Eye/head pain due to gaming?

Right, so for the last few weeks now I've had a weird pulsating/twitching thing that alternates between my eyes and usually ends up giving me a head ache and I feel that this is maybe exacerbated by gaming (which i do mainly on my normal sized TV on my ps3) I'm not playing that long either maybe 3 hours tops. I don't need glasses either or any thing like that, am i just weird or does anyone else get these kind of issues whilst gaming?

Erm, it could possibly be nothing more than eye strain. Like, severe eyestrain, but nothing serious. Just go and walk around outside for a couple of minutes every hour.

Does your vision kind of weaken or do you feel nauseous, because that could also be an ocular migraine. I dunno much about either things, but you should probably ask a professional - not video game website boards.

I'd go see a doctor and ask him/her just in case. For me, I only get headaches when I buy a new size monitor or TV since my eyes aren't accustomed to the new size.

What kind of game have you been playing?

Don't worry it's not like your eyes are gonna start to melt cause of the TV, it's probably more related to motion sickness.

Not really. Try playing with the lights on and see if it helps. Room might be too dark. The pain I get is my right hand aching and getting numb/tingly if I game on my PC too much.

I wear contacts, and it takes me longer than 3 hours of gaming to start to make my eyes do what you are describing. But when I try to play games without my contacts in, I start to feel the eye strain quickly.

There is a pretty good chance you actually do need glasses, I would check with an optometrist to be sure. You may not think you need them, but how would you know the difference between a normal persons vision and your own? It took quite a long time for me to realize I had shitty vision, just because I figured it was normal.

Dude, what are you doing? Go see a doctor or go to a clinic if you don't have health insurance.

Do you use a CRT TV? Sometimes those gave me headaches after prolonged periods of playing. To be safe, you should probably see a doctor.

I get sore eyes playing games. I find it's because I get so absorbed in the game that I forget to blink.

Best case scenario is that it's eye strain. I got eye strain over the last couple days because my regular TV is gone for a warranty repair and I've been using a monitor instead. Because it's a smaller screen I'm at a desk instead of on my couch; I was too close to the screen for it's size and thus I got eye strain. Rest your eyes for a day or two and move back from the TV and see if that solves the problem. If not then it's a worse case scenario like an eye problem or brain tumor.

Stop playing video games for a few days. I know that proposition sounds absolutely insane and nigh-undoable, but for the sake of your eyes and head I suggest you minimize looking at screens for a few days.

And when you do go back to gaming, make sure you do it in a well lit area, make sure you're at a decent distance from the screen, and take a decent break here and there. Yeah, I know, that sounds like it came right out of the "WARNING: DON'T ___" section in instruction booklets, but those are not without any truth.

@cannonballBAM: Don't need insurance as I'm English but thanks anyway ;)

@believer258: Thanks yeah i might try and take a break for a few days it'll be difficult with AC3 just coming out though as I'm itching to play that, guess I'll just have to read a book or something crazy like that!

@believer258 said:

Yeah, I know, that sounds like it came right out of the "WARNING: DON'T ___" section in instruction booklets, but those are not without any truth.

Those things say that for good reason. I used to scoff at them when I was younger but not so much now. Remember to take regular breaks, even if it's just to get up and empty your bladder and have a stretch. I can't legally drive because my eyes are so damaged from countless hours in front of CRTs. Breaks are your friend. Ain't no shame in doing a mission at a time or whatever.

Also I've found certain games do different things to me. My eyes take a while to adjust but if I play anything for more than 2hrs continuously it's headache time.

I use to get those, just make sure to play your games in moderation in good lighting and far away enough from your television. Its kind of funny but I've only seen warning about headaches signs about length of gameplay in Japanese games.

I've had issues like this as well. Lighting is important with playing video games, but the headaches and eye pain also come from playing long hours at a time. You do need to take breaks, as is suggested. I get tension headaches when I go to the movie theater as well. I wear glasses now because of playing video games in the dark with very little breaks.

Also, I can't play some games because I become nauseated, but not to the point where I throw up. I tried to play games like Dead Island, and Just Cause 2, but I felt too dizzy to want to continue.

I don't have that issue because I can only get around to playing a couple of hours tops at a time. The only game I can remember that gave me immediate problems was Syndicate. That game was heavy on bloom.

@Poppy_Persona said:

Right, so for the last few weeks now I've had a weird pulsating/twitching thing that alternates between my eyes and usually ends up giving me a head ache and I feel that this is maybe exacerbated by gaming (which i do mainly on my normal sized TV on my ps3) I'm not playing that long either maybe 3 hours tops. I don't need glasses either or any thing like that, am i just weird or does anyone else get these kind of issues whilst gaming?

I'm not sure 3 hrs counts as short. Eventually you'll start being happy with single hours.

Asking a doctor about it may not be a bad idea. But otherwise try to experiment with the room lighting, and maybe see if you notice a difference in games locked to different frame rates (like 60fps vs. 30fps) to explore the motion sickness angle. It might also be worth trying to play from a slightly different spot, so your prospective on a the screen is a bit different.