It turns out that children may be able to prevent short-sightedness by playing outside more. Scientists found that increasing exposure to outdoor light decreases the risk of myopia.
In February, researchers announced that about half of the world's population would be short-sighted by 2050, and about 10 percent of the population would be at risk for blindness if steps weren't taken in order to stop myopia from turning into high myopia. Needless to say, it's important to take steps now rather than later in order to prevent this type of eye degeneration.
"While screens are contributing to children spending more time indoors than in previous years, the research shows they are not the direct cause of the increased incidence of myopia," said Scott Read, one of the researchers in the new study. "Optometrists need to make their patients aware that less than 60 minutes' exposure to light outdoors per day is a risk factor for myopia. It looks like even for those with myopia already, increasing time outside is likely to reduce progression."
In this latest study, the researchers measured children's eye growth by having participants wear wristwatch light sensors. This allowed them to record light exposure and physical activity for a fortnight during both warmer and colder months.
The researchers found that when it comes to myopia, spending time outdoors is key. This is especially important as the incidence of near-sightedness increases in the world's population.
"Children exposed to the least outdoor light had faster eye growth and hence faster myopia progression," Read said.
In other words, children who were exposed to more outdoor light were less likely to be near-sighted in general.
Knowing that outdoor light can reduce the risk of myopia will be huge moving forward. In the future, it will be crucial to have children get enough exposure to outdoor light and less time indoors looking at laptop and television screens. This will, hopefully, lower the incidence of myopia, and may also help reduce the risk of blindness in the future.
The findings were published in the April edition of the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
