Why your screen position matters more than you think for neck comfort
Nicola Tik
If you have ever finished a long day at a screen with one side of your neck feeling tighter than the other, or been told through a VIDA movement assessment that your shoulders are sitting unevenly, you are not alone. Asymmetric neck loading is extremely common, and screens are one of the more obvious contributors. But they are far from the only one. This article looks at why uneven loading matters for the neck, what tends to cause it, and some simple ways to bring more balance into daily life.
The neck is designed to be mobile and responsive, but it relies on the muscles on either side working in a reasonably balanced way to manage the demands placed on it through the day. When one side is consistently asked to do more than the other, those muscles can become overworked and fatigued, while the muscles on the opposite side become underused and less supportive.
Over time this imbalance can contribute to stiffness, tension, and discomfort, particularly on the more loaded side. It can also reduce the neck's overall capacity to absorb additional demand, meaning that an otherwise unremarkable day, a poor night's sleep, a stressful week, or an unusual activity, can tip it into discomfort more easily than it otherwise would.
Screens are a significant contributor to asymmetric neck loading for a straightforward reason: most people do not sit directly in front of them. A monitor positioned slightly to one side, a laptop that drifts off centre on a desk, or a habit of angling the head towards a second screen or a colleague means the neck is held in a mild but sustained rotation for hours at a time.
Video calls add another layer. When a webcam is positioned to one side, or when you find yourself looking at your own image in a corner of the screen rather than straight ahead, the head tends to turn or tilt slightly and stay there. Over the course of several calls a day, that adds up to a considerable amount of one-sided demand on the neck muscles.
The key word is sustained. A single glance to one side is entirely harmless. It is the prolonged, repeated holding of the same position that gradually loads one side of the neck more than the other.
Screens are often the most visible cause, but several other daily habits can contribute just as meaningfully to uneven neck loading.
Carrying a bag consistently on the same shoulder is one of the most common. When one shoulder is bearing load, the muscles on that side of the neck engage to stabilise it, often for the entire duration of a commute or errand. Over time this becomes a habitual pattern that the body defaults to even when the bag is not there.
Phone habits are another. Holding a phone to the same ear, cradling it between the ear and shoulder, or tilting the head downward to look at a screen held low are all positions the neck can manage in small doses but which become problematic when they are repeated many times a day.
Sleeping consistently on the same side, particularly with a pillow that is too high or too low, can also place a sustained one-sided load on the neck through the night. For people who already have some asymmetry during the day, the overnight position can either compound or gently counteract it depending on how it is set up.
Dominant side patterns more broadly, favouring one hand for most tasks, always turning the same way to speak to someone, or consistently resting weight on the same side when standing, all contribute small amounts of asymmetric loading that accumulate over the course of a day.
The goal is not perfect symmetry, which is neither achievable nor necessary. It is introducing enough variety into daily loading patterns that the neck is not consistently asked to favour one side.
For screen position, centering your primary screen directly in front of you and bringing it to a height where the top of the screen is roughly at eye level reduces the need to hold the head in a rotated or tilted position for extended periods. If you use a second screen regularly, alternating which side it sits on occasionally, or repositioning your chair rather than always turning your head, can help distribute the demand more evenly.
For bag carrying, alternating shoulders where possible, or switching to a rucksack for longer journeys, reduces the sustained one-sided load on the neck muscles.
For phone use, trying the other ear occasionally, or using hands-free where practical, introduces variation into a pattern that is otherwise very one-sided.
Brief movement resets throughout the day are also valuable. A few gentle neck rolls, a slow turn of the head to each side, or simply drawing the shoulders back and allowing the head to return to a neutral position takes only a moment and interrupts the pattern of sustained one-sided loading before it builds up.
If your VIDA programme includes neck and upper back stretches, following the guided videos at your own pace supports more balanced mobility across both sides over time.