| Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is a cluster of adverse health effects that include headaches, blurred vision, neck- and backaches, and several others. This syndrome is the result of individuals having their eyes exposed to computer displays, also known as Visual Display Terminals (VDTs), for longer and longer periods per day. Currently, there are no definitive cures for CVS. Some suggested strategies for mitigating CVS include improved ergonomics, anti-glare filters, improved displays, reduced exposure and computer glasses.; While the existence of CVS has been known for several years, only recently have a few eyewear products become commercially available of such design as to minimize at least some of the variables thought to cause CVS.; The purpose of this research effort was to systematically test a set of commercially available computer glasses' effectiveness in ameliorating the impact of CVS and attendant performance loss in VDT users. This study conducted a controlled experiment with 40 subjects using the selected computer glasses and measured the effect the glasses had on reducing eyestrain, blurred vision, headaches, neck- and backaches, short-term memory loss and performance degradation during a continuous 2-hour interaction with a computer workstation.; Of the ten research hypotheses, one (eyestrain) returned a statistically significant result. However, this represents a significant results because the experimental group's average eyestrain response increased from 2.1 (pretest) to 2.6 (posttest)---a 23.8% increase---while the control groups' average eyestrain response increased from 2.35 (pretest) to 4.75 (posttest)---an increase of 102.1%. Given the design of the experiment, this strongly suggests that the CVS glasses can ameliorate eyestrain (a CVS symptom) resulting from computer use.; The implications of this finding suggest that worker productivity may also be impacted by an increase in the number of breaks due to increased eyestrain in computer users. |
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