As a web developer, I need to use my computer for work. So for almost 10-15 hours a day, I work on my computer. Sometimes I get a very bad headache.
I am using the laptop on my bed while I use a pillow behind my back, and one under my body, and one long pillow under my legs. There is a fan and a low-power light (deem-light) in my room. What is the best way to avoid headaches in this situation?
Your work posture, lack of lighting and too-long workday are major health risks. Change your habits before it's too late.
Too little light is a possible cause of headaches. To work comfortably on a computer, you need enough ambient light that the screen isn't the brightest element in the room.
A laptop is a very cramped work environment. It's much more comfortable to use a separate mouse and keyboard, plus a large external monitor, all set up on a desk that uses an ergonomically correct layout. With your current position, you're probably hunching your shoulders, which creates pressure on the nerves going to your arms. Your bent neck also creates pressure on the nerves. Both lead to RSI, which is painful and difficult to get rid of.
For a correct setup, see e.g. this document. Summary: all your limbs should be either horizontal or vertical. Monitor straight in front of you, center of monitor slightly below eye level.
Finally, 10- to 15-hour days are way too long. A normal work day is 8 hours, then you need to get away from the computer and relax your body and your brain. The occasional 15-hour day may be necessary, but when you do overtime more often, you quickly lose its benefit: when you work too much, you become less productive until the point where you complete less work in 15 hours than a well-rested version of you can accomplish in 8 hours.
I have the same problem a few years back when I started working in front of my PC, every day I feel very much headache. The things that I tried to get rid of this are:
Hope it will help you.
Do not rest your head on the pillow, while working, it is the cause of your headache. I sometimes get severe headache when watching TV while resting my head on a pillow.
I also suggest you to use proper light, and minimize your computer glares if you have to work in the dark room.
You can also find more advice in the "Health SE" forum.
I'm a programmer and a sysadmin myself, so I deal with the same thing, especially since I use contact lenses as well...
Excercises:
Get up from your chair or bed once in a while and STRETCH like you would after the best nights sleep of your life.
Move a part of your regular excercise regimen (if you have one) to different times throughout your day. (if you feel it's nescessary, get on the floor and take 10)
There are loads of tips out there, but my primary one is that you never work from bed again. This affects your sleep pattern a lot, since your brain adjusts itself for WORK instead of SLEEP when you go to bed. If you have insomnia, that'smostlikely also the reason... and insomnia itself can give dreadful headaches as well...
Eye strain might be the cause for your headaches.
More info: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-type-of-computer-monitor-for-coding
One thing that works for me is to set your display to have white text on a black background.
Even your work implies a lot of time spent in front of PC, you should think about your health.
To avoid headaches:
When I was had a headache, I used (and recommended to you) Cai-Pan Mint spray, which is based on peppermint oil. It have cooling-effect and relieve headaches, pains, stress etc.
Had a similar issue, just wanted to add some more tips to the already good answers. For me, this really helped:
Use normal glasses with quality aspheric lenses. Avoid varifocals and the like, they increase fatigue for some people.
Reduce the brightness of your monitor. I find that high contrast but overall low brightness is the best.
Try a dark background. I find that running apps in dark mode reduces eye strain significantly.
Get a bigger, higher quality monitor. I upgraded from 22" to 28" monitors. The cost was minimal, LCDs are so cheap these days, and it really helped. If you do this make sure you don't just bump up the resolution and make everything smaller - the 28" screens I got are 1920x1080 resolution, the same as the 22" ones. Having said that, if you can go 4k/5k and have Windows 10 or similar that supports it, that will also make reading easier.
There are lots of things to preserve your vision. The science of proper body positioning for various types of effort is called ergonomics.
Start by getting out of bed and either sitting intermittently with walking or try a standing desk with some foot pressure-relieving floor mats.
Practice the 20-20-20 rule:
Every 20 minutes, focus your eyes on an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds to relieve eye strain.
Adjust your environment to minimize contrast between the room illumination and your screen.
Increase the lighting level using indirect light to a minimum of 300 lux at the work surface.
Keep the coordinated colour temperature as natural as possible with 5000°K as the target value (this is the optimal for human eye efficiency). The monitor colour temperature can be lowered to this from its native 6500°K (too high which is stressful for viewing.)
Ensure your Vitamin A and D are balanced and sufficient for your best vision nutrient requirements for long screen-viewing hours.
