Green Space Lowers Risk of Myopia

hese exMyopia on the Rise

Lifestyle changes resulting in reduced outdoor activities coupled with rapid urbanization have been associated with a huge increase in nearsightedness (myopia) across many parts of the world. Indoor activities include concentrated near-work and digital device use which results in myopia.¹

Myopia now appears at earlier ages, and usually the earlier it appears, the deeper the person advances into nearsightedness. Increasingly strong lenses for distance vision are required as myopia progresses.

Myopia affects 30%-40% of Americans and Europeans, and 80% to 90% of young adult Asians. The covid pandemic has compounded the problem. By analyzing pre-covid and post-covid data, researchers found that myopia increased significantly during the pandemic.²

The Impact of Near-Point Visual Stress

With increased time spent indoors, we engage in increased near-work resulting in increased near-point visual stress.

Near-point visual stress, despite 20/20 distance clarity, has been shown to lead to the development of visual problems and eye conditions, including dry eyes (often the result of a reduced blinking rate), increased myopia, and glaucoma. Blurred vision, dry eyes, burning sensations, eye redness, and headache are the main symptoms resulting from improper use of computers, as well as visual fatigue symptoms such as sore eyes and increased glare sensitivity.

The most common result of chronic visual stress is lowered achievement. When chronic stress is present, people usually do one of several things:

• • • Avoid the task through incomplete or inaccurate work
    • Experience pain or other symptoms
    • Feel sleepy
    • Feel frustration
    • Suppress the sight of one eye at the cost of reduced efficiency
    • Develop myopia or astigmatism
    • Strain even harder, compounding the problem

The Impact of Green Space

Being outdoors, especially for children, is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of myopia or delay onset.  One study of 14,000 students in 51 schools showed that schools that create 500m of green space around the school were directly associated with a lower incidence of myopia.³

Even though blue light and UV light in sunlight can damage the retina, researchers have repeatedly found that being outside during daylight hours in both summer and winter is very beneficial.⁴ The benefit of sunlight may be its impact on eye development in young people as well as the synthesis of vitamin D and bone health support.⁵

In fact, recent research suggests that lack of sun exposure (note, this does not mean over-exposure!) may be responsible for 340,000 US deaths and 480,000 European deaths annually with an increased incidence of cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, asthma, juvenile diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases like MS and Alzheimer’s that are not remedied by vitamin D supplementation.⁶  So it is not just the vitamin D-providing benefit of sunlight.

Go for a walk or work outdoors. Perform outdoor activities that require seeing at a distance. Become aware of what and where things are on all sides. When walking, keep your head up, eyes wide open, and look toward objects but avoid staring at them.

What Else Can You Do?

Eye Exercises

Eye exercises that rely on self-massage of acupoints and specific eye exercises appear to be more effective in reducing myopia than improving near vision. These exercises appear to enhance accuracy and letter recognition, but not the speed with which one is able to discern letters.⁷ In one study there was no general reduction in myopia risk in school children, but those who performed “high quality” eye exercises experienced a slightly lower myopia progression.⁸

There is a long history of showing the benefits of doing daily eye exercises, going back a millennium as eye exercises being practice in China, and over 100 years starting with the work done by Dr. Bates from the late 1800s till the 1930s.

The muscles of the eyes are not different than the muscles found in the rest of the body, so daily eye exercises can help strengthen your eye muscles, often resulting in clearer vision, sometimes lowering one’s prescription, and supporting the extraocular muscles that support eye movement. There are over 1500 eye doctors and vision therapists in the USA that are trained in vision therapy techniques. To find a practitioner near you, go to www.oepf.org

Get our free eye exercise e-booklet.

Regular Exercise

Regular exercise is now recognized as essential in reducing the risk of most health and vision conditions. Aerobic exercise is recommended.  It is anything that gets your heart pumping which increases the flow of oxygen to all parts of your body. Aerobic exercise not only benefits your heart, but it is good for your eyes. Exercise helps prevent your eyes from worsening. It raises oxygen levels in the cells and increases lymph and blood circulation. Healthy circulation is a prerequisite for good vision. We recommend that you get out for whatever brings you joy every day, whether it be walks and going dancing once a week, taking an exercise class, or going for a hike.  A brisk walk every day is idea.

Look Up from Your Work

Both children and adults need to look up and away from near tasks to distant objects regularly. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, electronic devices give off Fire energy. When looking at computer or cell phone screens, it would help to look far away, every 30 minutes, to something green, like trees, which helps to reduce Fire energy.

Don’t Work in the Dark

The illumination on your work should be no more than three times brighter than the rest of the room.

Don’t read under a single lamp in a dark room. Eliminating glare is especially important for close-up work.

Don’t use fluorescent or LED lights as they have an imbalanced color spectrum, too strong in the blue range, which can contribute to impaired sleep in the short term and retinal damage in the long run. Additionally, fluorescent lights flicker at a rate that is undetectable to the human eye and can cause eyestrain and dizziness. Incandescent lighting is the better choice.

Watch Your Posture and Position

Sit straight. Have chest up, shoulders back, and weight over the seat so both eyes are at the eye task level and at an equal distance from what is being seen. Sit upright while reading or watching TV in bed, not lying on your back or stomach.

Reading, writing, or close-up work is best done at an eye-to-activity distance equal to the length between the middle knuckle and elbow (14–16 inches for adults). Hold your pencil or pen an inch or so from the tip so you can see and guide it without tilting your head or body to the side.

Look at TV or computer from a distance equal to seven times the width of the screen, and sit upright. Have indirect lamps on in the room but placed to eliminate glare on the screen. Watching shows on TV or computer involves and develops very few visual skills and should be limited to a few hours or less daily, especially for children.

Nutrition

A good diet, high in fruits and vegetables along with supplementation of lutein, zeaxanthin, bilberry, and vitamin A, is beneficial for keeping the eyes healthy. Additional nutrients may be required for specific eye conditions.

Eye Supplements

It is believed that more than 25% of the nutrients we absorb from our food goes to nourish our “visual system,” which includes our eyes, nerves, blood vessels, and the tissues that support our vision. The concentration of vitamin C for example in healthy eyes is higher than almost anywhere else in the body. Researched nutrients to help keep your vision healthy and help reduce eye strain include formulas that contain lutein, zeaxanthin, mesozeaxathin, astaxanthin, and glutathione as well as black current seed oil.

Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula (whole food) 60 vcaps – our foundation, whole food, organic GMO free eye formula.

ReVision Formula (wild-crafted herbal formula) 2 oz – wild-crafted herbal tonic to support the Liver (meridian) to promote healthy circulation in the eyes and body overall.

Advanced Eye & Vision Support + Revision Formula – discounted 10%

Black Currant Seed Oil 500 mg 100 caps

MacuGuard® Ocular Support with Saffron and Astaxanthin

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