the old Benq monitor I used before gave me headaches for some reason.

Well damn. It's 4:18 am here. You're so goddamn right I need to stop sleeping awfully late everynight...

 

[ManUnkindH]

I use eye-drops, not as much as I should though. Perfect balance would be using it every hour or so and take 10 minutes brakes.

 

[Tunavi]

Like a hand dryer for your hands.

Brilliant!

 

[wildfire]

Right now there are 4 ways to reduce eye strain with current LCDs.

1. Lower the brightness through settings (default is always way too high)
2. Take a 5 minute break every hour.
3. Use gunner optiks.
4. Buy a new LCD that has the ability to reduce the blue light part of the color spectrum.

Ultimately what you really want is an OLED screen but the ones available now aren't affordable. You may have to wait as long as 2018 for that to happen.

 

[Notor!ousG]

I got the same model of Gunnar glasses you put in the OP .

I experienced the same problems during work and especially later in the evening when I started gaming.
I only wear the glasses at work and my eyes are so much better, complaints are gone.

Just wear them at work and you can play your games without them. Just give them a few weeks to work in, your eyes need to recover first.
Edit: TIP: use some eye mositure for the first month, it helps the recovery process.

 

[Tunavi]

yeah i get this shit all the time. one of the worst things about gaming

 

[DSN2K]

stop playing computer games for a while...and don't just jump on your phone or watch TV.

 

[TDonk]

What about playing with a VR helmet might this be all around better than staring at a screen? The eyes are focusing at long distance, right? And the display fills up most of the viewing angle, so should be better than a screen in a poorly lit room?

Technically your eyes are only focusing at about an Inch?

Even if your brain thinks otherwise, your eye muscles will only be focused as far as the screen. Your eyes work alot harder when trying to focus closer.

Also, what the previous guy said about brightness. All my PC/Phone/Tablet screens are down to pretty much minimum or down as far as viewable!

TV is normal but good consistent lighting nullifies the eye burning effect.

Screen Glare is another thing to think about, can be distracting and uncomfortable if very obvious.

 

[RubenCordeiro]

As other users have stated, eye drops help a great deal, since the pain and discomfort felt during game is usually due to dry eyes.

Those Gunnar glasses work, however, the yellow tint distorts the original colors of the games you're playing. I would go for a pair of anti-glare glasses without the yellow tint.

 

[JimPanzer]

start smoking weed

 

[DarkTom]

Try to apply this rule :

Watch a fixed point at 30 meters, during 30 seconds, every 30 minutes.

I do it at work and it works. 30 meters is just a remembering tip but the important thing is to look at "infinite" because that is the way your eyes are relaxing, and you will naturally blink.

A soft called "EyeDefender" can warn you to do a break, I use it personnally.

 

[Notor!ousG]

As other users have stated, eye drops help a great deal, since the pain and discomfort felt during game is usually due to dry eyes.

Those Gunnar glasses work, however, the yellow tint distorts the original colors of the games you're playing. I would go for a pair of anti-glare glasses without the yellow tint.

True, that's why I only wear them at work.
But the yellow tint filters the bad blue light.

 

[ZanDatsu]

I can't believe people turn lights on... God I hate lights. Blackout curtains all the way, just put your palms over your eyes for a minute and get back in the game. Also, f.lux for general PC usage, not games though.

 

[Hanmik]

I can't believe people turn lights on... God I hate lights. Blackout curtains all the way, just put your palms over your eyes for a minute and get back in the game. Also, f.lux for general PC usage, not games though.

ehhh if the room is dark, your irises are wide open, allowing lots of light to enter.. so the light from the tv is making your eyes hurt..

 

[Gnome]

I have a pair of gunnars that I used to wear before I stopped having the free time to play games for long stretches, they worked pretty good. I preferred it to a F.lux program only because F.lux kept clashing and having problems with a program and I couldn't figure out which one it was.

 

[FataIChoice]

People have already said blink, but I will harp it too.

I spoke to a doctor about it one time thinking it was the medication I was on at the time, first thing he asked me was if I play a lot of video games. Something akin to your body naturally blinking less in situations where you are forced to concentrate intensely, which you are more likely to be in and for longer times while gaming.

 

[ZanDatsu]

ehhh if the room is dark, your irises are wide open, allowing lots of light to enter.. so the light from the tv is making your eyes hurt..

Never noticed this with TV before, only with a PC monitor but f.lux solved it for me.

 

[kek_lel]

Having some lights on in the room might help.
Also do you play on console op?
I feel like 30fps games strain my eyes alot more than the same games at 60 fps, believe me I tried switching back and forth with dark souls and it went from really hard to look at (30) to pure bliss and no problem at all (60)

 

[Fluxer]

A flicker free panel should also help with eye fatigue.

Most modern decent monitors are using flicker free panels now.

 

[big_z]

I have diagnosed "dry eye syndrome"... which basically means midwestern, fair-skinned guy with blue eyes. My ophthalmologist (actual eye MD, not an optometrist) put me on preservative-free refresh optive and 3 grams of flax oil or fish oil per day. I chose flax, as it's easier on my stomach and doesn't give me fish burp. As a software developer who spends all day staring at a screen at work, this has changed my life... seriously.

*

*The lemon-flavored tastes like lemon starbursts

Both of these items cost about 30 bucks a month, but I don't mess around with my eyes. If you don't want to spring for the fancy flax oil, you can get milled flax seed at most grocery stores and just mix it in with yogurt or a shake or something. That'll save you a lot of money.

If you're ok with fish oil, people swear by this supplement:

[/IMG]

Laser surgery gave me dry eyes among other issues and it sucks. Like you I have gone through various things to help minimize the problem. I personally recommend jamieson omega-3 select for fish oil and flax. The EPA/DHA is in these are the highest you can get without paying out the ass for specialty pills. In fact if you simply take 3 pills you will get more epa/dha than the expensive stuff and still be paying half the amount. Theres no fishy after taste or upset stomachs to deal with either.

I agree with the eye drops. preservative-free is a must, using drops with preservatives or trash like visine can actually make things worse. I highly recommend theratears preservative-free drops over the Refresh brand. I find it more soothing and you get more drops per vile.

last for people with diagnosed dry eye like you Mondrian, look into restasis. it helps me and you can put the cap back on to get 3 uses per vile. just give it 4 months before writing it off, it takes a while for your eyes to adjust.