5 Steps to Reduce Zoom Fatigue

If there’s one thing we learned in 2020 it’s that Zoom fatigue is a force to be reckoned with. While there are surely psychological underpinnings to these feelings, there are also elements of visual fatigue. Most of us are aware that a 20/20 score on our yearly eye exam is a very good thing. It is, after all, known as perfect vision, but 20/20 in 2020 didn’t necessarily confer a real break for those whose screen time saw exponential growth. You might be blindsided by this information (pun intended), but perfect acuity, does not determine optimal visual function. Perfect vision, it turns out, is only a measure of how clearly one can see objects at a specific distance from the eyes. Screen time, by contrast requires a vast array of visual skills. A better measure of perfect vision, would focus less on acuity and take into account the entire visual system, including peripheral vision, visual motor skills, eye teaming and visual perceptual skills, to name a few. Following are several simple tricks that I find reduce eye fatigue throughout a screen-filled work day.

Give your Eyes a Quick Break

This one goes without saying, and you probably even rolled your eyes at your screen, but hear me out. There is a specific method to use when giving your eyes a break and it does not include closing your eyes and growling in discontent. Remember the rule 20-20-20; this should be no trouble given that the number 2020 is permanently burned into our collective consciousness. An occupational therapist and vision therapist both introduced me to this strategy. After 20 minutes of close up reading or screen time, give yourself 20 seconds to stare at least 20 feet into the distance. This is the most important rule, but there are other tricks to keep in your back pocket.

Work on your Eye Movement Skills

Truthfully, 20-20-20 can only get you so far. When spending an enormous portion of your day with your eyes converging, multiple 20 second breaks, will only help you up to a point. For me, I have found that training my eyes to move more smoothly and track more easily, can boost my ability to tolerate screen time. So, there’s sort of a quick fix to your Zoom fatigue with 20-20-20, but you can improve your results if you are willing to play the long game, and yes, I am talking about playing baseball. Spending some time playing ball sports outside of work hours can give your eyes the practice tracking at all different distances, thereby reinforcing smooth eye movement skills. Essentially I am telling you to go outside and play, before you dial in to your favorite shows.

Spend Quality Time In Nature

Imagine our distant ancestors assessing the weather by watching the clouds roll in or crouching still in the woods waiting to snare an unsuspecting deer. When our visual systems evolved, humans did not spend vast quantities of time performing close up, detailed visual work. Our eyes evolved to predominantly track objects in the distance. Ideally at both ends of your work day, you should spend some time gazing into the distance. Try sitting on your porch and enjoying the sunset or find peace in watching the clouds, rather than flipping from your work screen to your cellphone screen to binge on social media. Better yet, boost your physical activity and take a walk, preferably in nature and allow your eyes to explore the world around you.

Challenge your Eyes to Diverge

If you were a child of the 1990’s you will remember the Magic Eye books, in which an apparently random assortment of colours and shapes, would magically "pop out" into three dimensions if you gazed “through” the page long enough. If you can track down one of these books, you will be doing yourself a huge favour and challenging your eye’s ability to diverge. The trick with these 3-D pictures is to imagine that you are gazing at something beyond the page in front of you. Once you hit upon the precise distance beyond the book that you must focus your eyes, the picture will appear. Gazing at these artful designs has, I have found, had the added benefit of making me feel more relaxed.

Alternate Between Near and Far Work

In order to help your eyes adjust to near and far work, try printing two passages, or poems, to read: one in large print and one in small print. Stick the large print to the wall 6 feet away and hold the small print at a comfortable distance from your face. Begin by reading the first line in small print and then switch to read the second line on the wall. If you persist in this practice, then switching from your zoom call to rifling through papers on your messy desk, will become less taxing.

If these simple strategies do not seem to solve your fatigue, or you consistently experience headaches after a day on your video conferences, you may consider looking into having your visual motor skills and visual perceptual skills tested by a specially trained optometrist, particularly if you have a history of concussions. A vision therapy program can be specifically designed to correct most issues related to how your eyes work together as a team. As someone who has suffered a traumatic brain injury, I can attest to how painful it can be to have a visual system working sub-optimally. For me vision therapy allowed me to return to normal activities like screen time, driving and reading that had previously caused me intense headaches and fatigue. For most people, incorporating a few small changes to their daily routine will confer benefits that go far beyond combatting the dreaded Zoom fatigue.