13/01/2022
From The Guardian:
Why staring at screens is making your eyeballs elongate - and how to stop it:
Key points:
👉 When our eyes spend more time focusing on near objects, like phones, screens, or even paperbacks, it makes our eyeballs elongate, which prevents the eye from bending light the way it should.
👉 This elongation increases nearsightedness, called myopia, which causes distant objects to appear blurred.
👉 Working for prolonged periods, whether texting, reading or jotting emails is what optometrists call “near work”. The trouble with holding a screen close to your face isn’t about light shining into your eyes, it’s about the strain of the eye. For one, your eyes blink far less when they’re focused so closely. As you’re holding your phone in your hand, performing near work, your muscles stretch and your lenses shift since our eyes over-accommodate to constant close-distance tasks. That’s why they’re growing.
👉 There are special contact lenses available which can correct the condition in children.
👉 Advice to slow this condition: “Spend more time outdoors,” recommends Chow, at least two hours daily. “Studies have shown that increased sunlight decreases myopia progression.”
Most important is taking breaks which help eyes rest, blink and lubricate. Then there’s the 20-20-20 model. “Every 20 minutes, look at a distance 20 feet away, for 20 seconds,” Hariharan advises. “Being on the computer for hours on end isn’t good for your health. Don’t break to play video games or pick up another screen. Go outside!”
