If you find your eyes getting dry and you’re tearing up more than usual while working at the computer all day, one of the possible reasons is because your eyes are strained. This can happen when you don’t blink for too long because you’re staring at a screen and also because the lighting is insufficient.
More often than not, what we think is good enough lighting really isn’t, and if you’re looking for a way to better illuminate your workspace, light bars could be the solution. For those unfamiliar, light bars are essentially lights that you can hook on top of your monitor. The idea is that by casting light where you will need it, as opposed to ambient lighting from a desk lamp or ceiling lights, it could potentially reduce eye strain, so here are some of the best options we’ve found.
The BenQ ScreenBar is one of the more popular options we’ve found when researching monitor light bars. It comes packed with features like a built-in ambient light sensor that can automatically adjust the light bar’s brightness accordingly. It can also go from cool white to a warm white to help create different moods and lighting according to your needs, and the light bar itself can be angled in three different positions.
If you really have the cash to splash, the BenQ ScreenBar Halo is pretty much the cream of the crop when it comes to monitor light bars. It not only features lights on the front to illuminate your workspace, but there’s light on the back to help cast light against your wall for better ambient lighting.
It’s also been designed so that it plays nicely with curved displays, and there’s also a built-in wireless controller that lets you adjust the light without having to reach up and touch it to make your adjustments.
If the idea of a wireless controller to control the light bar sounds appealing but you’re balking at the price of the BenQ ScreenBar Halo, Xiaomi’s light bar is a good and affordable alternative. The light bar itself is easy to install and will work with the majority of monitors, and there’s also a wireless remote control and preset computer modes for users to choose from.
While BenQ’s ScreenBar might be one of the more popular choices, it isn’t exactly the cheapest either. If you’re looking for something a bit more affordable, then the Baseus Monitor Light Bar could be a good alternative. While it might lack features like auto-dimming, the built-in controls do make it easy to adjust its brightness. It also supports different color temperatures ranging from a warm white 2800K to a cool white 5500K.
While not strictly a monitor light bar in the traditional sense, one of the advantages the Philips Hue Play has going for it is that it is smart lighting. This means that you can control it using your phone or smart speaker and it works across the majority of smart home platforms like Alexa, HomeKit, and Google Home.
It also has the added advantage of being able to choose from a wide variety of colors to set the mood, plus it comes with a stand so that you can place it on your desk, mount it behind your monitor, and so on.
