20 ms·

I remember recently reading about the myopia increase in China and it was largely attributed to children staying much more inside, out of the sunlight, causing

I remember recently reading about the myopia increase in China and it was largely attributed to children staying much more inside, out of the sunlight, causing the eye to under-develop iirc. I wonder how much these are correlated.

delecti 8y ago
Myopia is actually caused by your eye being "too long", and means the lens focuses light in the middle of your eye, rather than on the retina. It seems that sunlight ceases the development of your eye, rather than encouraging it. Perhaps we evolved to "make use" of UV light to halt our eyes growth.
madeuptempacct 8y ago
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/02/05/383765377/why-is-nearsightedness-skyrocketing-among-chinese-youth https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/02/05/3837653... There was a study that followed Chinese kids who stayed in China vs Chinese kids who moved to Australia. There was a marked difference. Not sure if its about sunlight or near/far focus though.
- Apocryphon 8y ago
  They can test this if they tried getting students to try studying outside under natural lighting for a while. Though in China that may be impractical depending on the city.
  - lern_too_spel 8y ago
    They tested having students study in a sunlit classroom. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5536284/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5536284/
- jacobolus 8y ago
  > Not sure if its about sunlight or near/far focus though. I have seen some suggestion that it is a combination of both. Either is plausible though.
sandworm101 8y ago
I read that it isn't a sunlight issue, but an overall brightness issue. If that is true, reading on a bright screen might be better than reading a book.
01100011 8y ago
I thought it was caused by a shortage of dopamine caused by a reduction in sun exposure. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23434455 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23434455

delecti 8y ago

Myopia is actually caused by your eye being "too long", and means the lens focuses light in the middle of your eye, rather than on the retina. It seems that sunlight ceases the development of your eye, rather than encouraging it. Perhaps we evolved to "make use" of UV light to halt our eyes growth.

madeuptempacct 8y ago

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/02/05/383765377/why-is-nearsightedness-skyrocketing-among-chinese-youth https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/02/05/3837653... There was a study that followed Chinese kids who stayed in China vs Chinese kids who moved to Australia. There was a marked difference. Not sure if its about sunlight or near/far focus though.

Apocryphon 8y ago
They can test this if they tried getting students to try studying outside under natural lighting for a while. Though in China that may be impractical depending on the city.
- lern_too_spel 8y ago
  They tested having students study in a sunlit classroom. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5536284/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5536284/
jacobolus 8y ago
> Not sure if its about sunlight or near/far focus though. I have seen some suggestion that it is a combination of both. Either is plausible though.

sandworm101 8y ago

I read that it isn't a sunlight issue, but an overall brightness issue. If that is true, reading on a bright screen might be better than reading a book.

01100011 8y ago

I thought it was caused by a shortage of dopamine caused by a reduction in sun exposure. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23434455 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23434455