The Best and Worst Eyesight Habits
If you were ever scolded for reading in the dark as a child, or if you used blue-light blocking glasses when working on a computer, you may have misconceptions about your eye health.
About four out of ten adults in the United States are at high risk for vision loss, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But many eye conditions are treatable or preventable, said Dr. Joshua Ehrlich, an assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Michigan.
Here are nine common beliefs people have about eye health and what experts have to say about it.
Reading a book or looking closely at an electronic device is bad for your eyes.
WHERE. Our eyes are not supposed to focus on objects close to our face for long periods of time, said Dr. Xiaoying Zhu, an associate professor of optometry and principal investigator of myopia at SUNY College of Optometry in New York City. When we do that, especially as children, it encourages the eyeball to elongate, which over time can cause nearsightedness or nearsightedness.
To reduce the strain on your eyes, Dr. Zhu to follow the 20-20-20 rule: After every 20 minutes of accurate reading, look at something at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
Reading in the dark can make your eyesight worse.
False. However, if the lighting is so dim that you have to hold your book or tablet close to your face, it can increase the above risks and cause eye strain, which can cause pain around the eyes and temples, headaches, and difficulty concentrating. But these are usually temporary symptoms, said Dr. Zhu.
Spending more time outside helps eyesight.
WHERE. Some research (mainly aimed at children) suggests that time spent outdoors may reduce the risk of developing nearsightedness, said Maria Liu, an associate professor of clinical optometry at the University of California, Berkeley. Experts don’t fully understand why this is so, but some studies suggest that bright sunlight can trigger the retina produce dopaminewhich discourages eye elongation (although these experiments have mostly been performed with animalssaid dr. Zhu).
Too much ultraviolet light can damage vision.
WHERE. There’s a reason experts say not to stare into the sun. Too much exposure to ultraviolet A and B rays in sunlight can cause “irreversible damage” to the retina, said Dr. Ehrlich. This can also increase the risk of developing cataracts, he said.
Too much exposure to UV light can also increase the risk of development cancers in the eyesaid dr. Ehrlich – although this risk is low. Wearing sunglasses, glasses or contact lenses that block UV rays can provide protection.
Taking a break from wearing glasses can prevent your vision from getting worse.
False. Some patients who need glasses tell Safal Khanal, an assistant professor of optometry and vision science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, that they don’t wear their glasses all the time because they think it will make their condition worse. “That’s not true,” he said. If you need glasses, you should wear them.
Even a little blue light from screens is harmful to your eyes.
False. While some research has found that exposure to blue light can damage the retina and potentially cause vision problems over time, has not confirmed solid evidence that this happens at typical exposures in humans, said Dr. Ehrlich. There is also no proof that wearing glasses that block blue light will improve eye health, he added.
But screens can be bad for vision in the other ways described above, including by causing dry eyes, said Dr. Zhu. “When we stare at a screen, we just don’t blink as much as we should,” she said, and that can cause eye strain and temporary blurry vision.
Smoking is bad for eye health.
WHERE. a 2011 CDC study smoking has been linked to self-reported age-related eye diseases in older adults, including cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, a disease in which part of the retina breaks off and blurs your vision. Toxic chemicals in cigarettes enter your bloodstream and damage sensitive tissues in the eyes, including the retina, lens and macula, said Dr. Khanal.
Carrots are good for your eyes.
WHERE. While a diet full of carrots won’t give you perfect vision, there’s some evidence that the nutrients in them are good for eye health. A large clinical trialfound, for example, that supplementing with nutrients from carrots, including antioxidants such as beta-carotene and vitamins C and E, can slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration.
Following a diet rich in antioxidants won’t necessarily prevent eye disease from occurring, but it may be helpful “especially for people with early macular degeneration,” said Dr. Ehrlich.
Vision deterioration is an inevitable part of aging.
False. Most causes of vision loss in adulthood — including age-related macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma — are preventable or treatable if you catch them early, said Dr. Ehrlich. If your vision starts to decline, don’t dismiss it as “just getting older,” he added. Seeing an optometrist or ophthalmologist right away (or regularly, every year) gives you the best chance of avoiding these conditions, he said.