Researchers suspect that bright outdoor light helps children’s developing eyes maintain the correct distance between the lens and the retina, which keeps vision in focus. Lack of dopamine results in the eye becoming more elongated, resulting in nearsightedness. Starr explains that dopamine, a known inhibitor of eye growth whose release is stimulated by light, prevents elongation of the eye.
This is in addition to school recess time. Christopher Starr, an ophthalmologist from Weill Cornell Medical College, suggests one to three extra hours per day should be spent outside. It certainly does not help when schools are cutting back on our kids’ recess time.ĭr. Computers, iPads, television, reading and studying consume a lot of our time, so our eyes (and our bodies) are spending a lot less time outside. Genetics can always be blamed for the rise in myopia, but what is even a bigger culprit is not getting enough time outdoors in the natural light. Our young kids are developing myopia at an earlier age than ever before, so one would wonder “what” is different today compared to several hundred years ago or even 45. Those without good long distance eyesight would have died off long ago and myopia would be a thing of the past – if it was strictly genetic. They also spent a majority of their waking hours in the sun. The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the National Eye Institute predict half the world’s population will be “nearsighted” by the end of 2050.īeing able to see long distances was important for our ancestors from long ago when they depended on their eyesight to hunt for food or watch for the enemy. Myopia is also known as nearsightedness or not being able to see things far away. The number has increased from 25 percent in early 1970 to 41.6 percent today. Research shows there has been an increase in the percentage of Americans ages 12-54 who are suffering from myopia over the past 45 years. There is new evidence that suggests children who spend more time outside exposed to daylight may reduce their risk of developing nearsightedness.
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