The 20-20-20 Rule and Other Screen Habits Worth Trying First

Habits · 5 min read

A day at a laptop or phone asks a lot of your eyes. They hold focus at one short distance for hours and, without noticing, we blink far less than usual. Dry, heavy, tired eyes at the end of the day usually trace back to those habits.

The best-known fix is the 20-20-20 rule. Every twenty minutes, look at something about twenty feet away for twenty seconds. It costs nothing and takes no equipment, and it gives the focusing muscles inside the eye a short rest.

Blinking matters as much. Try blinking fully and on purpose whenever you notice your eyes feeling dry. A humid room and a break from a fan or vent pointed at your face can help too.

Set up the screen so it works for you. Place it slightly below eye level, an arm's length away, and cut down glare from windows and lamps. Make the screen brightness roughly match the room around you.

Text size is another easy change. If you catch yourself squinting or leaning in, make the type bigger. Nothing is gained by straining.

If your eyes stay red or painful, if vision blurs and does not clear, or if you notice flashes and new floaters, book an appointment with an eye doctor. A supplement is not a substitute for finding out what is wrong.

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