If reading causes tired eyes ...

[CageSage]

I have a potential solution.
(I've noted several people say it takes them a long time to read a book, and being a bit, you know, lecturish in attitude ...)

For real books, use a bookmark with a solid colour and run it down the page as you read each line.
For a screen device (not talking about a computer screen), run your finger down the edge of the device as you read each line (or find a small bookmark in a solid colour but if you press too hard ).
This technique is how I managed to read a lot, lot, lot of work from students (when I was a tutor), slush pile mss, and technical tomes.
So, if you want to read faster and retain comprehension, have a solid blockout on the lines below the one you're reading.

 

[Mythobeast]

Here's a weird option. Try omega-3 vitamins. Not only are they good for brain function, but they also help keep your eyes moist. No idea why this works, but it does.

 

[Barbara]

I shall watch this thread closely. I'm slowly, slowly losing my eyesight bit by bit (genetics), so this will be helpful.

Playing with the amount of background light also helps, I find.

I read somewhere that computers have a setting which turns blue light off? Or was that on? Was it blue light? Anyway, some light that influences eyestrain. Hmmm. ... But thank you @CageSage, you've reminded me that I must go back to the 'settings' and try find it.

 

[Mythobeast]

The blue light thing isn't an eyestrain thing, it's a diurnal cycle thing. You have a separate sensor in your eyes for light at the 460nm range, which is basically blue. Those sensors don't add to your vision -- they feed into the stabilization of your sleep cycles. When you see that color of light earlier in the day, it moves your sleep cycle earlier. When you see it later in the day, it moves your sleep cycle later. Too much blue light in the evening can result in difficulty in sleeping.

Most OS's have a "night time setting" that decreases the blue output of your monitor in the evenings. For Windows users, look for Night Light. For Macs, look for Night Shift. Smart TVs generally have this setting, too, but it can be really annoying.

 

[Hannah F]

I must be blue-light blind. I can easily fall asleep in front of the computer/TV especially when watching an interesting documentary that I really want to see narrated by someone with a go-to-bed voice.

I've no problem with my eyes getting tired reading. I can read a good book for hours, but I can't skim read even using a bookmark because I see the story in "real time". If I try to read fast, my imagination says "no" because it becomes like fast-forwarding a film and trying to watch it at the same time.

 

[Mythobeast]

I must be blue-light blind.

Maybe, yea. This isn't an incredibly well studied subject. I know that they've identified the genes responsible for seeing blue, green, and red, and that colorblindness occurs when one of these three is missing. There's another version where one or more of them sees the wrong frequency. I have to assume that this could be the case for the gene that allows us to sync our sleep cycles to daylight hours. That would result in severe issues with maintaining a sleep schedule, though.

Falling asleep in front of a screen isn't what would demonstrate that, however. Blue light just changes when your brain releases the melatonin that signals the start of a sleep cycle, it doesn't prevent it.

 

[gbhunt]

I must be blue-light blind. I can easily fall asleep in front of the computer/TV especially when watching an interesting documentary that I really want to see narrated by someone with a go-to-bed voice.

I've no problem with my eyes getting tired reading. I can read a good book for hours, but I can't skim read even using a bookmark because I see the story in "real time". If I try to read fast, my imagination says "no" because it becomes like fast-forwarding a film and trying to watch it at the same time.

David Attenborough and Ken Burns reliably send me to sleep! And I LOVE their documentaries.