Science behind ‘Zoom fatigue’

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

“Zoom fatigue” is a generic term for feeling drained after sitting in front of any kind of video conference for much of the day. That’s according to Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab.

He says using Zoom is like being inside an elevator with people who are all staring at you for the whole ride.

He shares tips for making these calls more comfortable, such as hiding “self view” and minimizing the window so it doesn’t take up your entire monitor. Also, turn on the camera at the start of the meeting so you can get a sense of others, then turn off the camera.