Extended gaming sessions can take a toll on your eyes. Symptoms like dryness, irritation, headaches, blurred vision, and difficulty focusing are collectively known as digital eye strain or computer vision syndrome. While gaming monitors aren't inherently harmful to your eyes, the way we use them—long hours of focused concentration with infrequent blinking—certainly can be.
The good news is that eye strain is preventable. This guide covers practical strategies for protecting your vision during marathon gaming sessions, from monitor settings to environmental adjustments and healthy habits.
Understanding Digital Eye Strain
Digital eye strain occurs when our eyes work harder than usual to focus on digital screens. Several factors contribute:
- Reduced blinking: We typically blink about 15-20 times per minute, but this drops to as few as 3-4 times when staring at screens. Less blinking means drier eyes.
- Fixed focus distance: Constantly focusing at one distance for hours strains the eye muscles responsible for focusing (the ciliary muscles).
- Screen glare: Reflections and excessive brightness force your eyes to work harder to see clearly.
- Blue light exposure: While research is ongoing, blue light may contribute to eye fatigue and affect sleep patterns.
The 20-20-20 Rule
The simplest and most effective strategy for reducing eye strain is the 20-20-20 rule:
Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet (about 6 metres) away for at least 20 seconds.
This gives your ciliary muscles a break from close-range focusing and encourages blinking. Looking at distant objects relaxes the eye muscles that work to focus on nearby screens.
Use a timer app or set a recurring phone alarm every 20 minutes. Between matches or during loading screens is a natural time to look away. Even brief breaks help—you don't need to stop gaming, just shift your gaze periodically.
Optimising Monitor Settings
Brightness
Match your monitor's brightness to your ambient lighting. In a dark room, lower brightness reduces the harsh contrast between screen and surroundings. The screen shouldn't be noticeably brighter or dimmer than the wall behind it.
Test: Open a blank white webpage. If it looks like a light source, it's too bright. If it looks grey and dull, it's too dark.
Colour Temperature and Blue Light
Blue light, emitted heavily by LED-backlit displays, is suspected to contribute to eye fatigue and disrupt sleep patterns (though research is still developing). Many monitors include "Low Blue Light" or "Reading" modes that shift colours warmer, reducing blue light emission.
Consider enabling warmer colour temperatures, especially during evening gaming sessions. Windows' built-in Night Light feature and third-party apps like f.lux automatically adjust colour temperature based on time of day.
Flicker-Free Technology
Some monitors use PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) dimming, which rapidly flashes the backlight to reduce brightness. This flickering, while often imperceptible, can cause eye strain and headaches in sensitive individuals.
Look for monitors advertised as "flicker-free" or "DC dimming"—these use alternative dimming methods that eliminate flicker entirely. Most modern gaming monitors have adopted flicker-free technology.
The most impactful setting changes are reducing brightness to match your room lighting and enabling low blue light modes, especially for evening gaming. These simple adjustments reduce the visual stress your eyes experience.
Room Lighting and Glare Reduction
Avoid Complete Darkness
Gaming in a completely dark room forces your pupils to constantly adjust between the bright screen and dark surroundings. This rapid adjustment contributes to fatigue. Maintain some ambient lighting—even dim background light helps.
Bias Lighting
Placing a soft light behind your monitor (bias lighting) reduces the perceived contrast between screen and wall, making the viewing experience more comfortable. LED strip lights designed for this purpose are affordable and easy to install. Choose warm white or adjustable-colour options rather than bright RGB effects that create their own distractions.
Position Relative to Windows
Avoid placing your monitor directly in front of or facing windows. Direct sunlight creates harsh glare, while facing a bright window creates excessive contrast. Ideally, position your desk perpendicular to windows, using blinds to control light levels.
Turn off your monitor and look at the black screen. If you can see reflections of windows, lights, or yourself, those same reflections are present when the monitor is on—you're just not noticing them consciously. Reposition your setup or adjust lighting to eliminate visible reflections.
Monitor Position and Distance
Proper monitor placement reduces the effort required to focus and view the screen comfortably:
- Distance: Position your monitor at arm's length (50-70cm). Too close strains focusing muscles; too far requires squinting.
- Height: The top of the screen should be at or slightly below eye level. This allows a natural, slightly downward gaze that keeps more of your eye surface covered by the eyelid.
- Angle: Tilt the monitor slightly backward (10-20 degrees) so the screen faces you directly, reducing reflections and ensuring you're viewing the panel at its optimal angle.
For detailed positioning guidance, see our desk and monitor setup guide.
Staying Hydrated and Blinking
Conscious Blinking
Remind yourself to blink fully and frequently. Partial blinks don't spread tears across the entire eye surface. During intense gaming moments, consciously take a complete blink every few minutes.
Hydration
Dehydration worsens dry eye symptoms. Keep water at your gaming desk and drink regularly. Caffeine and alcohol have diuretic effects that can increase dehydration—balance gaming beverages with water.
Artificial Tears
For persistent dryness, preservative-free artificial tears (available from any pharmacy) can provide relief. Apply before symptoms become severe. If you experience chronic dry eyes, consult an optometrist—you may have an underlying condition that gaming exacerbates.
- Follow the 20-20-20 rule (every 20 min, look 20 feet away for 20 sec)
- Match brightness to room lighting
- Enable low blue light mode for evening gaming
- Maintain ambient lighting—avoid complete darkness
- Eliminate screen glare
- Position monitor at arm's length with top at eye level
- Blink consciously and stay hydrated
Blue Light Glasses: Do They Help?
Blue light filtering glasses have become popular, but scientific evidence for their effectiveness is mixed. Some studies show reduced eye strain, while others find no significant benefit compared to placebo lenses.
What we do know:
- Blue light blocking may help with sleep quality when used in evening hours
- The placebo effect is powerful—if you believe they help, they might
- Software solutions (Night Light, f.lux) reduce blue light without requiring glasses
- Proper lighting, breaks, and monitor settings likely matter more than blue light filtering alone
If you choose to try blue light glasses, they won't harm your vision—but don't rely on them as your only eye strain prevention strategy.
Taking Regular Breaks
Beyond the 20-20-20 rule, longer breaks are essential for extended gaming:
- Every hour: Take 5-10 minutes away from the screen. Stand, stretch, and let your eyes rest completely.
- Every 2-3 hours: Consider a longer break—get a meal, go outside briefly, or switch to a non-screen activity.
- Use natural stopping points: Between matches, after completing quests, or during loading screens are ideal times for eye breaks.
When to See a Professional
Consult an optometrist if you experience:
- Persistent eye pain or discomfort that doesn't improve with breaks
- Frequent headaches during or after gaming
- Blurred vision that continues after stopping screen use
- Difficulty focusing between near and far objects
- Chronic dry eyes despite using artificial tears
An eye examination can identify conditions that make you more susceptible to strain, and you may benefit from computer-specific glasses with prescriptions optimised for screen viewing distances.
Final Thoughts
Eye strain isn't an inevitable consequence of gaming—it's a preventable result of how we interact with screens. Simple habits like the 20-20-20 rule, appropriate monitor settings, and proper room lighting make a significant difference.
Your eyes are the only pair you'll get. Taking a few minutes to optimise your setup and build healthy viewing habits protects your vision for decades of gaming to come. The adjustments are minor; the long-term benefits are substantial.