Visual strain during VDU work: the effect of viewing distance and dark focus.

Some standards for work at visual display units (VDU) recommend viewing distances of about 50 cm. The present study investigated whether or not visual strain is lower at viewing distances greater than 50 cm. Specifically, the question of whether the optimal viewing distance is determined by the individual's accommodation in a condition without fixational stimulus, the so-called dark focus, was studied. Two groups of subjects with mean dark focus of about 1 dioptre (D) and 2 D, respectively, performed a search and comparison task for 2 hours at a VDU at viewing distances of 50 cm and 100 cm. The characters on the VDU subtended the same visual angle in both conditions. Visual strain was evaluated by recording the subjects' performance during VDU work, their judgements of the comfort of the viewing distances, and their subjective estimates of visual strain; further, several oculomotor functions were measured throughout the sessions. In both groups, visual strain was higher in the 50 cm condition, and the lon...

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