Tired at work? You may be sitting too close to your screen

Sitting too close to a computer screen at work can make your eyes tired. Photo / iStock.

Being too close to a computer screen at work can be tiring for a user, especially for their eyes.

Most people find computers that are only 50 centimetres away from them too close, says the German Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in its latest brochure.

A good, average distance is 75 centimetres between the eyes and computer screen.

A distance of nearly 100 centimetres is advisable for big, high-resolution screens.

The comfortable inclination of a person's head and their gaze is highly individual. But basically, most people are best off looking slightly downwards at a computer screen. The user should test a few positions to find the most comfortable one.

If the desired distance, height and slope cannot be achieved with an ordinary monitor base, BVA recommends consider using a pivot arm to put the computer screen in a better position.

- DPA