Spending long hours looking down at a screen, especially when bright and fairly close to your face is hard on your eyes, and your neck, upper back and shoulder muscles.
◊ Try reducing the brightness on your screen to reduce eye strain. Desktop computers can commonly be adjusted to around 60% brightness.
◊ Try moving your screen to at least 75cm from your eyes. A longer focal length means your eye muscles don’t have to work so hard.
◊ Add a laptop stand and check your screen height so you can work with a more relaxed posture. The centre of your screen should be about shoulder height.
◊ Remember to shake out your shoulders and relax back into your chair whenever you find yourself leaning forward or resting on an elbow. Releasing muscle tension and sitting back into a relaxed neutral work posture is very important to increase comfort and reduce headaches.
If you regularly take headache or muscle relaxant medications, these simple changes are worth trying.
Do you have other ideas on ways to reduce headaches caused by long hours of screen use?
Explore our Simple Changes Page for more ideas and new skills that will help you care for yourself in our modern screen-based work and leisure world.