UPDATE 2018: The "look up and down, look outside the window" etc. are exercises that do not work. See this: http://nrecursions.blogspot.com/2018/03/eye-strain-is-not-caused-by-digital.html
UPDATE 2020: The real cure for eye strain: https://nrecursions.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-real-cure-for-eye-strain.html
It is only when I was affected with severe eye strain that I realized how important it is to get enough of sleep everyday and to take breaks while working on the computer.
Even if you're not having back pain or eye strain, I'd still recommend that you install a software like Eye Leo or Work Rave (works on Linux too) to remind you to take breaks. I found Eye Leo to be nice, but there are more alternatives.
It has short-breaks like in the image above, and long breaks where the entire screen is dimmed. You can change the settings (mine are short breaks every 3 minutes and long breaks every 30 minutes for 5 minutes at a time). The application sits quietly in the system tray and starts when the system starts.
Some corrections: When your eye muscles are tired, it's wrong to do eye exercises. The people who came up with the eye exercise routine had the logic that when you look leftward, the extraocular muscles of the right eye would relax and allow the lactic acid to flow away. I know from experience that it's just a piece of theory that doesn't work in practice. Simply keep your eyes closed, relax your face muscles and neck muscles. That's all you need to relax your eyes during daytime. At night, make sure you get uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep. And simply blinking and drinking enough water is enough to ensure sufficient lubrication of your eyes via tears. After almost a decade of strain I realized that doctors are actually clueless about how to cure eye strain. The incompetent lot give people spectacles and eye drops instead of advising sleep and rest.
For more information on curing eye strain that actually works, see this: https://nrecursions.blogspot.com/2018/03/eye-strain-is-not-caused-by-digital.html
I would recommend this software even to people who don't wear spectacles and even to people who say they have no strain while working on the computer. You need to take rest.
----------------------------------
Even if you're not having back pain or eye strain, I'd still recommend that you install a software like Eye Leo or Work Rave (works on Linux too) to remind you to take breaks. I found Eye Leo to be nice, but there are more alternatives.
Some corrections: When your eye muscles are tired, it's wrong to do eye exercises. The people who came up with the eye exercise routine had the logic that when you look leftward, the extraocular muscles of the right eye would relax and allow the lactic acid to flow away. I know from experience that it's just a piece of theory that doesn't work in practice. Simply keep your eyes closed, relax your face muscles and neck muscles. That's all you need to relax your eyes during daytime. At night, make sure you get uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep. And simply blinking and drinking enough water is enough to ensure sufficient lubrication of your eyes via tears. After almost a decade of strain I realized that doctors are actually clueless about how to cure eye strain. The incompetent lot give people spectacles and eye drops instead of advising sleep and rest.
For more information on curing eye strain that actually works, see this: https://nrecursions.blogspot.com/2018/03/eye-strain-is-not-caused-by-digital.html
I would recommend this software even to people who don't wear spectacles and even to people who say they have no strain while working on the computer. You need to take rest.
