What Monitor Height Do You Find Comfortable?

Cheaplikethebird on 01/09/2022 - 16:02

I've had to complete countless office OH&S modules for work and one thing that always bugs me are the suggested guidelines for monitor height. They say that you should have the top of the monitor in line with your eyes and not above.

Surely these are from a time when <22" monitors were the norm and are now out of date. I'm using either 24" monitors at the office or 27" at home and I find that if I line the top of the monitor up with my eyes then my head is tilted downwards and I tend to hunch more leading to soreness in my neck and shoulders. I find having my screens so that my eyes are in line with the middle of the screen or slightly above is much more comfortable and it's much easier to keep better posture.

Am I an anomaly? What height do you find most comfortable?

Computing

Comments

  • jv on 01/09/2022 - 16:06
    +6

    What Monitor Height Do You Find Comfortable?

    Centre of screen at eye level.

    • spackbace on 01/09/2022 - 16:23

      I'd agree, but wow the OP's rule is actually what WorkSafe say

      • Cheaplikethebird on 01/09/2022 - 16:36

        It's the same everywhere. If you search 'OH&S monitor height' you'll see every guide says the same thing.

        • jv on 01/09/2022 - 16:44
          +1

          That doesn't make it correct.

  • Caped Baldy on 01/09/2022 - 16:43
    +4

    I think as long as most of it is below your eye level it should be fine. The issue would be if people have to tilt their head up which could cause an injury over time.

  • Seraphin7 on 01/09/2022 - 17:28
    +2

    Personally I set my eyes to be half to two-thirds of the way up the screen. I have two actual monitors and then use the laptop as a third screen sitting underneath the other two.

  • dqtl74 on 01/09/2022 - 19:20
    +1

    Depends on the size of the monitor. On my 27" monitor my eyes are in the top quarter of the screen which I find comfortable. Obviously depends on how far away it is as well.

  • TheBird on 01/09/2022 - 20:18
    +1

    For me, eyeline at about 2/3 of the way up the monitor.

  • cookie2 on 01/09/2022 - 21:18

    Mines always higher than everyone elses. Align it so that neck is straight when staring at area most viewed imo.

  • morse on 02/09/2022 - 03:44
    +3

    The reason the recommendation is for eyes level with top of screen is so you’re not arching/extending your neck to look up which can lead to muscle strain. You’re aiming to not be unnecessarily be actively engaging muscles for extended periods and keep a neutral position. You want to avoid a neck poke type posture, which tends to go along with rounded shoulders. ie shoulders come forward (particularly over a period of sitting) and chin tilts up - this can be exacerbated by a screen that is too high. Many people who do a lot of computer work have overactive neck extensors and under active deep neck flexors which over time can be and issue for your cervical spine. See second photo on this page https://www.theergonomicphysio.com.au/ergonomic-neck-pain.ht… if you can imagine as the higher the screen goes the more the cervical spine arches back.

    Probably eyes aligned with top third of screen would be reasonable. I agree this is all a bit tricky as screens get bigger. Many people also have one vertical monitor due the nature of their work, so obviously this goes out the window there. You basically want to be able to see all of your main screen without tilting your head back (even subtlety). It’s useful to have someone else take a photo of you working side on to get a bit of an idea of what your posture is like.

    Another common thing I see in office spaces is people with their chair too low so when they are typing it hunches their shoulders up to get their elbows above the desk. For shorter people (not necessarily very short ie ~170cm or shorter), often women, to get the right height so that elbows sit naturally at desk height, with a standard height desk they’ll need a foot stool (or ream of photocopy paper) to get their chair height right and still have their feet supported (unsupported feet is a low back issue).

    This is all for sitting at a typical office desk with a chair without head support. A gaming type set up could be quite different where back and neck are supported by the backrest and head rest, ie letting gravity do the work. In which case your screens may be higher and tilted forward. Search zero gravity workstation for a more extreme example (though I’d say that’s a bit OTT for most purposes).

  • baxterm on 05/09/2022 - 08:50

    Personally I prefer a 24" monitor.

  • kiitos on 13/09/2022 - 07:56

    On a related note, I have 2 x 24" monitors side by side at work, and prefer to work with them in the same flat vertical plane rather than each angled toward me like a curved screen would do.

    Is that bad for my vision or posture or anything?

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join