Your monitor should sit with the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level, directly in front of you and about an arm’s length away. That puts the centre of the screen a little below your eyes, so you look slightly down without bending your neck. A screen that is too low is the most common reason a desk pulls the head forward for hours. This page covers height, distance, two monitors and glasses.
The short version
| Setting | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Height | Top line of the screen at or slightly below eye level1 |
| Centre of the screen | About 15° to 20° below horizontal eye level1 |
| Distance | 50 to 100 cm (20 to 40 inches) from your eyes, at least an arm’s length1 |
| Tilt | Perpendicular to your line of sight, usually tilted back 10° to 20°1 |
| Position | Directly in front of you, not to the side |
| Light | Screen perpendicular to windows to cut glare |
These figures come from the OSHA workstation guidance, which is based on ergonomics and expert consensus rather than on trials of pain outcomes.
How to set it in two minutes
- Sit in your usual working position, back against the chair.
- Look straight ahead. Your eyes should meet the top edge of the screen or a little below it.
- Raise the screen with its stand, a monitor arm or a stack of books until they do.
- Stretch your arm out. Your fingertips should roughly reach the screen.
- Tilt the screen back slightly so you see it straight on.
If you have to raise the chair to reach the keyboard, raise the screen after that, not before. See the desk setup checklist.
Why it matters
A low screen means a bent neck for as long as you work at it. Among university students, long daily screen time was linked to more neck pain and disability, and 91% of 859 students held a flexed neck while using a device.2 These are associations, not proof that screens cause pain, but raising a screen is the simplest way to cut hours of head down time. The posture it prevents is described in forward head posture.
Two monitors
- One main screen: put it straight in front of you, the second to one side, angled in.
- Both used equally: put the join between them in front of your nose, both at the same height.
- Laptop plus monitor: raise the laptop to the same height as the monitor, or close it and use an external keyboard.
The aim is to keep your head facing forward for most of the day instead of turned to one side.
Glasses, bifocals and eyesight
If you wear bifocals or progressive lenses, you read through the bottom of the lens, which tips the head back to see a screen at eye level. OSHA suggests lowering the screen below the usual recommendation, or using single vision computer glasses.1
If text is hard to read, you lean in, and the setup stops working. Make the text larger, sit closer than arm’s length if needed, and get your eyes checked. See vision and posture.
Laptops and phones
A laptop screen is always too low when the keyboard is at the right height. Use a stand and a separate keyboard, see laptop posture. Phones raise the same problem in your hand, see text neck.
If your head angle drifts well below your own upright within minutes of starting a session at your desk, the screen is a likely culprit. Raise it and compare the next sessions.
Footnotes
General information, not medical advice. Every claim carries its source; where the evidence is thin, the page says so.Editorial policy · How we grade evidence · All sources · Disclaimer