Working in the dark

We all had that common memory of someone telling you to avoid using screens in the dark. Well, it is pretty much justified - no matter it's your mum or your friend, high chance that they have read one of the reposted articles on Facebook or WeChat about how it can cause blindness or other permanent eyesight issues.

But sometimes it is worth asking if it is true when we read all these things - it is something on Facebook, and that platform is pretty notorious for the amount of clickbaits and fake news...well, even if it is something written on a local newspaper, I will still ask if it is real because it is something written by humans too. Can't blame it, one of the lecturers that taught me last year literally trained this critical thinking part of me and now it is extremely natural for me to search for double-side information and do the justification myself. Whatever, that sounds out of context and let's get back to the title.

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I normally don't get the chance to use screens in the dark. I mean, when I'm at home, all the lights are off after I sleep, so I pretty much have to do everything under the light until 11pm. But, things changed when I lived in the dorm. When you are in-charge of everything, most things will start to make zero sense and that's when I start to develop the habit of using my laptop in the dark at night. The contrast between the screen and the surroundings somehow allow me to focus more on it no matter what I'm doing, and I have a keyboard backlight (I'm fine working without it anyways, I don't even look at the screen when typing if I'm not in the room...). So, occasionally when I'm not outside of my room, I will turn off the lights and do my stuff in the dark. It feels a little natural to me anyways.

But still, let's get back to this question - is it harmful? I know it is a little silly for me to ask this after having the habit for almost 1 year (approximately 10 months to be exact), but questions have to be answered. Let's dig for the solution.

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Two types of saying.

On a topic like this...yes, I kinda expected it.

On this Quora thread, you can see various suggestions about that. Some say that it is okay if you have some ambient lighting around, some says that it is bad, some said something else...bla bla bla... well, as one of the answers stated, it is really hard to find a study on things like these. But whatever, Quora's answers are sometimes fishy because they are provided by the community after all. It is in overall better for for-fun answers such as "the most messed up day in your programming career" or something like that. So let's see if we can find something better.

Personally, I trust MakeUseOf a little more, and they have an article on it. Generally it made a little more sense because they gave proofs, citations, and explanations. In short, using the computer in the dark isn't going to kill the eyesight in the long term, but it will for a short while, and the ergonomics actually play a more important role on this than the lighting.

Ergonomics. Hmm.

Source

This term caught my attention pretty well, because how much we usually ignore about it from time to time. I remember writing something about it a long time ago, but it's good to revise a little. Generally, prevent bending the neck and back for extended periods, try making the angle of the elbow obtuse instead of acute (preferably a right angle), and avoid doing acrobatics on the chair because you don't really need to (I won't lie that it is quite common for me to do strange postures on the chair, I really look like a monkey in some ways :P). The importance of practicing then is pretty much justified because incorrect posture causes various issues that take a long time to heal, like the carpal tunnel syndrome, and of course, it is painful. We don't want that.

But still, I still can't see any studies on this issue so we can't settle down on a real science-based conclusion for now. Anyway, remember that your body is the most advanced machine ever found in the universe apart from the universe itself - when you feel that the eyes are telling you that they need a rest, listen to them. It can't be wrong, and of course, frequent breaks are good. Also, try out redshift or f.lux, they help to reduce eyestrains by a lot.

well just to be safe, I should try to use some dim lighting around this time, it might be a little more comfortable too

I'll put it here now, see you next time, and stay healthy :)

--Lilacse