Full Body Cramp

Eyewear?  Yes, this is a site  for mountain bikers but we’re not in the saddle 24/7.  Look deeper.  You are in front of a computer, in front of a display, in a room illuminated by fluorescent tubes. If you are a computer geek, chances are you play video games and do it on a 42″+ LCD screen.  Got eye strain?

I recently received a pair of indoor eyeglasses from Gunnar Optiks.  They’re of interest to me because I wear contacts in front of a computer 8 hours a day,  with 2 24″ monitors 36″ from my face, and there are literally 18 fluorescent tubes above my head.  Coupled with really bad vision, nearsighted -7.50, I find myself squinting and rubbing my eyes a lot.  Introducing Anime, from the Gunnar Attache collection.  I’ve used them exclusively at work and home for the past week. This is my experience.

There are 2 lens choices for indoor use, AMBeR (yellow) or CRySTALLINE (clear).  The clear lens is for graphic designers who need to retain the natural color range.  I chose the yellow because it best matches my office operating environment.  Noteworthy features:

• Anti-Reflective coating on BOTH sides.  Talk about a lens that seriously wants to kill aberrant reflections.
• Oleophobic coating keeps smudges and fingerprints to a minimum.  Think iPhone 3G/3GS screen.
• Hydrophobic coating keeps water spots to a minimum.  That’s for you crybabies who just lost a deathmatch and blame the lag.
• Carl Zeiss lens.  If it’s good enough to take pictures of your retina, it’s good enough for an eyeglass lens.
• Wraparound design.  It keeps my contacts from drying out.
• +.2 diopter.  I’ll explain this one later.
• Lightweight

Why amber?  Fluorescent lights emit a lot of blue light which makes it “difficult for the human eye to focus due to (blue light’s) scattering characteristics.”* An amber lens help cut down on the blue light that reaches your eyes.  Does it work?   Yes.  I’ve noticed that I’m not glaring at the monitor anymore.  In fact, it gives me an almost sleepy sensation because I can relax my eyelids more.  Strain has definitely been minimized.  I’m not sure how effective these lenses will be in an office that gets a lot of natural light.  If that’s the case, it might be better to wear clear, if no lenses at all.  I think they’re optimized for artificial light only.

A problem with my high prescription is that vision up close is difficult.  I find myself leaning towards the screen to find the focus “sweet spot”.  Not only is it irritating, it’s tweaking out my posture and I’ll look like the Quasimodo by the time I’m 60.  Since these lenses have a +.2 diopter, it essentially dumbs down my prescription a bit.  I can comfortably sit back in my chair and do my work thing.  However, the +.2 doesn’t work for everyone.  My wife can’t stand it and it gives her a headache.  If I were to compare it to something, it would be like wearing weak magnifying glasses.  I highly recommend you try on a pair in person before committing.

One thing I’ve noticed about the coatings on the lenses is that they are tedious to clean.  If you find a smudge on it and proceed to wipe it off, you are going to spread that smudge around.  It’s like a game of chase because you push the damn thing all around the lens.  AR coatings have a bluish tint to them so any smudge really stands out.  It’s not a defect, it’s a sign of a high quality coating.  My best advice is to use the highest quality microfiber cloth possible.  The provided microfiber bag does a satisfactory job.

Gunnar says the wrap around lens design creates a microclimate.  It’s supposed to keep your eyes from drying out from extended computer/gaming sessions.  To me, it’s just a side effect from wearing glasses.  I don’t think that the particular feature has ever been formally named, so if they want to call it a microclimate, let them.  That aside, it actually helps me in the gaming aspect because I hardly blink when playing.  I noticed that I can put them on and play longer before switching out to my glasses.  I think the ultimate microclimate-anti-dryness system would be a scuba mask.  You would be single forever though.

Bottom line – Try these if you suffer from eye strain and want some relief. My eyes don’t get as tired at work anymore.  Basically, I’ve become more relaxed and productive at my workstation.  Also, I can wear my contacts longer while playing my favorite FPS at home.  Demo a pair first to make sure it works for you and your application.

FBC members, check out the glasses at your local mall’s Office Games or http://gunnars.com. If you like them, contact me so we can do a group buy at a significant savings.

I’m not affiliated with Gunnar.  This is simply a review.

*Resource: “Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS): How to Treat the Patients You May Not Know You Have” by Cosmo Salibello, OD, published on the Pacific University (Oregon) website.