January 19, 2021 - EyeClarity Blog
What happens with the increase of digital usage?
The school year is officially here and with the Covid-19 pandemic still ongoing it looks like online learning is here to stay. Online learning can be a hassle for a variety of reasons, but many times parents don’t consider the health ramifications of online learning. When your child is at school they have opportunities to run around and exercise and they aren’t confined to a single table/space at all times. In addition, in-school learning doesn’t rely as heavily on digital screens. Online learning on the other hand almost exclusively relies on digital screens as a method of teaching. At first glance this may not seem like a cause for alarm; however, eye doctors around the world are discovering just how detrimental this could end up being.
When it comes to your eye health, screen time has a big impact. An extended amount of screen time can lead to eye strain, myopia, astigmatism, damage your retinas, and disturb your sleep patterns. According to the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) report confirms that prolonged exposure to bright LED lights can lead to irreversible retinal damage. In addition, children’s eyes are still forming and developing so they are more susceptible to the side-effects of LED exposure.
Similarly, our eyes are not meant to spend a long period of time staring at a specific distance. This would apply to computers, telephones, and televisions. Your eyes can become strained when you stare at a specific distance for a long period of time because they are not meant to do so. Eye strain can lead to headaches, blurry vision, double vision, dry eyes, or even a reduced attention span. Think about it, when you are tired and your eyes are sore and dry, you can barely keep them open and focus on anything. For children, this can be much more prominent and can lead to their grades suffering in school. Thankfully, all hope is not lost. There are a variety of ways that you can help neutralize the impact of online school on your children’s eyes. There are preventative measures you can take, and there are ways you can help them if they are experiencing eye strain. In this article, we will discuss the different ways that you can neutralize any negative impact that online school may have on your child’s eye health.
Ways to neutralize the impact of online school on children’s eyes
There are three main ways you can lessen the impact of online school on your child’s eyes. They include investing in a pair of blue-light blocking glasses, conducting a vision evaluation, and doing eye therapy exercises.
Blue Light Blocking Lenses
As was mentioned, blue light (LED) can have a negative effect on your child’s eye health. While acute exposure to a high-level of LED light is going to cause the biggest negative effect, chronic exposure to low levels can cause problems too. In the same report from ANSES, researchers concluded that a chronic level of blue light can accelerate retinal tissue degradation, age-related macular degeneration, and it can contribute to vision blurriness. While some backlit devices, such as tablets and phones, may not pose as large of a risk as other devices they can still cause sleep problems as well.
Every human being follows a natural sleep pattern called a circadian rhythm. These sleep patterns follow a natural up and down between light sleep and deep sleep (REM sleep). Our circadian rhythms are determined by the sun. However, with the increase of technological discoveries, blue light can influence this natural process. Your retinas detect light late at night, so your brain processes the information to mean that it is day time. If your brain thinks it is daytime it will be less likely to fall into a deep sleep. Your body needs a deep sleeping cycle in order to stay healthy and function properly. If you are constantly in a state of light sleep this will prevent your body from functioning properly. In order to combat the eye problems that can arise from blue-light, there are blue-light-blocking glasses that you can buy.
How to choose the right blue-light glasses
Blue light is the shortest wavelength of light that is visible on the visible light spectrum. Blue light blocking glasses have a lens in them that blocks/absorbs the blue light and prevents it from getting through. You wear these glasses whenever you are using a computer or a digital device and the lens will prevent the blue light from traveling to your eyes. So, how do you choose a pair of blue-light glasses that you know will be effective?
Well, when light passes through a filter, the filter absorbs all the other light that is not of a similar wavelength to it. This means when you have a yellow filter over something the light will turn yellow when it passes through it. This same technique can be used to create blue-light glasses. An amber tint is applied to the lens of the glasses that allows the light of a similar wavelength through but blocks the rest of the light. These tinted glasses are effective, however many of them can increase eye strain. Tinted glasses can prevent you from being able to see the text on your screen clearly which can cause eye strain. Similarly, amber lenses can prevent your pupils from functioning normally which can cause eye damage.
The best type of blue-light glasses on the market are those that give you the best of both worlds. Dr. Berne’s blue-light blocking glasses use a Blue Protect Filter which blocks the damaging wavelengths of blue light while increasing the transmission of the visible light. This provides you with a clear image that is not tinted or difficult to see. Similarly, this filter will allow your pupils to dilate normally. Not only that, but the lens also includes an anti-reflective layer that prevents UV light damage and back-glare. Ultimately, it is up to you what style you prefer, but a Blue Protect filter lens is always an excellent choice.
Get a Vision Evaluation
If you are concerned about the effects that online school has had on your children’s eyes, you can always go to an eye doctor. Having your child’s vision evaluated allows you to make an informed decision about their eye health. However, when you go to get their vision evaluated, it is a good idea to visit a holistic eye doctor. While normal eye doctors will evaluate for decreased vision and possible eye disease, a holistic eye doctor will check for more.
The Benefit Of A Holistic Eye Doctor
In addition to evaluating your child’s vision, a holistic eye doctor can look for problems that may lead to reduced vision. They can provide you with preventative measures instead of just treating the problem once it develops.
There are many factors to consider when it comes to your eye health and a holistic eye doctor will evaluate them all to make sure you are staying healthy. A holistic eye doctor can recommend the proper food that is needed to keep your eyes healthy and they can prescribe learning lenses. Learning lenses are glasses that are used while a child is on the computer or reading. They help prevent myopia and astigmatism from developing, improve concentration, and improve visual information processing. The lens helps the eyes relax and open up the peripheral vision.
For these reasons, it is a good idea to see a holistic eye doctor. Because they will offer a well-rounded approach to your child’s eye health. They will offer preventative measures instead of just dealing with the problem.
Physical Eye Therapy Exercises
When it comes to preventative measures and your eye health, one of the best things you can do is use eye exercises. While eye exercises do not help with things such as myopia, astigmatism, or genetic diseases, it can help with the effects of digital eye strain. Eye exercises are designed to strengthen the eye muscles and help you focus. With strengthened eye muscles, it is easier to move your eyes and stimulate your brain’s vision center. These exercises ease discomfort and make it easier to fight the symptoms of digital eye strain.
Eye Exercises
There are many different exercises that you can use in order to strengthen your eye muscles. The three exercises that we recommend are the Moro reflex integration, eye-brain-body fun, and N palm hum. Some of these exercises will help with underlying conditions that can affect sight, and others will strengthen your eye muscles.
Moro Reflex Integration: The Moro reflex is a reflex that our body develops while we are in the uterus. The Moro reflex typically integrates at around 2-4 months of age; however, for some children this reflex never properly integrates. This reflex is related to our protective instincts and triggers our fight/flight/freeze response. Oddly enough, without the integration of this reflex, our visual-motor development can become affected. Fortunately, the Moro reflex can be integrated later on, with exercises. The Moro starfish is the exercise that is used to integrate the Moro reflex. To do these exercises you can follow these steps or you can watch the tutorial.
- Sit in a chair or lie down
- Put your body into a starfish position – hands out, feet out, and head tipped back
- Then bring your head down toward your chest, cross your arms over your chest (right arm over left arm), and put your right ankle over the left ankle
- Then uncross everything and go back to your original stance
- Then do step 3 again, but place your left arm over your right arm and your left ankle over your right
- Open back up, and then repeat 5 times on each side
- End the exercise by placing the palms of your hand over your eyes
Eye-Brain-Body Fun:
This eye exercise is excellent for training the eyes, brain, and body to work together. If the steps are too confusing you can always watch the tutorial.
- Place a throwing scarf in each hand.
- Throw the right one up and then catch it with the right hand
- Throw the left one up and then catch it with the left hand
- Do this 3 times on each side
- Now, throw both of them up at the same time and try to catch them (catch the right one with the right hand and vice versa)
- Once you can do this multiple time without messing up, go to the next step
- Now, take the right scarf and throw it up to the left. And take the left scarf and throw it up to the right. Catch the scarfs with the corresponding hand.
- Once you can do this multiple time without messing up, go to the next step
- Now, get a third scarf. Hold two in the right hand and one in the left.
- Throw one of the scarfs in the right hand up to the left
- Throw the left scarf up to the right
- Then throw the second right scarf up and to the left
- Juggle the scarfs until you feel confident in your abilities
N Palm Hum:
This calming and relaxing exercise helps open up the circulation in the eyes and releases stress from the eyes, brain, and body. You can watch a tutorial on how to do this as well.
- Sit in a chair or lie down
- Rub your hands together and then place your palms over your eyes with your eyes closed
- Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth
- Take a deep breath through the nose
- As you exhale slowly and silently, imagine the letter ‘N’
- Do this for 3 breaths
- On the fourth breath, as you exhale, hum — make sure your tongue remains at the roof of your mouth.
- Hum on the exhale for 3 breaths
- After the three hums, sit for a few seconds in silence and focus your attention on how you are feeling.
- Do steps 1-9 three times
- After the third round, you can bring your hands down and open your eyes.
Key Takeaways
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many children are having to participate in online schooling. This can affect their eye health due to digital eye strain. Thankfully there are many things you, as a parent, can do to neutralize the impact of online school on children’s eyes. You can invest in blue-light blocking lenses, get a vision evaluation done with a holistic eye doctor, and practice physical eye therapy exercises. All of these will help to minimize the effects of screen-time and online schooling on your child’s eye health. If you want a more personalized experience, you can contact me today.