LED Lights for Desk: College Student's Guide to Eye Strain Relief

[Nothing000]

Hello. Does anyone here use and LED light for their desk? I am a college student and spend a lot of time at my desk reading. I get pretty bad eye strain from reading so much. I am thinking about getting one of these LED lamps.

Also, does anyone use any other type of lamp that is better than traditional lamp light?

 

[chroot]

Generally, a well-lit room is easier on your eyes than is a brightly-lit desk in an otherwise dark room.

- Warren

 

[berkeman]

You might also consider using reading glasses if you don't already. Back in college, my eyes started to lose distance accomodation from all the close reading that I was doing. Fortunately, I went to an optometrist who turned me on to reading glasses, and my far vision went back to normal. Right now I just use +2.0 diopter reading glasses from the supermarket pharmacy, but for your first pair of reading glasses, you should probably see an optometrist. Your school's student health insurance may even pick up a lot of the tab.

 

[Nothing000]

...you should probably see an optometrist. Your school's student health insurance may even pick up a lot of the tab.

Unfortunately I do not have school health insurance. Should I check into the health insurance my school offers? Is it usually a better deal than regular health insurance?

 

[berkeman]

At my undergrad school (UC Davis in California in the late 1970s), part of my tuition went to my student health insurance premium. I don't remember if it was optional or not, though. Definitely check out the student health insurance that is available -- it's probably a pretty good deal compared to private health insurance. The bigger the group, generally the better the deal that you get. And a university population (or multiple universities in the case of the UCs) is a pretty big base for an insurance group. Plus, the demographics of the university population make them a lower risk (generally) for health insurance premiums.

However, even if you decide not to pick up health insurance, getting reading glasses is not very expensive. Depending on where you are, you should be able to walk into a LensCrafters or some place similar, and spend $100-$200 for the exam plus basic glasses. (That's just a guess on price, but I think I'm close.)

 

[durt]

I have an Ott-Lite at my desk. It provides really clear, white light, but no heat (i.e., you can't feel it in the air). Pretty cool stuff.

 

[Nothing000]

Hey durt, what wattage of Ott-Lite do you have?
Do you think they are worth the price?
How much did you buy yours for?
Does anyone else own an Ott-Lite?

 

[durt]

The one I have is http://www.sightconnection.com/trucoldeslam.html" . It takes an 18-watt bulb. I didn't buy it, so I can't say how much I bought it for . Despite that I'd still say its worth the price ($115 according to that link, though you could probably find it cheaper) because I spend a lot of my time under it, and I haven't had to replace the bulb in the four or five years I've had it, so it's not a hassle.

 

[Nothing000]

Does it give you enough light for that to be the only lamp you have on your desk?

 

[durt]

For me, yes.