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The 20-20-20 rule for your eyes

Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet (6 metres) away for 20 seconds. Here is where the rule comes from, how to do it at a desk or on a phone, and a free timer you can run in this tab.

By DevEntia Tech, the team behind EyeBlinkIt · Reviewed 7 November 2026

20:00ready

Free 20-20-20 timer

Start it, then get on with your work.

Every 20 minutes it chimes and counts down a 20-second break. Keep this tab open; it runs until you stop it.

What the 20-20-20 rule says

The rule has three numbers, and each one is an instruction:

  • Every 20 minutes of screen time,
  • look at something about 20 feet away (about 6 metres, roughly the length of a large room),
  • for 20 seconds.

The American Optometric Association (AOA) puts it like this:

“To help alleviate digital eyestrain, follow the 20-20-20 rule; take a 20-second break to view something 20 feet away every 20 minutes.”

Source: AOA, Computer vision syndrome. The rule is not a test or an exercise. It is a pause: for twenty seconds your eyes stop working at reading distance and rest on something far away.

Why looking away helps

Reading a screen keeps your eyes on one close distance for a long time. In the AOA's words, viewing a computer or digital screen “often makes the eyes work harder”.

We also blink less. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) says people normally blink about 15 times a minute, but only about 5 to 7 times a minute while using computers and other digital screens.

The AAO is also clear that looking at screens does not permanently damage your eyes. Long stretches can leave them feeling uncomfortable, though, and a regular look into the distance is the simplest break there is.

What the research says

Studies of the rule itself are small, and they don't all agree.

  • In a 2023 study in Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, 29 computer users with symptoms ran software that reminded them to follow the 20-20-20 rule for two weeks. They took more breaks, and the eye strain and dry-eye symptoms they reported went down while the reminders were running. One week after the reminders stopped, the difference was gone.
  • A 2023 study in Optometry and Vision Science with 30 participants found that 20-second breaks at different intervals during a 40-minute tablet reading task made no significant difference to the symptoms they reported.

The practical reading: treat the 20-20-20 rule as a comfort habit for long screen days, not a treatment, and expect it to help only while you keep doing it.

How to do the 20-20-20 rule at a desk

  1. Pick your far point before you need it. A window, the far end of the office, a building across the street. Deciding in advance makes the 20 seconds easy.
  2. When the reminder comes, look at it for the full 20 seconds. Let your eyes rest on it rather than reading anything.
  3. Blink slowly and fully a few times while you look.
  4. No far point? Look at the farthest thing you can see, or close your eyes for the 20 seconds.

Set up the desk too

  • Distance: the AOA suggests 20 to 28 inches (about 50 to 70 cm) from your eyes to the screen; the AAO says about 25 inches, roughly arm's length.
  • Height: the AOA suggests the centre of the screen about 15 to 20 degrees below eye level, around 4 to 5 inches lower than your eyes.
  • Glare: the AAO suggests a matte screen filter if your screen reflects a lot of light.
  • Longer breaks: the AOA also recommends resting your eyes for 15 minutes after two hours of continuous computer use.

The 20-20-20 rule on a phone or tablet

Phones are held closer than monitors and used in long, unplanned stretches: scrolling, reading, messaging. The same rhythm works. Every 20 minutes, look up and into the distance for 20 seconds.

  • Hold the phone a little further away when you can.
  • On iPhone and iPad, Screen Distance (Settings, Screen Time) uses the front camera to tell you when you hold the device closer than 12 inches for an extended period.
  • Reading in bed or on a commute is screen time too. The rule applies there as well.

How to make it stick

The 20-20-20 rule is easy to understand and hard to keep up. Twenty minutes is long enough to forget and short enough to come round many times a day. What helps:

  • Tie your eye rest reminders to your working hours instead of starting a timer each time.
  • Use an eye break reminder you can act on in one tap, and that stays quiet outside your hours.
  • Know your far point in advance.
  • Keep the break short and the same every time. Twenty seconds is easy to say yes to.
  • Keep a rough count. Seeing today's breaks is enough to notice when the habit slips.

The app

Let your phone keep the rhythm.

EyeBlinkIt is a free 20-20-20 reminder for Android and iPhone. Set your hours once; every 20 minutes it nudges you, and you can start a guided 20-second break straight from the notification. No account needed.

  • Get EyeBlinkIt on Google Play
  • Download EyeBlinkIt on the App Store

See how EyeBlinkIt works

EyeBlinkIt break screen on a dark background: Look far away, with a 15-second countdown ring

FAQ

Common questions about the 20-20-20 rule

Does it have to be exactly 20 feet?

No. The point is distance: something far enough away that you are no longer focusing up close. 20 feet is about 6 metres, roughly the length of a large room. A view out of a window is ideal; the far end of a corridor works too.

Why 20 seconds?

It is the length in the American Optometric Association's wording, and it is short enough to do without losing your train of thought. Looking away for longer does no harm. The AOA also suggests resting your eyes for 15 minutes after two hours of continuous computer use.

What if there is nothing far away to look at?

Look at the farthest point you can find, or close your eyes and rest them for the 20 seconds. The EyeBlinkIt app offers an eyes-closed rest for exactly this.

Should I blink during the break?

A few slow, full blinks are a good addition. People blink less while looking at screens: the American Academy of Ophthalmology puts it at about 15 times a minute normally and 5 to 7 times a minute at a computer or phone.

Is the 20-20-20 rule good for children too?

The rhythm is simple enough for anyone who uses screens, children included. For children, eye doctors also suggest time outdoors in daylight, around 1 to 2 hours a day.

Is the 20-20-20 rule a treatment for eye strain?

No. It is a comfort habit for screen work, not a treatment. If you have eye pain, discomfort that does not go away, or any change in your vision, see an optometrist or an ophthalmologist.

Is this timer free? Does it work in the background?

Yes, it is free and there is nothing to sign up for. It runs in this browser tab and stores nothing. Browsers slow down timers in background tabs, so the chime can be a few seconds late, and it stops when you close the tab. For reminders that do not depend on a browser tab, use the EyeBlinkIt app.

Is there a 20-20-20 rule app?

EyeBlinkIt is a free 20-20-20 reminder for Android and iPhone. Set your hours once and it reminds you every 20 minutes, then guides a 20-second break and tells you when to look back.

See how EyeBlinkIt works

Sources