Andy Minuth

Taking care of our eyes

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A few days ago I listened to this episode of fxguide podcast:

fxpodcast #312: Take Care of Your Eyes

I think this topic is very important especially for us colorists. Our eyes are essential for our work, we should keep them in good shape.

On the linked website they published these advises:

Quote

 

20/20/20 Rule:

For every 20 Minutes of focused work,
Look away 20 feet (around 6 meters),
Blink 20 times

Tips for the health of your eyes:

Drink Plenty of Water
Good Diet (same advice as you'd get from a cardiologist)
Wear Sunglasses
Don't Smoke
30 Minutes Physical Exercise, Minimum 3 times a week

 

Additionally I noted these things during the podcast:

- avoid too much airflow (AC, Ventilators, etc.) because it might dry out your eyes too fast

- working on a projector is probalby less fatiguing for the eyes than working on a monitor that is much closer. The accommodation muscles in the eye are in a more relaxed position, when you are focussing on something between 6m and infinity. Personally I made a similar experience. I always felt that working long shifts on a display, that is quite close is more fatiguing than working on a big screen, that is meters away. 

What is your opinion on that, and how do you approach the topic of eye health?

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On 29/09/2016 at 1:12 PM, Andy Minuth said:

Tips for the health of your eyes:

Drink Plenty of Water
Good Diet (same advice as you'd get from a cardiologist)
Wear Sunglasses
Don't Smoke
30 Minutes Physical Exercise, Minimum 3 times a week

Wearing sunglasses will make you look cool during a grading session, but won't impress the client. :-)

Seriously though, I did once try grading with a pair of sunglasses, just to see what happens. Apart from the monitor being a bit dim for my liking, the results weren't as horrendous as I'd thought. It was mainly all just tinted away from neutral white and  some hues were a bit too strong - you could almost call it a look!.

I did listen to the podcast and would agree that the cardiovascular system is one of the most important mechanisms to maintaining the health of all our organs. It's the only way we receive the nutrients and oxygen required to nourish our eyes.

One thing that wasn't really covered was how our eye's rods and cones are effected in older age. The lens yellowing effect on the blue end of the spectrum was discussed, but little else about failing colour acuity was mentioned.

One other thing that I felt was skipped over was the eye muscles themselves. Of course, any muscle strain in the body is to be avoided, but she didn't answer the question about exercising the eye muscles. Every athlete knows the importance of building and maintaining muscle strength by exercise, followed by eating lots of carbs and protein. Can the same philosophy not be applied to the eye muscles, or is simply following the 20/20/20 rule the best we can achieve?

 

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I won't comment on the HDR question, but I will say that if your profession depends on your eyesight, get a good ophthalmologist and get your eyes checked at least once a year or two. I also find using preservative-free eyedrops helps avoid me drying out my eyes, and I do that about 2-3 times a day. I just had a 45-minute exam a couple of weeks ago, and I asked the doctor how my eyes were, and he said, "just about perfect... but you need to blink more." Which I thought was funny, because basically, I don't blink much when I work because I'm always looking for that glitch I missed or that shot element that's way in the background. 

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