12 Blue Light Breaks to Protect Your Eyes and Sleep

5. Screen settings that ease strain and sleep disruption

Adjusting device settings can make screens more comfortable and reduce evening sleep disruption. Most phones, tablets, and computers offer a night or warm-color mode that reduces blue wavelengths after sunset. Use this feature to lower late-evening alertness without changing your whole routine. Match screen brightness to your room lighting; overly bright screens against a dark room increase glare and strain. Increasing contrast and text size reduces squinting, which helps older eyes. Turn off unnecessary motion or auto-play that keeps your focus jumping. While blue-light filters don’t prove eye-tissue protection, they often reduce perceived glare and improve visual comfort. For sleep, dim screens and warm color settings in the two to three hours before bed help preserve melatonin production. Combine settings changes with non-screen activities in the evening to create a clearer separation between work and rest time, which supports deeper, more restorative sleep.

6. Ergonomics: position, distance, and posture

How your screen sits matters as much as how long you look at it. Aim to place your screen at arm’s length, with the top of the display at or just below eye level, so your gaze drops slightly. That reduces neck strain and keeps the eyes in a more natural resting position. Use a document holder or voice-to-text for reading-heavy tasks to avoid repetitive head movements. For older adults, using a slightly larger font and increasing zoom can reduce the tendency to lean in. Good posture—back supported, shoulders relaxed—takes pressure off the upper body and lowers visual tension. If you use bifocals or progressive lenses, tilt your screen slightly lower to ensure you’re using the right zone of the lens for near tasks. Small ergonomic changes are low-effort steps that deliver steady relief over time, so try one change this week and another the next to build a more comfortable workspace.