Reading on a screen should feel like reading from a page.
Reading on a screen should feel like reading from a page.
Today’s high-res displays match print in clarity and contrast.
Embedded Files
So why do so many people only experience discomfort from digital displays?
So why do so many people only experience discomfort from digital displays?
Most computer users experience some level of digital eye strain, and for a small portion of the population, it can be quite severe — despite having no issues when reading printed books.
Worse yet, digital display use has been linked to negative health effects that can affect everyone — including those who don’t feel any immediate discomfort.
It's the light!
It's the light!
When luminance and contrast are properly adjusted, the only difference from reading a book is in the light emitted by displays.
But that difference is significant — here's why:
1) Unnatural Spectral Composition
1) Unnatural Spectral Composition
Our eyes are easy to fool.
Our eyes are easy to fool.
Sunlight has a full, balanced spectrum that supports our biology. In contrast, regular screens emit light that lacks the vast majority of the spectrum, only focusing on wavelengths most crucial for color vision. So even if the display's light looks white, it’s not the same — and our bodies feel the difference.
Natural light emits a continuous spectrum shaped by the sun’s temperature. Its effects on the body — including the balance between stress and recovery — are naturally aligned with the time of day and your environment.
Regular displays work differently.
Regular displays work differently.
Standard LCD monitors use a blue LED paired with a phosphor that shifts some of the blue into orange. The result appears white, but it’s skewed — with too much blue, very little cyan, and none of the deep red or near-infrared light our bodies benefit from. Other LED or OLED displays use three narrow spikes for blue, green, and red, with little to no emission elsewhere in the spectrum.
This imbalance in LED lighting leads to several problems:
Tissue stress and fatigue, implicated in accelerating retinal aging and long-term eye issues.
Sleep disruption when screens are used in the final hours before bedtime.
Decline in clear visual focus on the display.
Poor color rendering when filters attempt to reduce the intense blue spike.
2) Flicker
2) Flicker
LED backlights are commonly controlled using pulse-width modulation, which rapidly turns the light on and off. OLED screens also blink between displayed image frames.
Although this flicker is usually invisible, it can still trigger a neural response in the retina and brain, causing eye strain, headaches, and fatigue. It can also disrupt eye movement control, reducing reading speed and visual precision.
3) Lack of Circadian Dynamics
3) Lack of Circadian Dynamics
In nature, light intensity and color temperature shift gradually throughout the day, helping regulate our circadian rhythms and prepare the body for different phases. Software that mimics these changes on screens can replicate the color shift, but not the full physiological effects — because screens lack the full light spectrum needed to trigger those responses.
Why Existing Solutions Fall Short
Why Existing Solutions Fall Short
🔵 Blue Light Filters
→ Reduce some problematic wavelengths, but cannot add to the spectrum what is crucially missing. They also distort color due to poor LED spectral balance.
🖥️ Eye-Care Monitors
→ Slightly mitigate the above problems — but still rely on standard backlights with the same core issues.
💡 Supplemental Lamps
→ Add some missing wavelengths to your workspace, but fail to reach the eyes’ central field, address flicker, unnatural spectra and sleep disruption from the display itself, or provide the vital circadian dynamics that can only be found in daylight.
📖 E-Ink and RLCD Displays
→ Easy on the eyes when used in daylight, but too dim indoors and lack color, motion, and responsiveness — unsuitable to replace regular indoor monitors.
Instead of mitigating harm, Pixun solves the root cause of the problem by using natural light only.
Instead of mitigating harm, Pixun solves the root cause of the problem by using natural light only.
Screens are the only light sources meant to be stared at continuously throughout the day. So shouldn’t that light be the healthiest one?
Sunlight is the gold standard: full-spectrum, flicker-free, and always perfectly tuned to your time and location. Anything less puts your eyes and your vitality at risk.
Google Sites
Report abuse