First let me address the dry eye issue. Use drops to moiturize your eyes, dry eyes can lead to vision issues and it is also a cause of fatigue. And dry eyes come with the territory when we use computers all the time you have to do a little bit extra to keep your eyes healthy.

Best distance for short arms or long arms, go by inches instead. 20-30 inches is considered computer distance. If you tend to lean back most of the time, go for the larger number. If you tend to lean in (*also causes your back to ache!) go for a smaller number. I would say a good median distance of 25 inches for nearly any woman will be just about perfect. Men are taller and that makes it a little different for them, but not a lot.

Monitor size should not be an issue, unless your monitor is a itty bitty! Mine is a small one of 12 X 15, and the large one is 15 X 19 (*diagonal). I also have a Hitachi CRT that I retired that was a 26 inch squared. But it is not energy efficient. So I switched to the two smaller monitors and really see no appreciable strain.

I have worn glasses both distance and reading my whole life. So computer glasses are not too much of a issue.  The one thing I would recommend, get a pair that is computer distance only. It helps a lot when you do rendering as you are viewing a large area of the screen, and progressives are so restrictive. I say go for comfort and do a dedicated pair. Opticians push progressives because there is more profit in them, not because they are better for you. Antireflective coating is great, it does have UV in it already, so don't let someone upsell you both UV AND Anti-Reflective coating! It does not double anything but the price. Anti-Reflective coating can cut glare, but while it looks good, it isn't as necessary on your home computer as it is in offices with flourescent lighting, or driving at night. At home UV by itself is fine.

Lastly, take breaks... yeah I don't either. But if your eyes ache and get dry... go for a 5 minute break every hour or two, take off your glasses and close your eyes for a few moments. Who knows an artistic epiphany could occur when you do! We all sit and stare at a blank screen every once in a while! So that few minutes off could make a big difference to 'artist block'. Plus getting up and moving keeps you alert.

HugZ!
Ariana

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