How to Set Up an Ergonomic Workstation to Reduce Eye and Neck Strain

Eye strain and neck pain at a computer often come from the same cause: a screen in the wrong place. Getting the distance, height and light right takes a few minutes and can make a long day far more comfortable.

Screen distance

OSHA's workstation guidance suggests a screen 20 to 40 inches (about 50 to 100 cm) from your eyes. A simple check: sit back and stretch your arm out; your fingertips should be near the screen. If you lean forward to read, make the text bigger rather than moving closer.

Screen height

• Put the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level, so you look slightly down at the middle of it.
• If you wear varifocal or bifocal glasses, lower the screen further so you don't tilt your head back.
• Center the main screen in front of you, not off to one side.

Laptops

A laptop forces a choice between a good screen height and a good keyboard height. Raise the laptop on a stand and use a separate keyboard and mouse. That one change fixes the most common cause of neck strain.

Chair and keyboard

• Feet flat on the floor or a footrest.
• Knees roughly level with hips.
• Elbows close to your sides at about a right angle, with wrists straight.
• Back supported, especially the lower back.

Lighting and glare

• Place the screen at right angles to windows, not facing or backing onto them.
• Use soft room lighting; avoid a bright screen in a dark room.
• Tilt the screen slightly to remove reflections from ceiling lights.
• Match screen brightness to the room.

Text and display settings

• Increase text size so you can read comfortably from your normal position.
• Use your system's display scaling on high-resolution screens.
• Modern Dark Mode darkens bright websites, with brightness and contrast sliders, which helps in dim rooms.
• In the evening, Blue Light Filter warms web pages on a schedule you set.

Two screens

Put the screen you use most directly in front of you. If you use both equally, place them so the join is in the middle. See multi-monitor ergonomics.

Move and rest

No setup is good for eight hours without moving. Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds, and stand or walk for a few minutes every hour. See the 20-20-20 rule. If pain or strain persists, see an optometrist or doctor.