Is Zoom fatigue still a thing? Why video meetings are so draining, and what to do about it.

Zoom calls and meetings exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving people who were physically apart the next best thing to meeting face-to-face. But that also sparked reports of so-called Zoom fatigue, where people felt worn out after longer Zoom sessions.

Video meetings — whether on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or another platform — are still the norm for remote workers, who make up about a third of the workforce. And Zoom fatigue hasn’t gone away, although researchers are actively trying to find solutions. Now, a new survey published in the journal Frontiers found that your videoconferencing background could influence how tired you feel at the end of a call.

For the survey, researchers polled more than 600 people on whether they used virtual backgrounds on video calls and what type of background they used, including static images, blurred images, videos or no virtual background. The researchers also measured Zoom fatigue (which they called “videoconference fatigue”) on a five-point scale.

The researchers found that people who used video backgrounds had the highest levels of Zoom fatigue, followed by those with blurred backgrounds. But the environment in the background of the calls mattered too. People who used nature-themed backgrounds said they had lower levels of Zoom fatigue than those who used ones that depicted office settings or public spaces. Also worth noting: People who used lighthearted and funny backgrounds had the lowest levels of Zoom fatigue.

But what causes Zoom fatigue and why might your background influence how wiped you feel after one of these calls? Here’s the deal.

What causes Zoom fatigue?

There are a few reasons why people experience Zoom fatigue, Sanam Hafeez, a neuropsychologist in New York City and director of Comprehend the Mind, tells Yahoo Life. She says “cognitive overload” is a big factor. “Video meetings require a lot of mental effort to process what is happening nonverbally and with the participants, and the picture of oneself that appears onscreen can make you more self-conscious,” Hafeez says.

Videoconferences also have fewer nonverbal cues like eye contact and body language, which means you have to work harder to understand the meaning of what people say, she explains.

There’s also a “heightened sense of being observed, as all eyes are directed at the same screen, which can create social pressure and fatigue,” Heng Zhang, co-author of the new study and a researcher at the Nanyang Technological University Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, tells Yahoo Life.

Sitting for long periods of time in front of a screen without moving can make people feel uncomfortable and, ultimately, tired too, Zhang says.

People also tend to multitask during these sessions, causing them to feel even more overstimulated, Thea Gallagher, clinical assistant professor of psychology at NYU Langone Health and co-host of the Mind in View podcast, tells Yahoo Life. “I often hear people’s Slack channels or Outlook going off in the background during sessions,” she says. “There’s a lot happening at once, and the brain needs to shift between all of those things.”

Making things even worse is that a lot of these meetings can be crammed into one day, Hafeez says. “The fact that video meetings can be scheduled any day of the week and at any time, given that there is no travel involved, can mean a relentless cycle of back-to-back meetings without proper breaks,” she says.

Why might your background influence your Zoom fatigue?

That’s still being explored, but there are a few theories. Blurred backgrounds can have technical issues that show glimpses of a person’s real environment, which presents new information to people looking at the screen, Zhang says — and your brain has to work to comprehend that.

“In contrast, users who use image backgrounds may initially receive some new visual information, but as the meeting progresses, they might gradually shift their attention away from these background details, realizing that this information is unrelated to the meeting topic,” he says.

Video backgrounds present constant changes in information, which interrupts people’s attention and sucks up more mental resources, Zhang says. “For those who do not use virtual backgrounds, they may face distractions when in public places or working from home, such as other people or family members entering the camera’s view, which introduces new stimuli and causes attention to waver,” he says.

But this study found that people who don’t use virtual backgrounds have lower levels of Zoom fatigue. “This could be because these users are usually in environments they perceive as ‘safe,’ such as a private office at home, reducing the likelihood of external disturbances,” Zhang says.

How to lower the risk of Zoom fatigue

There are a few things you can do to lower the odds you’ll experience Zoom fatigue in the future. Gallagher recommends doing your best to space out meetings. “Make sure there are scheduled breaks, and get up and move from your chair in between,” she says. “If you can do a call over the phone instead of Zoom, consider doing that.”

Hafeez suggests creating an ergonomic and comfortable space for yourself. “Pay attention to good lighting and a supportive chair,” she says. If possible, she also recommends limiting the time of your meetings to 30 to 45 minutes or less.

It’s also a good idea to look away from your screen sometimes to give your eyes a break, Hafeez says. “Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds,” she says.

As for your background, Hafeez recommends choosing something “neat, unobtrusive or pleasing” to help free up your attention to focus on the conversation. “A background that’s personalized or visually pleasing could also make videoconferencing feel more comfortable and less stressful, making it easier for participants to relax and engage in meaningful conversations without feeling drained after the call,” she says.

If it makes sense in your workforce, try to opt for something nature-themed. “Natural environment backgrounds not only create a calming and relaxing atmosphere, but also help alleviate work-related stress,” Zhang says.

Finally, try your best to set boundaries around how many video meetings you’ll do, and actually enforce them. “Watch out for those back-to-back Zooms,” Gallagher says. “They will wipe you out.”