Mindfulness for Zoom Fatigue

Resources and Practices

Exhaustion from online calls, or ‘Zoom fatigue’, has become an omnipresent experience since the pandemic.

Here you’ll find resources to help you understand the psychological and nervous system effects of online calls, and become more familiar with your own patterns. You’ll also find technical tips and mindfulness practices to help reduce Zoom fatigue.

For an introduction, read this MindLetter: Zoom Fatigue: Staying Embodied Online.

For stronger experiences of Zoom exhaustion and anxiety, read When Zoom Fatigue Becomes Zoom Burnout.

For a psychological overview of why video calls are so tiring, and technical tips to reduce fatigue, read Nervous System: What the Research Says about Zoom Fatigue.

Mindfulness for Zoom Fatigue: an Introduction

In this presentation and real-time mindfulness practice, Dr Kitty Wheater presents an overview of how and why video calls exhaust us, and walks you through mindfulness techniques to use at your screen. (34 mins)

Mindfulness Practices to Reduce Zoom Fatigue

Mindfulness practices help lessen video call fatigue by reducing fight-flight activation in the nervous system, and the ‘driven doing’ cognitive function of mind. Try these once a day, before or after a stretch of video calls.

Mindfulness of Body and Breath (14 mins)

The Breathing Space (3 mins)

Self-inquiry

Experiences of video call fatigue can be quite strong, ranging from tiredness and irritation to anxiety and physical agitation. Use the worksheet below, alongside the presentation and practices above, to take a closer look at your own experience and what may help.

Zoom Fatigue First Response Document (16.38 KB Word)