A developer easily spends ten hours a day reading very dense text, on several screens, often until late. It isn't the screen that damages your eyes, but the way you look at it that tires them. Here's what really helps, from your editor settings to your glasses.
Dark theme or light theme?
It's the great open-plan office debate. The honest answer: it depends on the room.
- In a bright room, during the day, a light theme (dark text on a light background) is generally more legible: the pupil contracts and focus is sharper.
- In the evening, or in a dark room, a dark theme saves you from staring at a big white rectangle and reduces glare.
- If you have astigmatism, light text on a black background can “bleed” slightly: try a lower-contrast dark theme (light grey on dark grey) rather than pure white on pure black.
Many editors switch automatically with the system: the best of both worlds. More details in our article on dark mode and filters.
A font made for reading
A legible monospace font, at 14 or 15 px rather than 12, with generous line spacing (1.4 to 1.6). If you lean towards the screen to read a variable name, the text is too small. Enlarging the text is the most rewarding habit of the day, and nobody will notice.
Setting up your screens
- The main screen straight in front of you, the top at eye level or slightly below, at arm's length.
- Secondary screens at the same level, angled slightly towards you, so you don't turn your head all the time.
- The same brightness everywhere, suited to the room.
- The window to the side, never behind you (reflections) or in front of you (glare).
Breaks timed to your workflow
Compiling, testing, deploying, code review: your day is full of micro-waits. Use them for the 20-20-20 rule — 20 seconds looking into the distance, every 20 minutes. Blink on purpose: when you're focused on code, you blink much less, and your eyes dry out (our tips against dry eyes).
What about blue light glasses?
They replace none of the settings above, and the science doesn't show that on their own they prevent eye strain. But many developers appreciate:
- during the day, clear anti-reflective lenses that reduce halos from overhead lights and multiple screens: MIDI or HAVANE;
- for night-time sessions, an amber or orange tint that warms up the light of the whole room: SAFRAN or BRAISE.
Be careful with tints on a front-end project: they distort the interface's colours. Keep them for evening back-end work, not for signing off a mock-up.
The warning signs
Daily headaches, blurred vision at the end of the day, needing to close one eye to read: get your eyes tested. A small uncorrected prescription, or presbyopia arriving after 40, is far more tiring than any screen — and no non-prescription pair will correct it.
Read next: Content creators: protecting your eyes without distorting your colours