So many of us sit at a computer all day peering at a screen, it’s no wonder eye strain is a common problem. But only some of us — like today’s featured MacBook Pro and Studio Display user — really attack the problem beyond taking more breaks. They offer tips to reduce eye strain below.
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M4 Pro MacBook Pro and Studio Display users offers tips to reduce eye strain
Apple's flagship laptop packs a roomy 16-inch 120Hz display, powerful internals with 24GB memory, and all-day battery life.
- M4 Pro chip is powerful and efficient
- Gorgeous screen
- Same (great) design as previous models
In a post titled “Standing-desk Mac setup after a year of eye strain tweaks,” healthcare entrepreneur and Redditor jbornhorst talked about their struggles with eye strain and laid out fixes anyone can try. They listed the gear they’ve settled on and described how it and certain ergonomic practices helped “dial in eye strain” after a full year of tweaking. Even if you don’t use specialized computer glasses like jbornhorst — although we all probably should — there’s plenty to do.
Here’s the gear as they listed it (see links list near the bottom of the page for everything):
- 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro chip
- Apple Studio Display with Nano-Texture Glass
- BenQ ScreenBar Halo (highly recommended)
- Oakywood oak glasses tray
- DeltaHub felt deskpad
And these steps helped the setup fixed jbornhorst’s eye strain:
- Monitor height set at eye level at a viewing distance of 26 inches.
- Adjust BenQ ScreenBar Halo daily to exactly match ambient light in the room.
- Closed blinds behind my monitor to allow for even lighting behind the screen.
- Slight lens shift in computer glasses: A softer 0.25D in a test frame led to night-and-day difference in how eyes feel after a long day.
About those computer glasses
The 27-inch Apple Studio Display packs an impressive panel with the nano-texture glass helping cut down unwanted reflections. This is backed by a six-speaker system and studio-quality microphones.
While not the best 5K monitor around, the Studio Display delivers deep Apple ecosystem integration, making it stand out from the crowd.
- 5K resolution
- 12MP Center Stage camera
- Six-speaker sound system
- Nano-texture glass cuts down reflections
- No HDR support
- Height-adjustable stand costs extra
So jbornhorst relies on computer glasses to ease eye strain. But getting them right took effort, too.
“Despite seeing several optometrists and having dedicated computer glasses, my glasses always felt a little ‘off,'” they said. “Spent many years working through the pain.”
So they ended up buying a 200 lens optical trial lens kit from Amazon. After replicating their prescription in the test frame, they tried slight variations of lens powers throughout the day. Several days of “tuning” revealed that a 0.25D tweak in my right eye was the unlock.
“Almost never think about my eyes at the computer now,” they added. “Tried tweaking cylinder/axis too, but realized that 80/20 results lie in tweaking overall lens power (sphere) only.”
They even put together a kit to see if it’s helpful to others.
Key factors in eye strain
Complete with a wireless controller, this glare-reducing monitor light bar lets you adjust brightness and color temperature.
- Glare-free front lighting
- Ambient back lighting
- Wireless controller
- Somewhat expensive
Another commenter added a helpful list of factors that cause eye strain, calling ambient lighting a secondary consideration:
- Refresh rate: Arguably the most important variable for eye strain. Anything under 75 Hz is capable of causing eye strain. Most people will be fine with 60 Hz, but anything under that is likely to cause strain.
- Brightness level: Brightness turned too high in darkness can cause eye strain. Brightness turned too low in a bright room can cause eye strain. Most people should be comfortable keeping their monitor brightness at around 160-180 nits, in both moderate, indirect, interior daylight, and low, interior night light, but you may need to adjust for more significant differences, or to your personal sensitivity.
- Monitor distance: Your monitor should ideally sit a full arm’s length away from you, maybe a little more or a little less, depending on the length of your arm. Ideal is about 24-27 inches.
- UI scaling: Text on your monitor should be easily readable at sitting distance. You shouldn’t feel the need to lean in at all to read anything in a standard font size.
- Follow the 20/20/20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
Shop these items now:
Computer and stand:
Display and light bar:
Input devices:
Furniture, lighting and accessories:
- Uplift standing desk
- Lume Cube articulating LED desk lamp
- Oakywood oak glasses tray
- DeltaHub felt deskpad
- Subtle Optics computer glasses
If you would like to see your setup featured on Cult of Mac, send some high-res pictures to [email protected] (iPhone pics usually work fine). Please provide a detailed list of your equipment. Tell us what you like or dislike about your setup, and fill us in on any special touches, challenges and plans for new additions.
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
