I have very sensitive eyes too. And this is also a problem I've had with Linux on certain systems. My desktop is nothing special. My video card is Nvidia and the main monitor is a Dell running at 75hz. Windows is fine. Every distro I've tried is not. I've checked in Linux to make sure the refresh rate is correct. I've used both the open source driver and the closed source blob for the video card. I have no idea why I don't get eye strain from Windows but I do with Linux.
If anyone knows the answer and has a solution, please let me know. I'd love to dual boot this machine.
I'm guessing you prefer ClearType over FreeType. Have you tried using macOS on a standard-resolution monitor? It has very different font rendering from either Windows or Linux. If it turns out that font rendering is what makes your eyes strained, you may benefit from a higher-DPI monitor.
If the issue is screen tearing, try Sway or another Wayland compositor. That's always better in my experience.
If anyone knows the answer and has a solution, please let me know. I'd love to dual boot this machine.