Apple Devices : Strategies to Combat Screen-Related Eye Strain and Myopia
Understanding Myopia and Screen Time
Apple’s latest innovation focuses on promoting ocular health, particularly targeting myopia prevention. Their approach combines technology with health insights, introducing two groundbreaking features that leverage the capabilities of the Apple Watch and iOS devices.
Firstly, Apple’s emphasis on daylight exposure as a preventive measure against myopia is rooted in research.
Daylight plays a crucial role in preventing myopia, commonly known as nearsightedness, for several reasons rooted in biological and environmental factors.
Natural Light vs. Artificial Light: Effects on Vision
Enhanced Dopamine Release: Exposure to natural light stimulates the release of dopamine in the retina, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in eye development. Dopamine is believed to inhibit the elongation of the eyeball, a primary factor in the development of myopia. When the eyeball elongates excessively, it causes light rays to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, leading to blurred distance vision.
Reduced Eye Strain from Close-Up Work: Outdoor activities often involve looking at distant objects, which provides a balance to the close-up focus required for activities like reading and screen time. This shift in focus allows the eye muscles to relax and reduces the strain associated with prolonged near work, which is a risk factor for myopia.
Better Light Quality and Intensity: Natural daylight is much brighter than most indoor lighting. This higher intensity of light is believed to be beneficial for eye health. It may help to keep the eye’s growth at a normal rate, preventing it from becoming elongated, which leads to myopia.
UVB Radiation: Exposure to UVB radiation in daylight may also play a role. UVB helps the body produce vitamin D, which is thought to be beneficial for eye health, although the exact mechanism linking vitamin D and eye growth is not fully understood.
Lifestyle Factors: Time spent outdoors is often associated with physical activity and reduced time on near-work activities like reading or using electronic devices. This balance is beneficial for overall eye health and reducing the risk of myopia.
It’s important to note, however, that while daylight exposure can help reduce the risk of developing myopia, it’s not a guaranteed prevention method.
Genetics and other environmental factors also play significant roles in the development of myopia.
Nonetheless, encouraging children to spend more time outdoors and in natural light is a simple and effective strategy to promote good eye health and potentially reduce the risk of myopia and to support this, Apple has ingeniously utilised the ambient light sensor in the Apple Watch. See the information here
This sensor actively tracks the duration a user spends in daylight. The data collected is not just a passive record; it can be synced to a parent’s iPhone or iPad, offering a comprehensive overview of their child’s outdoor time.
This feature empowers parents to monitor and encourage outdoor activities, ensuring their children get at least two hours of daylight exposure daily, a key factor in myopia prevention.
Screen Time Management for Better Eye Health
Another major stride Apple has made is addressing the issue of prolonged screen time and its impact on eye health.
Close focusing on screens for extended periods can lead to eye strain and potentially contribute to the development of myopia (nearsightedness) due to several reasons:
Accommodative Stress: When we focus on close objects, like screens, our eyes undergo a process called accommodation. This involves the eye’s lens changing shape to focus light directly onto the retina. Prolonged near work demands constant accommodation, which can strain the eye’s focusing muscles, leading to fatigue and discomfort, known as eye strain.
Reduced Blinking Rate: Screen use often leads to a decreased blinking rate. Blinking is essential for moistening the eyes, and reduced blinking can cause dry eyes and irritation, contributing to eye strain.
Blue Light Exposure: Screens emit blue light, which has a shorter wavelength and more energy compared to other colours. Prolonged exposure to blue light can cause discomfort, contribute to digital eye strain, and potentially harm retinal cells.
Convergence Demand: Viewing screens typically requires the eyes to converge, or turn inwards, to maintain a single image. Extended periods of convergence can tire the eye muscles, leading to eye strain and headaches.
Visual Ergonomics: Poor ergonomic practices, such as viewing screens at an inappropriate distance or angle, can exacerbate eye strain. This is because the eyes have to work harder to focus on the screen, especially if the screen is too close, too far, or at an awkward angle.
Development of Myopia: In terms of myopia development, the theory is that prolonged close focusing may signal the eye to grow longer, a condition that characterises myopia. When the eye elongates, the focal point of incoming light shifts in front of the retina rather than directly on it, causing distant objects to appear blurry.
Lack of Diverse Focusing: Regularly focusing at different distances is essential for maintaining eye health. Constant near focus, without regular shifts to distance viewing, doesn’t provide the eyes with the necessary range of focus and can contribute to eye strain and possibly myopia.
Technological Innovations in Eye Care and Screen Usage
Close focusing on screens can lead to eye strain due to accommodative stress, reduced blinking, blue light exposure, convergence demands, and poor visual ergonomics. Additionally, it may contribute to the development of myopia by encouraging the elongation of the eye and not providing a healthy range of focus.
To tackle this, Apple introduces a screen distance feature.
See iphone Information here and the ipad information here
This feature is designed to monitor and advise on the optimal distance for viewing digital screens, recommending a minimum distance of 12 inches (30 cm).
This guideline is crucial, as maintaining a healthy distance from screens can significantly reduce the risk of myopia development. The feature aims not only to inculcate healthy viewing habits in children but also to help adults mitigate digital eye strain.
Healthy Habits for Digital Device Users
These health-centric features are set to be available with the latest Apple software updates, encompassing iOS17 for iPhone, iPadOS17 for iPad, and watchOS 10 for the Apple Watch. Targeting a wide range of users, these updates show a particular focus on younger audiences.
For users under the age of 13, the Screen Distance feature can be automatically activated within a Family Sharing group, ensuring that these preventive measures are in place from an early age.
In summary, Apple’s integration of health-focused technology in its latest software updates represents a significant step towards blending digital convenience with wellness.
By addressing key factors in myopia prevention, such as outdoor light exposure and screen viewing habits, Apple not only enhances the user experience but also contributes positively
How Do I Know If My Child Near Sighted?
Recognising the signs of myopia, or nearsightedness, in children is crucial for timely intervention and management.
Here are some common indicators that a child may be experiencing myopia:
- Squinting: Children with myopia often squint when trying to see distant objects clearly. Squinting reduces the size of the blurred image on the retina, temporarily improving focus.
- Sitting Close to Screens or Books: A child may sit unusually close to the TV, computer screen, or hold books and other reading materials closer than normal, indicating difficulty seeing from a standard distance.
- Excessive Eye Rubbing: Frequent rubbing of the eyes can be a sign of eye strain or fatigue, which may be related to uncorrected myopia.
- Complaining of Headaches or Eye Fatigue: Regular headaches or complaints of tired eyes, especially after periods of visual concentration like reading or screen time, can be symptoms of myopia.
- Difficulty Seeing the Board at School: If a child reports having trouble seeing the blackboard or whiteboard at school, or if they seem to struggle to keep up with visually-presented information, it might be due to nearsightedness.
- Poor Academic Performance: Sometimes, a decline in school performance, especially in visually-intensive subjects, can be linked to undiagnosed vision problems like myopia.
- Blinking Excessively: Excessive blinking can be a response to blurred vision, as the child tries to clear their sight.
- Lack of Interest in Distant Objects: A child with myopia might show little interest in distant objects or activities that require distance vision, like sports.
- Closing One Eye: Closing or covering one eye to see better can be a sign that the child is trying to improve clarity and focus.
- Changes in Eye Appearance: In some cases, myopia can cause physical changes, such as the eyes appearing larger due to lens magnification.
Book An Eye Examination For Your Child
If any of these signs are observed, it’s advisable to consult an eye care professional for a comprehensive eye examination.
Early detection and correction of myopia can help in managing its progression and reducing the risk of developing more severe eye-related problems in the future.
This article is intended to promote understanding of and knowledge about general eye health topics.
It should not be used as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Always seek the advice of your health care professional prior to incorporating this as part of your health regimen.
Dr Nicholas Altuneg
For over two decades, my greatest passion has been helping people of all ages live improved lives through better vision. At Eyes by Design, vision is so much more than being able to see clearly or read small letters from far away; it determines your perceptions and reactions every second of the day.
Read more about Dr Nick
