Rates of nearsightedness, or myopia, are skyrocketing in kids—and scientists say it has to do with how little time they’re spending outdoors. Here’s why it’s so good for your vision.
January 7, 2025
Here's why sunlight and spending time in nature is so good for eye health—plus how much time outside is needed to reap benefits.Myopia occurs when the shape of the eye becomes elongated, causing distant objects to appear blurry while close objects remain clear.
Some such worrisome eye conditions include glaucoma, premature cataracts, macular degeneration, and retinal tears and detachments.Playing outside and being in the sun improves eye health for everyone, but especially does so for kids. "For younger children whose eyes are still developing, spending time outdoors helps prevent excessive elongation of the eyeball," says Chase Ludwig, a vitreoretinal surgeon at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University School of Medicine.
One reason for this is that screens and close-up activities don’t give our eyes opportunities to strengthen long-distance sightseeing muscles—and engaging in such activites for prolonged periods "appear to trigger the eye to elongate in an effort to lessen the accommodative demand that it takes to see clearly up close," says Weidmayer.
The amount of time suggested by the report and supported by additional research "is at least one hour of daily outdoor activity," says Oke. Indeed, afound that spending an hour a day outside results in a 45 percent reduction in myopia incidence while 76 minutes of outdoor activity daily equals a 50 percent reduction risk.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Perpetua Resources and Sunshine Silver to explore antimony processing in IdahoNo 1 source of global mining news and opinion
Read more »
Houston warms to the 70s and sunshine returns MondayGloomy to sunny Monday
Read more »
Clouds clear Monday night; sunshine returns TuesdayMeteorologist Maci Tetrick joined WRTV in September 2024 and is thrilled to be back home in Central Indiana. She is excited to be forecasting and reporting on stories related to the weather.
Read more »
Some sunshine before more stormy weather returns over the weekendGillian Morán Pérez is an assistant producer for LAist 89.3.
Read more »
These Easy Sugar Cookies Taste Just Like Sunshine, Thanks to a 1-Ingredient UpgradeUsing lemon juice and zest in both the cookie dough and sprinkled over the glaze gives these slice-and-bake sugar cookies a bright citrus flavor.
Read more »
Bright & breezy with chilly sunshine then cold & frosty tonightHappy Wednesday everybody! Plan on a bright, breezy and beautiful day with NW winds gusting up to 25mph in the wake of the front that brought us wet weather the
Read more »