Shortsightedness: Why playing outside helps to curb poor sight in children

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2 years ago

Parents that prefer to keep their children always indoors in their spare time rather than allow them to go out to play outdoors need to have a rethink. Playing outdoors allows children to develop self-confidence, independence and self-esteem. Much more indoor playing is also bad for sight.

Myopia, also called short-sightedness or nearsightedness, is a growing problem worldwide. Part of this growing problem, according to experts, is that children are spending too much time indoors looking at things close to them rather than going outside and looking at things that are far away.

In Nigeria, the prevalence of nearsightedness in school children in various regions ranges between 0.7% and 4.5%. For example, a recent study on shortsightedness in 1028 school children (aged 5–14 years), in Garki District of Abuja puts its prevalence at 3.5%.

The 2022 study, in the African Vision and Eye Health journals, had examined the eyes of these children and reported that approximately 3.4% of the children had mild myopia, 0.1% had moderate myopia and none had high myopia.

But what worries experts is that over the last few decades, its global prevalence has doubled and studies have shown that practices like limiting time on digital devices like phones and Television; not reading or working in dim light, wearing sunglasses outside and regular outdoor time, that is able to reduce children developing myopia are common.

Dr Mary Ugalahi, a consultant ophthalmologist, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan said the intuition by many people that children shouldn’t sit close to the TV to prevent it hurting their eyes is backed by science.

According to her, studies are suggesting that over time, the blue light exposure from television, video games, computers and phones might actually cause some harm to the cells at the back of the eye, the retina.

The blue light emitted by computers, cell phone displays, and fluorescent and LED lights is a part of the ultraviolet light spectrum and consists of shorter wavelengths of visible light with high energy and thus high absorption rates by the retina.

“The cells at the back of the eyes pick the blue light. So, they advocate that we should reduce screen time for children, be it on smartphones, TV or laptops. But it is not as if there is a definite causal relationship. But there is the possibility that over time the blue light can actually damage the eye,” she added.

Irrespective of this, Dr Ugalahi said the campaign that children shouldn’t watch TV close up because it could harm eyes, should rather target parents that use smart phones or tabs as pacifiers for children.

She added, “If a child wants to cry, they give him a smartphone or a tab as a pacifier. But there is that possibility of damage to the eye because of the constant exposure to blue light that over time shows up, maybe in adulthood.”

Of course, excessive TV viewing by kids can cause other eye problems. “They might start to experience such symptoms as eye strain, tearing, and fatigue because they have been staring at the screen for a long time without a break or blinking frequently as they should. This is called computer vision syndrome,” she said.

Symptoms of computer vision syndrome include strained, dry eyes, blurred vision, and headaches. Poor posture when using screens can also cause chronic neck, shoulder, and back pain.

Dr Ugalahi, however, said children who frequently sit close to the television may actually be nearsighted and should have their vision checked.

Dr Yinka Ologunsua, a consultant ophthalmologist, Sight for Life Eye Centre, Ibadan, stated that the eye strain and tiredness that comes from extended close viewing of a screen occur similarly to muscle pull experience by an athlete after a long run and there is depletion of glucose in the body’s muscles.

“So a prolonged concentration will cause fatigue for the eye. When that happens, there could be tearing, little discomfort and headache. So, what we advocate is to put your eyes on the screen for 20 minutes, give it a rest for 20 seconds before you continue.”

According to him, the reduction in blink rate due to the full concentration of the screen over a long period could also contribute to tear on the eye drying up, causing a peppery sensation. Every time an individual blinks, tears help to lubricate the eyes.

Dr Ologunsua declared that in reducing eye fatigue from several hours on smart phones, tabs and laptops, fonts that are too little and screens that are too bright or dark should be avoided due to the deleterious effects of prolonged exposure of blue lights on the eye.

In a study, Australian researchers found evidence that children who spent the most time outdoors were the least likely to suffer from myopia, also called nearsightedness or shortsightedness. Among the 12-year-olds, those who spent more than 2.8 hours outside every day were less likely to be myopic than their peers who spent more of their time indoors.

Children who spent less than 1.6 hours outdoors every day and more than 3.1 hours in near-work activity had double to triple the likelihood of being nearsighted compared to kids who spent the most time outside and the least time in close-up work.

The researchers looked at 1,765 six-year-olds and 2,367 12-year-olds participating in the Sydney Myopia Study. Just 1.5 percent of the six-year-olds were myopic, but 12.8 percent of the older children were. Both age groups spent about 2.3 hours outside each day, on average.

Nearsightedness happens when the eyeball is too large from front to back. Genes play a big role, but increased time spent outdoors by children doing up-close activities inside like reading and working on their electronic devices like phones can slow myopia progression. It may decrease the risk of new myopia onset by 50%.

As children grow and change, their lifestyles affect their bodies. And the eyes of a child who is always looking at things close to him or her might adjust to this and lose some ability to see far away.

Nearsightedness has real consequences. Aside from causing problems with everyday tasks that require the ability to see more than a few feet away, such as school or driving, people with myopia are at higher risk of blindness and retinal detachment.

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