How Bright Should a Desk Lamp Be for Computer Work?

If your eyes are tired after a few hours at the computer, the problem is usually not the monitor. It is the difference in brightness between the screen and everything around it. A desk lamp fixes that, but only if it puts the right amount of light in the right place. Here is how to size one.

How bright should a desk lamp be for computer work?

Aim for the desk surface around the keyboard to sit at roughly 300–500 lux. In lamp terms, that is a 400–800 lumen lamp positioned 30–50 cm (12–20 in) above the desk. Reading paper next to the screen? Go to the upper end. Mostly on screen? The lower end is plenty.

Two rules of thumb:

• Match the screen. Your monitor is typically 200–300 nits, which looks about as bright as a desk lit to 300–500 lux. When the desk and the screen look similar in brightness, your pupils stop readjusting every time you glance down.
• Dimmable beats bright. A 1,000-lumen lamp you run at 40% is better than a fixed 400-lumen lamp, because ambient light changes through the day. Every lamp in our Desk & Task collection dims.

Where the lamp goes matters more than the wattage

• Behind or beside the monitor, never in front of it. Light hitting the screen from the front creates the reflections that cause squinting. Position the head so light falls on the desk and keyboard, not the display.
• Opposite your writing hand. Right-handed: lamp on the left. That keeps your hand's shadow off the page.
• Head above eye level. If you can see the LEDs directly, the lamp is too low. Tilt the head down or raise the arm.

Color temperature: 4000K for work, 3000K for the evening

Neutral white (4000K) reads as daylight and keeps text crisp. Warm white (2700–3000K) is easier late in the day. Lamps with a three-color switch let you do both; the FlexiGlow Clamp Desk Lamp and the FlexiClip both have it.

Three setups that work

Small desk, one or two monitors. A monitor light bar sits on top of the screen and lights the keyboard and desk without any glare on the display, and takes zero desk space. The GlareGuard Monitor Light is stepless-dimmable and runs off USB.

Large desk, paperwork plus screen. A clamp-mounted architect lamp with a long arm covers the whole surface and clears the desk. The BrightClamp Architect Lamp is 24W with auto-dimming and an arm that reaches across a two-monitor setup.

No outlet nearby. Rechargeable lamps are fine for a few hours of task light. The Smart Touch LED Desk Lamp charges over USB and has touch dimming.

Quick checklist

• 400–800 lumens, dimmable
• Head 30–50 cm above the desk, above eye level
• Light on the desk, not the screen
• 4000K for daytime, 3000K available for evenings
• Clamp or clip mount if desk space is tight

Browse the full Desk & Task Lighting collection. Ships to the US and Canada; free shipping on orders over $200.