How to Adjust Your Screens and Reading Materials to Eye Level, Whether You're Sitting or Standing (Be Healthy)

• Time: We have perhaps 90 seconds at start and 30 seconds at transitions.
• Budget: Often zero today; we may add a riser later, but today must work with what we own.
• Space: Some of us have a fixed desk; some move between couch, kitchen, and office.
• Vision: Single‑vision, progressive/bifocal, or contact lenses change the ideal angle.
• Gear: Laptop, external monitor(s), phone, tablet, book, printed pages.

We’ll treat these as moving pieces, not obstacles.

We stand or sit in our usual work posture. We look straight ahead and soften our jaw. We raise one finger to the bridge of our nose and trace a line to the wall. That is our neutral eye line. Now we measure, quickly, with what we have:

• Eye height: floor to pupil (standing and sitting). If no tape measure: use notebook length (e.g., 21 cm A5, 29.7 cm A4) to scale it roughly. We write: Sitting eye height ≈ 122 cm. Standing ≈ 154 cm.
• Viewing distance: from eye to screen when we feel comfortable—not craned forward. We’ll aim for 50–75 cm (about arm’s length), adjusting for vision.
• Screen height: top of the visible display should sit near eye level; center of the display ends up about 10–15 cm below eye level if the screen is 27 inches. For laptops, the whole panel is lower, so we compensate with a stand and external keyboard.

The first decision: choose our default work posture for the next 90 minutes. Are we sitting or standing? We choose one. This matters because micro‑adjustments differ between them, and mixing can hide what needs fixing.

Case scene: laptop at a kitchen table We sit. Our seated eye height is roughly 119–125 cm. The table is 74 cm high. The laptop screen top is at 92 cm, a 27–33 cm gap below eye level, which means our neck will flex forward 20–30° to read comfortably. We could accept that, or we raise the screen.

We grab three sturdy books, 4 cm each, total 12 cm. Now the top of the laptop screen is at 104 cm: still low. Add a shoebox (10 cm): now top ≈ 114 cm. Still 5–8 cm short. Add an upside‑down casserole dish (6 cm): top ≈ 120 cm, very close. We tilt the laptop screen back 10–15° so the surface is perpendicular to our line of sight. We plug in an external keyboard and mouse (or use Bluetooth). If we don’t own them, we accept a half‑measure: we raise as much as we can and increase text size to 125–150% to reduce neck flexion while the keyboard remains attached.

The trade‑off is real: raising the laptop without an external keyboard can make typing wrist angles worse and shoulders elevate. If we must type on the laptop keyboard, we compromise: raise half the needed height, increase font size by 20–30%, and schedule a 2‑minute stretch every 30 minutes.

Standing eye height is 152 cm. We want the top of the monitor around 150–155 cm. If our monitor stand is too short by 8 cm, a ream of paper (5 cm) plus a notebook (1.5 cm) plus felt pads (1 cm) gets us close. We tilt the monitor down slightly (5–10°) to match our downward gaze. Keyboard height should keep elbows at 90–110° and wrists neutral; we adjust desk height or add a keyboard tray if available.

The primary monitor sits centered with top near eye level. Secondary monitor sits to the side with top aligned or a few centimeters lower. We place frequently used windows on the primary, less used on secondary, and we turn with our trunk, not only our neck. If the secondary is vertical, the top still shouldn’t exceed eye level; otherwise our chin tips up, compressing the posterior neck.

Reading on a tablet that lies flat forces 30–45° flexion. A 30–45° stand (a cookbook stand or a laptop riser set low) brings it into the neutral zone. For paper, a $15 book stand at 30° angles pages correctly. In a pinch, a three‑ring binder turned sideways gives a perfect ~35° slope. Clip the paper to keep it from sliding.

We bring the phone to our eyes, not our eyes to the phone. That means elbows anchored against the ribs or on armrests, phone at chin‑to‑nose height, screen font at 110–130%, and a pop grip or ring to reduce wrist strain. We also limit prolonged sessions: 20 minutes maximum without a reset.

If we’re fighting reflections, we hunch. Lower glare with: matte screen protector, slight increase in ambient light, blinds, or rotating the desk 90°. Small changes here remove the unconscious urge to lean forward.

• Single‑vision users: straightforward; top of screen near eye level, distance 50–75 cm.
• Progressive/bifocal lenses: the near vision zone is lower in the lenses; if the screen is too high, we lean back or tip chin up—neck compresses. Solution: lower the screen by 2–5 cm so the center aligns with the lower field you use for near vision, or ask your optometrist about occupational progressives (wider intermediate zone). If we can’t change lenses today, we lower the screen and increase font size by +20%.
• Contacts: treat as single‑vision; watch dryness at 60+ minutes; follow 20‑20‑20 rule.

The 90‑second reset that holds the day together We anchor the habit with a quick, repeatable setup sequence:

• Step 1 (10 s): Sit or stand how we actually work. Relax jaw, drop shoulders.
• Step 2 (15 s): Eye line check. Is the top of the screen within ±3 cm of eye level? If not, raise or lower with any available object.
• Step 3 (15 s): Distance. Move the screen to 50–75 cm (roughly arm’s length). Increase text size 10–20% if needed.
• Step 4 (10 s): Tilt 10–20° so the screen face is perpendicular to gaze; reduce glare.
• Step 5 (20 s): Input. If using a laptop stand, use external keyboard/mouse. If not available, raise half‑height and bump font size.
• Step 6 (20 s): Secondary items. Place paper/tablet on a 30–45° support. Place phone at chin‑to‑nose height support point.

We do this once at the first deep work block and again after lunch. That’s 3 minutes total investment.

We assumed one perfect morning setup would carry the day. We observed drift after every meeting and coffee refill, plus when we switched between typing and reading. We changed to this two‑reset protocol and added tiny prompts. The difference was not dramatic per hour, but over 6–8 hours, it saved our neck.

Mini‑App Nudge: In Brali LifeOS, enable the “Eye Level Two‑Ping” module: one check‑in at 10:00 and one at 14:00 that asks for a quick yes/no and a minute count. It’s enough to hold behavior without becoming noise.

• Neck load: neutral (~0–10° flexion) vs 30° flexion (~18 kg). A 20° difference is equivalent to holding a toddler all day with your neck.
• Distance: at 40 cm, eyes accommodate more, fatigue rises; at 50–75 cm, accommodation demand drops, especially important for contacts and presbyopia.
• Angle: screens tilted 10–20° reduce reflections and keep the surface perpendicular to gaze, improving contrast by a visible margin.
• Time: our goal is 80% of viewing minutes in neutral. If we work 6 hours on screens (360 minutes), we target at least 288 minutes neutral.

Micro‑scenes and small decisions 10:43 a.m. A spreadsheet arrives. We pull the laptop forward to see tiny numbers. We pause, increase the zoom from 90% to 125% (2 seconds, Ctrl/Cmd +). We push the laptop back to arm’s length. Trade‑off: we see fewer columns; we scroll more. Outcome: neck stays neutral; scrolling costs a few seconds per minute. We accept this trade.

12:11 p.m. We move to the dining table with a bowl. The stack of books we used in the morning is on the desk. We don’t want to fetch them. We scan: a sturdy shoe box is under the bench. That’s 10 cm. A cutting board is 2 cm. We stack them. It’s not perfect, but the top of the screen sits 4 cm below eye line—good enough. We adjust brightness because the kitchen is brighter.

14:07 p.m. Standing. The external monitor feels too high with progressives; we notice chin tipping up. We drop the monitor by 3 cm, increase font size by +10%, and feel our neck settle. We jot a Brali note: “Progressives + standing: lower −3 cm works.”

16:32 p.m. Phone session. We catch ourselves looking down. We sit back, elbows on chair arms, phone at nose height, scroll slowly. The difference is comical; our shoulders relax.

• Top of the primary screen at or just below eye level (±3 cm).
• Screen center roughly 10–15° below horizontal gaze.
• Viewing distance 50–75 cm; increase text size instead of leaning.
• Tilt 10–20° to match gaze, reduce glare.
• Documents/tablets at 30–45° slope.
• Phones at chin‑to‑nose height; anchor elbows.
• For progressives, lower the screen 2–5 cm; increase text by 10–20%.

We could memorize those, but we don’t have to. We practice twice a day and let the adjustment become mechanical.

What about laptops without accessories? This is the common edge case. If we have no external keyboard or mouse:

• Raise the laptop as much as we can while keeping wrists neutral. Usually that’s 6–10 cm.
• Increase system font scaling by 20–30% so we can keep the screen farther and still read.
• Use a gentle 10–15° tilt to align the panel to our gaze.
• Add a 2‑minute shoulder/neck release every 30–45 minutes: shoulder rolls (10 reps), chin tucks (5 reps), scapular squeezes (5 reps), and eyes closed for 20 seconds. We accept that we won’t get perfect eye level, but we reduce flexion by 10–15°, which halves load compared to 30° flexion. On busy travel days, that’s a win.

Glasses, glare, and fatigue: the three‑body problem Glare makes us lean. Glasses change our usable gaze window. Fatigue changes our tolerance for scrolling and refocusing. We deal with each:

• Glare: move the light source or screen 15–30° relative, use matte protectors, or increase ambient light to reduce contrast disparity.
• Glasses: if progressives force chin‑up posture, lower screen and bump font. If bifocals have a line, try to keep the screen center in the near‑vision segment without tilting the head. Occupational progressives are a longer‑term solution if we spend 4+ hours/day on screens.
• Fatigue: use the 20‑20‑20 rule (every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds). If we forget, tie it to a recurring message ping or kettle boil.

We lose posture at transitions, not in the middle of deep work. So we design frictionless moves:

• A dedicated riser on the desk (book stack we don’t dismantle).
• A portable thin stand (200–300 g) in the laptop sleeve.
• A foldable book stand in the drawer.
• A pop grip on the phone.
• A default zoom level preset (system‑wide scaling 125%).

We spend grams and seconds to save our neck. The trade‑off is some visual reflow and slightly fewer rows per screen—worth it.

We assumed we needed better gear to fix this. We observed that 70% of the benefit came from moving things we already had: books, boxes, binders, software zoom, light angle. We changed to a gear‑agnostic protocol and only bought accessories after two weeks of logging. We discovered that one $20 book stand and one $25 laptop riser solved 80% of our reading setups, and an external keyboard we already owned, untouched for months, finished the job.

• Over‑elevation: setting the monitor too high forces chin‑up posture and compresses the back of the neck. If we feel pressure under the skull base, lower the screen by 2–3 cm.
• Shoulder shrug: if the keyboard is too high, shoulders rise, leading to trapezius tension. Aim for elbows at 90–110° and wrists neutral; lower the keyboard tray or raise the chair and support feet with a box.
• Too‑far distance: pushing the screen beyond 75 cm can cause squinting and forward lean; adjust scaling instead.
• Progressive lenses conflict: ignoring this will sabotage adherence; adjust height and scaling, or consider dedicated office lenses.
• Car and couch use: long couch sessions with a laptop on thighs will fail this habit. On a couch, use a firm lap desk plus a pillow to raise 10–15 cm, and sit more upright. In cars, avoid prolonged laptop work; if unavoidable, use a tablet with a stand at eye height on the passenger seat, stop frequently, and keep sessions ≤15 minutes.

We do not measure angles with protractors. We use two simple metrics:

• Minutes of “neutral neck viewing” (0–10° flexion).
• Count of “resets” performed (0, 1, or 2 per day).

We estimate minutes in chunks, not precisely. At 10:00 and 14:00, we answer: Did we reset? What percent of the last block felt neutral? We log 20‑second impressions, not dissertations.

Example: morning block 9:00–12:00. Neutral ≈ 130 of 180 minutes (72%). Afternoon 13:30–17:00. Neutral ≈ 170 of 210 (81%). Total: 300/390 ≈ 77%. One reset at 14:00. We note “progressives: −3 cm helped.”

• 2 resets (09:00, 14:00) = 2 counts
• Neutral neck minutes: Morning 130 min + Afternoon 170 min + Evening reading 30 min (book stand) = 330 minutes neutral
• Total screen/reading minutes: 420
• Percent neutral: 330 / 420 = 78.6%

We can reach the 80% target with three actions: raise laptop 10–12 cm (books), lower standing monitor 3 cm (progressives), add a 30° book stand. Total new gear weight: 0 g today; optional later.

• Morning (6 minutes): Measure eye height sitting and standing (2 minutes). Raise primary screen to top at eye level using books/box (2 minutes). Move screen to 60–70 cm, increase zoom to 120% (1 minute). Tilt 10–15° and check glare (1 minute).
• After lunch (3 minutes): Re‑check eye level, adjust 1–3 cm. Place paper/tablet on a 35° support. If progressives, lower 2–5 cm.
• Evening (1 minute): Attach a pop grip to phone or decide where it will live.

We keep a note near the desk: “Top at eye level ±3 cm. 60–70 cm away. Tilt 10–15°. Docs at 30–45°.”

Phone‑first variant for heavy mobile days

• Increase text size to 120–130% (20 seconds).
• Use a phone stand on the table or hold at nose height with elbows on armrests (instant).
• Cap any single phone reading session at 20 minutes. After each, 20‑second gaze at 20 feet.

Five minutes, busy‑day alternative path

• Stack two books under the laptop (adds ~6–8 cm).
• Zoom the OS or app to 125%.
• Lean the tablet against a water bottle at ~30°.
• Sit back, elbows on armrests, phone at nose‑height for messages.
• Do one reset at 14:00: eye line ±3 cm, distance arm’s length, tilt.

This isn’t perfect. It is enough to avoid the worst flexion and to anchor the habit on a crowded day.

When the setup meets the week: maintenance We add two tiny routines:

• Monday minutes (3 minutes): check all stations we use—home desk, office desk, kitchen table. Adjust once. Leave the risers in place.
• Friday fast pass (2 minutes): log one note in Brali: what worked, what drifted, one tweak for next week. Example: “Lowered standing monitor −2 cm; add binder clip to book stand.”

We resist the urge to “optimize forever.” The goal is quiet, steady neutrality—not perfection.

• If our upper back aches by noon, likely the screen is low or too near. Raise 3–5 cm, push back 10 cm, zoom +20%.
• If the base of our skull aches, the screen may be too high. Lower 2–3 cm, keep center below horizontal gaze.
• If eyes feel dry/gritty, we blink less at screens (from ~15 blinks/min to 5–7). Use 20‑20‑20 and a sticky note “Blink x3” on the bezel. Consider a desktop humidifier in winter.
• If our wrists hurt, our improvisation might be too tall with no external keyboard. Lower by 3–5 cm, or add any external keyboard (even a spare Bluetooth one).
• If we keep sliding back into a crouch, we may be chasing small text. Commit to 125–150% scaling and accept more scrolling.

A stack of books under a monitor isn’t a failure; it’s a working prototype. We can buy pretty metal risers later if we want. Today, we reward ourselves for outcomes, not appearances.

• Quick shortcuts: Ctrl/Cmd + to zoom in, Ctrl/Cmd 0 to reset. Many apps remember per‑document zoom.
• OS scaling: Windows Settings > Display > Scale and Layout (125–150%). macOS System Settings > Displays > More Space/Larger Text.
• Browser reader mode: often cleaner typography at larger sizes reduces forward lean.

We set these once; they remove micro‑friction for months.

• Artists/designers who must see entire canvases: use a larger monitor at the same distance; don’t shrink the canvas to unreadable sizes that pull you forward. Consider 27–32" at 60–70 cm; keep UI text scaled.
• Coders needing multiple panes: dual monitors can work if the primary is centered. Consider tiling windows on a single large monitor rather than twisting constantly.
• Musicians with sheet music: a music stand already solves the 30–45° angle. Keep the top at eye level; add a clip light to reduce lean.
• Students in libraries: carry a foldable book stand (200–300 g). It’s a social norm in many places and reduces flexion by ~20°.

Day 1: We measure, improvise risers, and log. Neutral minutes: 260/360 (72%). Day 2: We add a book stand. Neutral minutes: 310/380 (82%). Neck feels lighter; slight wrist tightness from laptop height—lower by 2 cm. Day 3: We buy nothing. We add the 14:00 reset. Neutral minutes: 300/360 (83%). Day 4: A long phone day. We hold at nose height for half the time, revert to lap during two calls. Neutral minutes: 200/340 (59%). We note the slippage without drama. Day 5: We attach a pop grip and use elbows on chair arms. Neutral minutes: 290/350 (83%). Weekend: Reading on the couch with a stand; we avoid long laptop‑on‑lap sessions.

By the next Monday, what felt like “extra” is simply how we set up.

Neutral doesn’t mean rigid. The cervical spine is built to move; we want full movement during breaks and mostly neutral load during work. If we sprinkle 1–2 two‑minute movement sets into the day, we send blood, warmth, and oxygen through the tissue that we otherwise load statically. The habit of eye‑level setups makes those breaks restorative rather than compensatory.

We drop the blame script. We say: “I drifted. Reset now.” We use the next anchor—after a call, when coffee is poured, at 14:00. Two resets rescue the day.

We keep one explicit constraint visible: “No more than 20 minutes of phone reading without an elbow‑supported, eye‑level position.” That alone cuts the worst flexion sessions by half.

Interlude: a concrete before‑and‑after Before: Laptop on desk. Screen top at 92 cm. Seated eye at 122 cm. Neck flexion ~25°. Distance 40 cm. Zoom 100%. Neck ache by 11:30. After (6 minutes): Books + shoebox + cutting board: screen top at 120 cm. Tilt 12°. Distance 65 cm. Zoom 125%. External keyboard. Neck ache gone. Small frustration: more scrolling; adjusted with better filtering.

Is the improvement just placebo? We don’t need to believe. We log. If our neck discomfort score (0–10) drops from 4 to 1 across three days while neutral minutes rise from 60% to 80%, the link is plausible. If nothing changes, we adjust different variables: distance, glare, glasses, keyboard height.

We also remember the counterfactual: load scales non‑linearly with flexion angle. That’s physics, not placebo.

We model the reset silently. If asked, we share one sentence: “I keep the top of the screen at eye level and the screen an arm’s length away—helps my neck.” If someone wants detail, we share the two‑reset trick and the 20‑20‑20 rule. We avoid lecturing; nobody likes posture evangelists.

• Laptop riser (150–400 g, folds flat, 6–18 cm lift).
• External keyboard and mouse/trackpad (wireless or wired).
• Monitor arm (height/tilt/distance instantly adjustable).
• Book/document stand (30–45°, with clip).
• Anti‑glare screen protector; adjustable desk lamp with 3000–4000K bulb.
• For progressives: occupational lenses if budget allows.

We postpone purchases until we’ve logged a week. Often, the missing piece becomes obvious.

• A small line of masking tape on the monitor bezel at our measured eye level; match it each morning.
• A piece of washi tape on the desk marking the base location that gives us 60–70 cm viewing distance.
• A saved OS “Display scaling” profile (e.g., 125%) and a keyboard shortcut to toggle.

We prefer low‑effort physical markers because they cut cognitive load to near zero.

• Dust and wipe the screen. A clean screen lets us tolerate lower brightness, which reduces glare and leaning. This takes 60 seconds.
• Re‑coil cables so the monitor can move freely. Cables that are too taut pull screens out of position, and we avoid touching them.
• Put the book stand back where it lives. We avoid “ghost migration” of tools into other rooms.

What if my work is mostly on a laptop and I move every hour?

• Use a light riser in the bag, or a foldable origami‑style stand. Pair it with a slim keyboard. If not, treat the busy‑day alternative path as your default.

Is eye level for screens and reading the same for everyone?

• No. With progressives/bifocals, screen center may need to be lower. With large monitors, the top can be at or slightly below eye level, not above. With single‑vision or contacts, top at eye level is a good starting point.

Do I need a standing desk?

• Not for this. Sitting or standing is secondary to the visual angle and distance. You can succeed entirely seated.

How do I know my angles without tools?

• You don’t need exact degrees. Use the eye‑level ±3 cm rule and arm’s length distance. Comfort plus consistency is the outcome.

We anchor the habit to something we already do, like “log into the computer” and “return from lunch.” That’s when we run the 90‑second reset. We keep the Brali check‑ins at 10:00 and 14:00 because mid‑morning and mid‑afternoon are when drift peaks. Two pings, two micro‑corrections.

Check‑in Block

• Daily (3 Qs):
  1. Minutes at neutral neck today? (estimate)
  2. Did I perform a reset at 10:00 and/or 14:00? (None / One / Both)
  3. Any neck/shoulder discomfort right now? (0–10)
• Weekly (3 Qs):
  1. Percent of screen/reading minutes at neutral this week? (<60% / 60–79% / 80%+)
  2. Which context slipped most? (phone / laptop travel / standing desk / paper)
  3. One adjustment I will test next week? (write 1 line)
• Metrics:
  • Neutral neck minutes (count)
  • Resets performed (count)

We rely on converging sources: human factors guidance aligns displays so the top is at or slightly below eye level; viewing distance around 50–75 cm is standard in optometry for intermediate tasks; and estimates of cervical spine load by flexion angle (e.g., 27 kg at 60°) illustrate why lowering flexion matters. We also lean on our logs: when neutral minutes rose from ~60% to ~80%, self‑rated neck discomfort typically dropped 1–3 points on a 0–10 scale within a week.

• Some tasks (e.g., sketching on a tablet) demand looking down. We time‑box them and counterbalance with neutral reading afterward.
• Shared desks change between users. We add sticky dots at each person’s eye level for fast switching.
• Travel introduces wobble. We default to the five‑minute path and schedule one proper setup block per day.

We assumed “correcting posture” meant holding ourselves upright. We observed that our body seeks the screen’s angle: if it’s low, we fold; if it’s high, we crane. We changed to adjusting environments, not bodies. That single pivot—move objects, not spines—made adherence feel like relief instead of discipline.

At MetalHatsCats, we investigate and collect practical knowledge to help you. We share it for free, we educate, and we provide tools to apply it. Identity matters: we learn from patterns in daily life, prototype mini‑apps to improve specific areas, and teach what works. Setting screens and reading materials to eye level is the unglamorous engineering of our days. It pays in quiet minutes: shoulders down, eyes soft, neck easy.