How often should you blink at a screen?
Short answer
At rest, people blink about 17 times a minute, and while reading that drops to about 4 or 5 (Bentivoglio, 1997). Focused screen work lowers it the same way, and more of the blinks that remain are incomplete. No study sets a target number, so the useful aim is simple: blink more often, and close your eyes all the way when you do.
What the numbers are
In a study of 150 healthy volunteers, Bentivoglio and colleagues counted about 17 blinks a minute at rest, about 26 in conversation, and about 4.5 while reading. Earlier studies of computer use, by Patel (1991) and Tsubota and Nakamori (1993), found that blinking slows markedly during screen work.
Concentration may matter more than the screen itself. When Chu and colleagues had people read the same text on a screen and on paper, blink rates were similar (14.9 and 13.6 a minute). Either way, the long, focused stretches people spend at screens are when blinking drops.
Why incomplete blinks matter too
A blink that doesn’t fully close spreads less of the tear film across the eye. In Chu, Rosenfield and Portello’s screen and paper study, 7.0% of blinks were incomplete on the screen against 4.3% on paper, and reviews link partial blinks to a less stable tear film.
Digital eye strain is common: in Sheppard and Wolffsohn’s review, half or more of computer users reported symptoms. The 2023 TFOS report on the digital environment names reduced blink rate and completeness as the main ways screens make the eye’s surface worse.
Can a reminder help you blink more?
Some evidence says yes, if you know what the cue means. In Nosch and colleagues’ 2015 study, a brief on-screen animation, with people told to blink when they saw it, raised blink rate by about 7 blinks a minute, against almost no change with a placebo animation. Symptoms eased more too, and most people found it easy to live with.
In a 2014 CHI study comparing cues, a screen blur, a flash, a flashing border and a pop-up all raised blink rate, and people ranked the blur best. Seeing a blink doesn’t make you blink by reflex, though: in one study, listeners’ blinks fell in step with a speaker’s only when they could hear the speech. So a cue works as a signal you learn, not by imitation.
What to do
- Make each blink a full one: let your lids meet, then open.
- Pick a cue you’ll notice but won’t mind, and blink every time it appears.
- Every 20 minutes or so, look at something far away for a few seconds.
- If your eyes stay dry or sore, see an optometrist or eye doctor.
BlinkPause is that cue: soft eyelids close a little over the page every minute, and you blink with them. It’s a reminder, not a medical device.
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Sources
- Bentivoglio et al. (1997), Analysis of blink rate patterns in normal subjects
- Kamøy et al. (2022), Video display terminal use and dry eye: preventive measures and future perspectives (cites Patel, 1991, and Tsubota and Nakamori, 1993)
- Chu, Rosenfield and Portello (2014), Blink patterns: reading from a computer screen versus hard copy
- Loss of blink regularity and its impact on ocular surface exposure (Diagnostics, 2023)
- Sheppard and Wolffsohn (2018), Digital eye strain: prevalence, measurement and amelioration
- Wolffsohn et al. (2023), TFOS lifestyle: impact of the digital environment on the ocular surface
- Nosch et al. (2015), Blink animation software to improve blinking and dry eye symptoms
- Crnovrsanin, Wang and Ma (2014), Stimulating a blink (CHI 2014)
- Nakano and Kitazawa (2010), Eyeblink entrainment at breakpoints of speech
This page explains research for general interest. It isn’t medical advice, and BlinkPause is a reminder, not a medical device.