The influence of computer monitor height on head and neck posture

This research describes the influence of "eye level" and "low" monitor locations on the head and neck posture of subjects performing a word processing task. Lowering the monitor to a position 18 degrees below eye level had no significant effect on the position of the neck relative to the trunk, while the mean flexion of the head relative to the neck increased by 5 degrees (p = 0.024). In the "eye level" condition the mean gaze angle was 17 degrees below the ear-eye line, and in the "low" condition the average gaze angle was 25 degrees below the ear-eye line. Lowering the monitor thus allows gaze angles closer to that preferred (somewhere between 35 degrees and 44 degrees below the ear-eye line) to be adopted. An examination of head and neck biomechanics suggests that recommendations of the "top of monitor at eye height" type must be questioned. Relevance to industry Current recommendations regarding the appropriate height of computer monitors are based more on intuition than empirical evidence. Lower computer monitor placements may be beneficial. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.