That cheap IKEA desk lamp was giving me headaches for months

I finally figured out why my eyes felt tired by 2pm every day. It wasn't my monitor or my chair, it was that little $15 Jansjo lamp I've had since 2018. The light was pointing straight down onto my keyboard, creating this harsh shadow across my whole desk. I didn't realize it until my sister visited last week and moved it to bounce off the wall behind my monitor instead. Total game changer. The whole room feels softer now and I can actually work past lunch without squinting. Has anyone else had a cheap light fixture mess with their setup without realizing it?

3 comments

3 Comments

kaih3614d ago

Hard agree on this one. I had a similar problem with a desk lamp that was way too direct. Pointing it straight down made the light hit the keyboard but left my face in shadow, which messed with my eyes way more than I thought. Bouncing light off a wall or even the ceiling is a cheap fix that most people don't try. Your mileage may vary, but even just angling the lamp arm so the bulb points away from you can help a ton. Another thing to check is the bulb itself. Some of those cheap led bulbs have a weird flicker that your eyes pick up on even if you can't see it. Swap it for a warm white bulb and see if that helps too.

river_allen14d ago

@kaih36 My buddy tried bouncing light off the ceiling and it fixed his headache in one day.

the_max13d ago

Oh man, I had the exact same issue with my desk setup! I started bouncing my lamp off the wall behind my monitor and it made a huge difference. No more eye strain after a few hours of work.