Headaches watching Macbook Pro 13" in bed.. suggestions?

[djrobsd]

I'm getting eyestrain headaches in my right eye while watching my Macbook Pro 13 inch in bed. I just bought the computer a few weeks ago, and I have a couple of theories. I've watched movies in bed on my HP Elitebook with the 14 inch screen, no problems, but it has a very dim, and matte display, the Macbook Pro has a VERY bright, LED backlit display.

So, I'm wondering...

Is it the bright LED backlit display?
Is it because it's glossy and not matte?
Is it the 13 inch size? Should I return the 13 and get the 15?

Or???

I've tried moving the laptop further away from my eyes to no avail. I turned the brightness down and that didn't help too much...

Maybe I should turn some lights on in the room and not watch it in the dark?

FWIW, my vision is 20/20 in the left, and 20/30 in the right, so maybe there is something else going on with my vision, but I got my eyes checked last week and he said I am still on the "cusp" of needing glasses. 😉

 

[spinnerlys]

It's always good to have some background lighting.

 

[reallynotnick]

Well if it is truly a brightness problem, try out Shades, it will allow you to make you laptop even dimmer.

http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/shades

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

The awesome and very color accurate screen takes some time to get used to. Especially if you transitioned from a dimmer, CCFL-backlit screen to a brighter LED-backlit screen. You don't need apps that turn down the brightness, by default you can turn down the brightness to a very dim level.