What color scheme is better?

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	What color scheme is better? Reward $2 Created by Nelson1962, 2015 days ago, 2171 views I am the kind of guy that spends at least 10 hours on a computer everyday, so my question is which color scheme is easier on your eyes: light text / dark background or dark text / light background?
	√ Best Answer 1 BM2013 days ago I was just going to use a specific situation to answer this question... what would I prefer to look at when I've been sitting in the dark for a while, or just woken up? The answer there is light text on a mostly dark background. (Mostly because the only thing that wouldn't be dark would be the text). I am no expert on eyes, but that is just my personal experience, since that is how I have it on my Blackberry, and it helps so much when responding to late night texts. I hope this helps! Good question, by the way. Its one of those little things that no one thinks about asking... but everyone appreciates it when you figure it out. (may also depend on what is being viewed, now that I think about it). Upvote1 downvote0
	2 Whiterabbit012015 days ago Dark text with a light background; nothing bold as itcan cause the rods and cones in your eyes to 'tire' quicker (I used to work as an opthalmologist before retiring) and casue eye strain. If you are spending 10 hours in front of a monitor it would also be advisable to use an eye spray to prevent dry and irritated eys, for example optrex actimist. I also spent an inordinate amount of time in front of a monitor. Staring at a screen for such lonng periods you'll find your blink responses are delayed, which leads to dry eyes. This can cause problems with the cornea if its not moisturised regularily. Personally I've fount the actimist 2 in 1 the best as you can spray it on closed eyes. The active compound in the spray wicks into the eyes through capilliary action. There's no discomfort only a sense of relief when the eyes have been moisturized. Using bold colors or a light text on a dark background activates the rods and cones for longer periods. This causes the rods and cones to become depleted and can cause problems with seeing the text properly. Also constantly staring at the monitor will tire your eye muscles and cause eye strain. Upvote0 downvote0
	3 atreasurehunter2015 days ago I personally prefer light text and dark background for it easier on my eyes :) Upvote2 downvote0
	4 nino20182015 days ago The colors of nature, a blue and green Upvote0 downvote1
	5 flexagone2015 days ago I highly recommend you an application called f.lux It reduces the amount of blue on your screen which is the color which stresses your eyes a lot Link: justgetflux.com/ Upvote0 downvote0
	6 ha142015 days ago your brain may translate differently color impact so you have to work until you get the right configuration for you. Upvote0 downvote0
	7 AmericanDawg2015 days ago Hi @Nelson1962 This link will give you an example of the color scheme I use . Real easy on the eyes. Open this link in a new tab. https://pdeng.wordpress.com/2008/11/02/my-emacs-color-theme/ Then click back and forth between the two pages and you will actually feel the difference in eye strain. Secondly , if your experiencing eye strain . * They make eyeglass lenses that selectively filter up to 20% of harmful blue light rays . * Focus your eyes on something off in the distance for at least 30 seconds. * Use eye drops * Have screen about 2 feet from your position and use a slightly larger Font to reduce eye strain. * If you have to spend allot of time at the computer , take 10 minute breaks every hour. I hope these tips help . Upvote2 downvote0
	8 azzromyo2014 days ago Hi @Nelson1962 Back In The Day, computer screens were black with light (green or white) text. This made sense. Then, word processors came along and someone (probably Microsoft) realized (or thought---but probably correctly) that the business people they were selling to wanted something more literally What You See Is What You Get, leading to the black text on white "paper" background paradigm. Turns out this was more like staring at a lamp than a sheet of paper, but it stuck. I've always hated it, and especially hated that on the web, unlike in terminals and editors, you really can't switch back without destroying the aesthetics of almost all websites. What you really want, to prevent eye strain and fatigue, is overall low intensity, medium/high contrast. Low intensity means your eyes won't get burnt out from staring at a lamp, and medium/high contrast means that your eyes don't have to strain to see the difference between the text and the background. Another issue is focus. If the screen is too dark (and you are in a dark room), your pupils will dilate, and this makes the image blurrier, causing strain. This means you don't want too low intensity, especially if you sit in a dark room. Therefore, you want a background with about the intensity of a dark grey, with something about the intensity of a light grey. However, to get the high contrast I discussed above, you need to use color. One of the best color schemes for this is actually yellow text on a dark blue background. However, this often looks pretty garish, so I don't use it. Zenburn (available for vi(m), emacs, all sorts of terminals, and probably your favorite editor too) is a popular theme with fairly low intensity, but I find the contrast isn't quite high enough, so I usually go with something a little darker for the background and a little lighter for the foreground. Personally, I use a slightly modified Sunburst on emacs: http://pdeng.wordpress.com/2008/... and the default terminal scheme for the latest Ubuntu's "Ambiance" theme (with some silly zsh customizations and proper DIR_COLORS and LS_COLORS). Upvote1 downvote1
	9 SetupComputer2014 days ago @Nelson1962 My eyes are used in a dark text and light background setting. My eyes don't like too much contrast, so I don't use a light text and dark background setting, except perhaps in Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Linux). If your eyes hate too much contrast, then use a dark text and light background theme. Cheers! Upvote1 downvote1
	10 alvindgreat2014 days ago Hi @Nelson1962 Different people have different perceptions and tolerances to light. I prefer dark text and light background. I also prefer to use the computer where all the lights are off. I am better at doing this. My head easily aches when there is so much light. I experience eye strains too sometimes when lights are on. I feel more comfortable in this dark text and light background scheme; so the more comfortable I am, the more productive I become. However, as I said people are different. What's good to me may be bad for you. So observe. If you don't know what set-up works for you best, then try both. Use a dark text and light background theme once, then light text / dark background the next. Observe how you respond to both schemes. You have to work at it until you get the best scheme for you. Take where you are more comfortable with and stick with it. You will observe that the more comfortable you are, the more productive you will be in your job. So make your choice and make it count and let your choice define your success. I hope it really helps you. Godspeed pal. Upvote1 downvote0
	11 ZzMrXzZ2014 days ago Read this tips: http://www.allaboutvision.com/cvs/irritated.htm Upvote0 downvote0
	12 Olpers2012 days ago @Nelson1962: Dude, Since there are many answers out there, I guess you try this feature in windows (this color scheme worked for me :) Goto Magnifier, then on settings/options Turn on Color inversion (See screen shot below): Upvote0 downvote0