As a student with low vision who also has photophobia/photosensitivity to bright lights, I often take vision breaks throughout the day to rest my eyes. When I’m working on visually demanding tasks such as reading, working on my computer, or taking notes in a classroom, it becomes more difficult for me to focus my eyes over an extended period of time, and taking a break for five minutes or less can provide me with a much-needed “reset” so that I can use my vision effectively. I’ve received a few questions from students about how I spend my vision breaks and asked if I had any activity ideas for vision breaks that don’t involve just sitting in silence, so I’ve put together this list of ideas. While most of the listed ideas are “good”, I’ve also included a few “bad” ideas that aren’t particularly helpful for decreasing eye fatigue or that can actually make it worse.
What does eye strain or visual fatigue feel like?
Everyone’s experience with visual impairment and visual fatigue is different, but for me visual fatigue will often manifest in the following ways:
- I have trouble focusing my eyes, which causes my double vision to become harder to control. I have to devote a lot of attention and actively work on focusing my eyes during this time, which can get painful.
- Certain sounds can be painful to listen to, and I would sometimes squeeze my hands, arms, or grab onto my own loose clothing to try and distract myself, which made it harder to focus on the lesson or what I was supposed to be working on.
- Bright lights would hurt my eyes and make it hard to keep them open or read for more than a couple of minutes without thinking about how hard it was to focus. I would spend more time thinking about the act of seeing things than actually processing what I was looking at.
- Pain or discomfort makes it more challenging for me to focus my eyes.
- I would feel like I was “out of brain” or “out of eyes” in that I couldn’t look at anything or use my vision in any meaningful way. I didn’t develop skills for nonvisual access (e.g. using text-to-speech to read text) until I was older, so I was relying on my eyes to access everything visually.
While there are strategies I can use to prevent and minimize visual fatigue to some extent, I cannot avoid it completely as someone with low vision from both an eye condition and a brain condition. However, I did notice improvement when I started wearing non-polarized tinted glasses.
Related links
- More about my eyes
- Disability Accommodations For Fluctuating Eyesight
- Two of Everything: Living With Double Vision
- Disability and Classroom Accommodations For Chiari Malformation
Strategies for minimizing eye strain with low vision
While I can’t prevent eye strain or eliminate the need for vision breaks, there are a few different tools and strategies that I use to minimize bright lights and the effects of blue light, which can contribute to eyestrain. Some of these examples include:
- Blue light filters enabled on my computer, tablet, and phone
- Wearing tinted glasses
- Using a high-contrast display mode
- Adding an anti-glare screen filter to my devices
- Reducing the white point on my tablet and computer
- Enabling dark mode in certain applications
- Setting timers and reminders to take breaks
My tinted glasses are not computer glasses or blue light glasses, they are prescription glasses with non-polarized lenses that provide a consistent color tint across all lighting environments. I’ve worn tinted glasses since my low vision ophthalmologist recommended them to me back in 8th grade, and they have made a tremendous difference, especially in bright classroom and work environments.
Related links
- Ten Ways To Reduce Eye Strain From Screens With Technology
- How To Use High Contrast in Windows 10 and Windows 11
- Choosing Between Light Mode and Dark Mode For Low Vision
- How Tinted Glasses Help My Light Sensitivity
Do you close your eyes during vision breaks?
I prefer to close my eyes during vision breaks because they often feel heavy or uncomfortable, and the idea of using my eyes for anything isn’t particularly appealing during these times. I try to keep my vision breaks to five minutes or less when I’m not at home to reduce the risk of falling asleep, and use a timer or check the time periodically on my phone. I also have a custom routine on my Echo Dot that can provide verbal cues for starting and ending breaks, as well as timers.
When taking vision breaks at home or in my dorm, I physically step away from the computer or whatever device I’m working with, and rest in a comfy chair or in my bed, which can help me to focus on rest but also keeps me from falling asleep at my desk and waking up with sore muscles. Unless I’m under a strict deadline, I don’t time my vision breaks in these cases.
Related links
- How Amazon Alexa Can Help You Study For Exams
- The Best Study Tips For Visually Impaired Students
- The Best Study Tips For Auditory Learners
- College Scheduling Hacks For Students With Chronic Illness
- How Amazon Alexa Can Help With Online Learning
- How I Set Up My College Desk
Do you ask permission for vision breaks?
In middle and high school, I would sometimes tell my teachers that I needed to rest my eyes for a bit when working on classwork and that I would get back to working soon— I tried not to take vision breaks during lectures or “active” activities. Some of my teachers would tell me that I wasn’t allowed to take a break, so I would try to take more frequent short breaks so that they wouldn’t notice, or I would end up with vision burnout and spend study hall, lunch, or other class periods trying to recover from its effects.
In college, none of my professors ever acknowledged my vision breaks and I would take them as needed- they were not listed as a disability accommodation. But I also found it much easier to take extended breaks between classes compared to high school where I was taking classes back-to-back five days a week, so I didn’t take frequent vision breaks when attending lectures. The vast majority of my vision breaks would take place in my dorm or at home when doing readings, homework, or working on projects.
Related links
- Quiet Places At School For Students With Visual Impairments
- Learning to Self-Advocate
- Managing Chronic Migraines in College
- 10 Ways College Is Better Than High School For Disabled Students
- How To Schedule College Classes
Listening to music: good idea
When I was in high school and taking virtual classes in a school computer lab, I would listen to music during my vision breaks, usually choosing 1-2 songs to listen to with my eyes closed on my personal device. I also used this strategy in some of my in-person classes during independent work times, but I didn’t do it very often because the majority of my teachers banned headphones in their classes.
At home and during my tech internship, I would play music and move around my space to stretch, sometimes closing my eyes while listening. Having my Echo Dot at home makes it easy for me to take these musical vision breaks, since I can request songs with my voice.
Related links
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: MP3 Players
- Audio and Nonvisual Entertainment Ideas For Blind and Low Vision
- How Amazon Alexa Can Help You Listen To History
Scrolling through social media: bad idea
In full transparency, I’ve spent a few vision breaks scrolling through Pinterest and social media sites, because I felt that it was less visually demanding than whatever I was working on before. Did this help my eye fatigue? Nope, not at all— it actually made everything worse!
Many of my friends and other students have admitted to doing the exact same thing, and many of them specifically watch videos as well. But I’m not really getting a vision break by doing this, because I’m still “using” my vision, just for a different task. Also, I’m still looking at a screen in some capacity, so I often don’t feel well-rested when returning to the other visual tasks.
Related links
- How To Make Classroom Videos Easier To See
- Creating Audio Description For Recipe Videos
- How To Write Video Descriptions For TikTok
- How I Watch Concert Videos Without Strobe Lights
- How I Use Pinterest For Studying In College
Watching or interacting with pets: good idea
I’m sure my cat and my dog would both agree that spending vision breaks petting them or playing with them is a fantastic idea, because I can get away from screens and engage in a calming activity. In college, I had a betta fish and would watch him swim around his tank frequently, which meant that I was taking shorter but much needed visual breaks from screens more often.
Watching a live stream of animals: bad idea
Just like with browsing through social media, watching a live stream of animals still involves a screen, and it can be challenging to locate some of the animals on streams as well, especially in dim or overly bright environments. Sometimes, I catch myself straining my eyes to see animals that have similar colors to their background, which can make pre-existing visual fatigue worse— for example, a brown kiwi bird on a brown background can be challenging to see if I’m tired. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love seeing pictures and videos of animals (especially people’s pets), but they don’t help with managing visual fatigue.
Related links
Silent meditation: good idea
Vision breaks don’t always need to include active activities, and silently meditating or planning can be calming and help the eyes feel recharged. Sitting in silence is one option, though listening to calming music or audio tracks can also work for blocking out environmental noise. Background Sounds is an accessibility setting for iOS devices that can be used to enable white noise, nature sounds, and other environmental audio tracks.
Related links
Reading a book: bad idea
This probably sounds obvious, but this was another strategy I had used and discovered wasn’t particularly effective. While reading on the paper-style display of my eReader without a backlight can be less straining than reading on a screen, I find that taking a break from reading altogether is more helpful than switching from one device to another.
Related links
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: eReaders
- How I Use My eReader For School and Online Classes
- E-Ink Displays and Low Vision Accessibility
Using an eye pillow: good idea
While I don’t bring this to class with me, I have an eye pillow that I use in my dorm or at home when I get back from class or when decompressing from a highly visual task since it encourages me to keep my eyes closed and can provide a calming sensory outlet through weighted pressure or cooling fabrics. A cool washcloth can also provide a similar effect.
Related links
- How To Make A Dorm Room Completely Dark
- How To Create Accessible Workspaces For Chiari Malformation
- Modifying Assignments To Remove Flashing Lights
Taking a set amount of vision breaks daily: bad idea
I don’t limit myself to a certain number of vision breaks every day, because I may need more or less breaks from day to day. Some factors that can influence the amount of vision breaks I will need to take include:
- Fluctuating vision
- Where I’m sitting in a classroom (e.g. under a bright light)
- Pain levels
- Fatigue or not sleeping well the night before
- Environmental lighting
- Class schedule/homework schedule
- Disruptions to routine— fire alarms or unexpected flashing lights can take a while for my eyes to recover from
- Stress levels
- The type of content I am working on— math or a science lab is more visually intensive than reading a book for example
- Exams that require a high level of visual demands in a short period of time
If I notice that I’m taking a lot more vision breaks than expected, I try to self-assess what may be causing that and make an informal plan on how I will address it. Some examples of triggers that I identified and was able to resolve include staying up very late at night and not sleeping enough, avoiding classes in a certain building with bright lights in a future semester, adjusting the prescription and/or tint in my glasses, and configuring my schedule so I don’t have multiple visually demanding classes in a row.
Related links
- Assistive Technology For Fluctuating Eyesight
- Preferential Seating and Low Vision
- Five Common Technology Behaviors That Hurt My Brain
- Dealing With Dorm Fire Alarms: College O&M
- Lighting And Low Vision
- Math Test Accommodations For Low Vision
Interacting with fidget toys: good idea
One of my friends has a fidget toy that they move around in their hands while resting their eyes, which can also help them stretch their fingers more after writing for a long period of time. These toys do not emit light or sound, and can be used discreetly in the classroom or in other environments.
Related links
- Three Fidget Spinner Activities For Low Vision
- Eight Things You Need To Know About Your Disability Accommodations
More strategies and ideas for vision breaks
- In order to accommodate the need for vision breaks, I receive extended time accommodations on timed assessments like exams— read more in All About Extended Time Accommodations
- Unless there was an environmental trigger like a flickering light, I usually would stay in the classroom and at my desk during vision breaks. As a middle school and high school student, I would have more options— learn more in Quiet Places At School For Students With Visual Impairments
Published March 11, 2024. Updated May 2025