20 minutes. 20 feet. 20 seconds.
A rule of thumb for screen breaks: every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
Try it here
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work
20:00
Ready when you are
0 breaks completed this session
- 20 min of screen work
- 20 ft away, about 6 metres
- 20 sec or longer
What the research says
Mixed.
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The American Academy of Ophthalmology advises it.
It advises the 20-20-20 rule for people who work at screens, and notes that people blink less while looking at one.
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Reminders eased symptoms. The benefit faded a week after they stopped.
In a trial with break reminders, dry-eye and eye-strain symptoms went down. A week after the reminders stopped, the benefit had faded.
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Another study found no support for it as a way to prevent strain.
In a tablet-reading study, scheduled 20-second breaks did not change symptoms, reading speed, or accuracy. The authors concluded the numbers are not justified as a preventive.
Johnson & Rosenfield, Optometry and Vision Science, 2023 (SUNY College of Optometry)
A tab won’t keep the habit. The menu bar can.
GazeKeeper counts in the menu bar and defaults to 20 minutes and 20 seconds. It holds the break during calls, screen sharing, and fullscreen.
Questions about the rule
Where do the numbers come from?
They are a convention, not measured thresholds, and the studies above do not agree on whether they matter. GazeKeeper uses 20 minutes and 20 seconds as its defaults, and you can change both.
Does it work?
The evidence is mixed. Reminders helped in one trial and scheduled breaks did not help in another. Taking regular breaks is low-cost advice, so it is reasonable to try. It is not a treatment. If your eyes hurt or your vision changes, see an eye-care professional.
Why use a reminder at all?
One trial found the benefit faded a week after the reminders stopped. GazeKeeper keeps the reminder running.