We spend longer behind screens than ever. During the day Teams and Zoom, in the evening Netflix and PlayStation. In the section Healthy or not, health journalist Tijn Elferink delves into a subject about which there is confusion. This time: are our eyes getting worse from all those screens?
Half of young adults need glasses because of myopia. As long as the eye is in the growth phase, an increase in the weak strength can be slowed down. “By using fewer screens and going outside more,” says Clair Enthoven, PhD candidate in ophthalmology and epidemiology at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. The opposite happens due to the lockdown. “I hold my heart especially for children.”
All children are born with a small plus strength. The eye grows and as the eye gets longer, the plus strength decreases. The eye should stop at exactly zero, but eyes continue to grow more and more. More and more people therefore have a weakness. This is called nearsightedness or myopia.
“If parents are nearsighted, their children are also more likely to become nearsighted.”
Clair Enthoven, Ophthalmologist
Major problems do not arise until later
This growth is hereditary, says Enthoven, who specialized in lifestyle factors. “If parents are nearsighted, their children are also more likely to become nearsighted. But the rapid increase cannot be solely because of that. We live in cities more often, go outside less and work closer to work, such as on a screen.”
The eye is made to look far away. “It adapts because we look closer more often,” says Enthoven. “It is easier for the eye to be a little longer. This causes the tissue to stretch and become thinner. The risk of bleeding and retinal detachment increases.”
At a young age the result is at most glasses. Major problem do not arise until years later. “Of the people with -6 or worse, 30 percent become visually impaired or blind. There is no solution or treatment yet.”
“Of the people with -6 or worse, 30 percent become visually impaired or blind.”
Clair Enthoven, Ophthalmologist
After a screenless week, complaints decreased
The increased screen usage also affects sleep quality. LED screens emit a relatively large amount of blue light. Blue light inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin more than a candle or a light bulb. The RIVM conducted research into young people who use a screen every day before going to sleep. “They fall asleep later, sleep less and wake up more often at night,” says researcher Martijn Dollé. “They also have more trouble staying awake during the day.”
After a screenless week, the complaints decreased, the RIVM noted in collaboration with the Amsterdam UMC and the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. Wearing orange sleeping goggles in the evening also works. Koos Meijer’s Somnoblue completely filters the blue ambient light. “It makes your brain think you’re in a dark room.”
His sleeping goggles are now used in more than thirty hospitals by employees who work irregular shifts. “I recommend putting on the glasses at the same time every day, one to two hours before going to sleep. This way your body knows: the day is over, it’s time to go to sleep.”
“Children not only have online lessons, but they no longer cycle to school.”
Clair Enthoven, Ophthalmologist
More and more children need glasses with negative lenses
Nothing can yet be said about the effects of the increased screen use on sleep. China was the first country to go into lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak. There, scientists are seeing an alarming increase in myopia. Enthoven also expects a deterioration in the Netherlands. “Children not only have online lessons, but also no longer cycle to school and often do not go outside during recess.”
Enthoven urges parents to send their children outside more often and for longer, at least two hours a day. 31 percent of the six-year-olds achieve this and 14 percent of the nine-year-olds. That is not only important for looking far away. “Bright light slows down the growth of the eye.” And if you let your kids play games, let them do it on television, says Enthoven. “The greater the distance between your eyes and the screen, the better.”
More and more children need glasses with negative lenses. The good news is: the deterioration of the eye can be slowed down by going outside, looking more into the distance and looking less at screens. The bad news: that makes sense as long as the eye is in the growth phase (until about the twentieth year of life). It is already too late for adults with a low strength; they are significantly more likely to develop eye problems or blindness at a later age.
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