The Real Reasons Behind Vision Deterioration
Everyone often assumes that bad eyesight is due to excessive reading, overuse of mobile phones, and prolonged eye use. However, these so-called excessive eye uses are not the fundamental causes of vision deterioration. The real culprits are three bad habits that we do every day without even noticing. Today, from the perspectives of ophthalmology, visual-sensory science, and even the physical world, we will debunk these power myths that have misled us for years. Through data studies and international documents, we will discover that changing power is actually a result of a series of lifestyle choices rather than simply using our eyes for too long. Let's uncover the truth about vision deterioration and learn how to make our eyes healthy again.
The Importance of Natural Light
Natural light is of great significance. According to a worldwide comment in Tsigertsen Medical Science Magazine in 2012, the essence of myopia is the elongation of the eyeball's axis, causing light to be unable to focus correctly on the retina. In simple terms, the eyeball is too long, resulting in blurred vision. Natural light, especially outdoor light, not only has a sufficient amount of light but also a continuous and stable spectrum, including blue light, green light, and red light. It can effectively stimulate the retina, allowing it to release a nerve-converting substance called dopamine. Dopamine plays a braking role in the development of the eyeball, preventing excessive growth. That is to say, it is a natural antiviral hormone.
Research has also confirmed the importance of natural light. The Australian University of Kunshan University of Science and Technology conducted a three-year study on primary school students and found that children who receive natural light for more than two hours a day have a significantly reduced development rate of myopia. Taiwan's Taiwan University of Technology Research also pointed out that teenagers with an outdoor time of less than 90 minutes a day have an average eye axis growth of 0.31 mm per year, while the group with more than 90 minutes of outdoor time is only 0.15 mm. In 2015, a study by the American Medical Association's Eye Clinic in the Asian region showed that the prevalence of urban children's myopia is significantly higher than that of rural children, which is closely related to outdoor activities.
However, our current situation is not optimistic. According to a report by the Ministry of Education and the National Institute of Education in 2023, the average time for Taiwanese children and teenagers to go outdoors is only 4.2 hours per week, far below the recommended 10-hour standard. The situation of adults is also not good. Most office workers stay in the office during the day and at home during holidays. The eyes are organs that are accustomed to outdoor activities. If they are exposed to artificial light for a long time, it will lead to abnormal eye development and increase the risk of vision deterioration.
To improve this situation, you can do the following: go out and bask in the sun for ten minutes at noon every day, without the need for exercise, just stand on the balcony or walk to the convenience store; arrange a two-hour park or outdoor activity on weekends to allow the eyes to receive natural light appropriately; move the desk close to the window; reduce the use of lights during the day to increase natural light intensity.
Long-Term Non-Blinking and Uncontrolled Dry Eye Syndrome
Another vision killer that modern people often ignore is forgetting to blink. Do you know how often you blink? In a relaxed state, the average person blinks naturally 15-20 times per minute. However, when you are fully focused on looking at the screen, sliding your phone, reading a book, or playing a game, this frequency will drop sharply to less than 3-5 times per minute. According to an eye surface observation study published in the American Medical Association Journal, long-term non-blinking will cause the tear film on the surface of the eyeball to evaporate quickly. If the retina is unstable, it will cause dry eye syndrome, which will further damage the retina, make the vision blurry, and even produce a slow eye expression.
Research conducted by the American Academy of Sciences in 2020 pointed out that dry eye syndrome affects vision. More than 60% of people with medium-high myopia have different levels of dry eye syndrome, especially those close to 47% of the young population. After an eye test, if the eye is slightly damaged or the retina is unstable, dry eye will cause the vision to be dim, like foggy, and the car lights will be especially sensitive to strong light at night. After waking up, the eyes hurt or feel hot. According to the British Eye Journal, dry eye syndrome will cause the naked vision to decrease by an average of 0.1-0.3 logmr, which is equivalent to the degree from 1.0 to 0.6-0.8, and the effect is very significant.
The real tears are composed of three layers: the lipid layer comes from the meibomian gland to prevent water from evaporating; the liquid layer comes from the lacrimal gland and contains immune cells and nutrients; the mucin layer is secreted by the goblet cells to make the tears evenly attach to the surface of the cornea. When the number of blinks is too small, the lipid layer cannot be evenly distributed, causing the water layer to be exposed directly to the air, and the water evaporates faster, causing the eyes to be dry, red, and even repeatedly rub the eyes. Research shows that 3C equipment aggravates this problem, and the blue light of the screen will stimulate the nerve meridians of the eyes and reduce the secretion and reflection of the retina. Especially the OLED screen, the color contrast is strong, causing the eyes to focus too much, further suppressing the natural blinking behavior. In addition, long-term focus on the screen will cause digital visual fatigue syndrome. According to the 2022 report of the American Institute of Viewing, 83% of screen workers have had symptoms, including dry eyes, blurred vision, headache, and high eye pressure.
To maintain eye health, you can do the following: every 20 minutes of using your eyes, look far for 20 seconds and deliberately blink 10 times, following the 20-20-10 principle; choose single-package artificial tears without preservatives and use them 2-4 times a day; avoid staying up late and blowing the air conditioner directly, as lack of sleep will reduce the repair of tears and the air conditioner will make the air dry and evaporate more; supplement Omega-3, as according to the research of Jiao Mo's journal, fish oil can improve the quality of tears and the expression index of the eyes. If you experience the following symptoms: the eyes can't open in the morning, often feel guilty, and have obvious white blood cells, it is recommended to do an eye surgery, tear secretion testing, and light and color examination to check whether you have entered the risk of severe dry eyes.
Long-Term Insomnia
The third vision killer is long-term insomnia. You may think that disrupting the eye repair mechanism just makes people tired and the dark circles heavier. But in fact, the eyes are one of the organs that the human body needs the most deep sleep to repair. Sleep is closely related to the four nerves. The eyes are not just a sense organ but a part of the brain that is extended. The four nerve cells of the retina must carry out protein synthesis and metabolism through sleep every day. If you lack sleep, these repairs will be forced to interrupt.
According to the comprehensive study analysis published in Sleep Medicine in 2021, with less than 6 hours of sleep, the thickness of the retina is significantly lower, especially in the preeclampsia. The development of children's eyeballs depends on sleep. In the growth of children and teenagers, the supply of sleep is extremely important for the development of the eye axis. In 2019, about 3,000 students from the Hengduan Research and Analysis Center of China's Zhongshan Eye Center found that the number of people who sleep less than 7 hours a day has an average of 0.22 mm more than normal sleepers. The progress of this group of students is relatively fast, and it is difficult to turn around due to outdoor activities. The reason is very simple. The development of the eyeball requires growth, muscle and nerve repair mechanisms, and these two are concentrated in deep sleep.
In adults, lack of sleep will lead to long-term constipation, leading to hypersensitivity, decreased fatigue, decreased vision at night, feeling light or glare when driving, autonomic nervous disorder, affecting pupil contraction and urinary tract secretion, increasing the risk of yellow spots and degeneration of the retinal nerve. A study by Seoul University of Korea shows that people with insomnia are less than 6 hours, and their eye pressure rises from 15% to 18% during the day. It is one of the causes of retinopathy, which is one of the most common three visual abnormalities in the night. Tendency fluctuation, the clearness of vision in the afternoon and in the evening significantly deteriorates, difficulty in regulation, from a close distance to a far distance, the feeling is blurred, the night is not bright, sensitive to light, and the pupils are reflexive. These seem to be small problems, but in fact, they are warnings that the nervous system and the regulation system are in a bad state of health.
To improve sleep, you can do the following: fix the time for sleep every night; avoid sleeping culture; avoid using the screen for an hour before bed to reduce blue light stimulation to the pineal gland; maintain low light and low temperature in the bedroom to help enter deep sleep. If it is difficult to fall asleep for a long time, it is recommended to check the secretion of tachypneumocytes and pressure hormones. According to natural and sleep science journals, supplementing tachypneumocytes can help the eyes accelerate the recovery cycle, but it is recommended to use it under the advice of a doctor.
Conclusion
What really makes your vision deteriorate is not that you look too long. Self-protection is a kind of life habit management. If you want to really protect yourself, you don't have to rely on your eyes to water. Blue light glasses or massage eye masks are made from the following points. Natural light is applied every day for more than 90 minutes, and it can be done separately. Use your eyes every 20 minutes, and rest for 20 seconds. See 20 meters away. Sleep 7 to 8 hours a day. And set time to fall asleep. Intentionally practice blinking. Use moisturizing artificial tears to assist. Equal diet. Supplement Omega-3. Yeh Huangsu. Yumi Huangsu. Check once every six months. Especially those who have pre-eclampsia, pre-eclampsia or pre-eclampsia family. Health insurance is a long-term investment. It is also the source of your brain and quality of life. If you are a parent, you should pay special attention to it. According to the National Institute of Health and Welfare in Taiwan in 2024, the rate of school children in high school has reached 67%. Of the children who were in high school four years ago, the risk of high school graduation is 3.4 times higher. This is not only a matter of vision, but also a matter of future yellow-collar disease, retinopathy, and even the risk of blindness. Helping children build healthy eye-catching habits is definitely more important than buying expensive glasses.
Which kind of vision killer do you think you are? Which vision trap do you think you often ignore the most? Is it not getting enough sunlight every day, being too focused at work and completely forgetting to blink, or always staying up until 1 am to play with your phone? Welcome to share your thoughts in the comment section. If you like today's content, remember to like, share, and subscribe to Health Radar Station, turn on the little bell, and receive our latest health analysis in the first place. If you have any health topics you want to know about, leave a message and tell us. We will use the most professional and easy-to-understand way to bring you the correct medical knowledge. Health Radar Station, a little health knowledge every day, makes you live more freely. See you next time.