It’s 2019 and our eyes are facing new challenges. 

We heavily rely on our eyes for our daily activities such as work, driving and of course we use them to watch our favorite Netflix shows. 

Try closing your eyes for 10 seconds and imagine a life without vision. It’s pretty tough right?

The visual stimulus we encounter today are much different and can be challenging for our eyes. Visual demands such as digital blue light energy, screen time addiction and increase myopia or nearsightedness can lead to serious visual and eye health problems like macular degeneration and even blindness. 

What can you do to protect your eyes?

Here are 3 eye health updates you need to know in 2019.

1. Blue-Light Protection

Blue light is a color in the visible spectrum. It is considered short wavelength, which produces higher amounts of energy and that’s not good for our eyes. 

Today, our eyes are consistently exposed to “modern digital blue light” from smart phones, computer screens, tablets, and gaming devices. 

The increased amount of blue light exposure is concerning as the average American now spends 37 hours a week staring at digital devices. It’s quite common to hear our patients report staring in front of computer screens for 8 hours a day at work. 

Related blog post: “Can Computer Make My Eyes Worse?”: click here

Researchers have discovered that blue light is “toxic” to cells in the retina and can lead to early onset of retinal degenerative diseases (such as macular degeneration), early onset of cataracts or even blindness. 

As one researcher noted, “Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they’re dead, they’re dead for good.” To translate, once the damage is done, your vision does not come back. That’s scary to think about. 

If you are a heavy digital device user or have a family history of macular degeneration, our eye doctors highly recommended protecting your eyes with blue light filtering lenses.

Blue light protection lenses filters out blue light energy decreasing the amount of energy entering our eyes. It can also help reduce digital eye strain and fatigue. 

2. Digital Device Recommendation For Kids

The rise of digital technology has penetrated our kids. It’s not uncommon to see children with their own iPad or phone as early as 3 years old.

But is digital screen time healthy for children?   

A first of the its kind study on how screen time affects children’s brains suggest more than 2 hours a day could do damage. Read the details of this study: CLICK HERE 

The first findings from this study show as little as 2 hours of screen time can be detrimental, resulting in lower scores on tests focused on thinking and language skills. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently came out with a new daily screen time recommendation for children under 5 years of age. Read the full recommendations: CLICK HERE

Here is the summary of recommendations by age:

INFANT (less than 1 year of age): Screen time is not recommended

1-2 YEARS OF AGE: No screen time for a 1 year-old. No more than an hour for 2 year-olds, with less time preferred. 

3-4 YEARS OF AGE: No more than one hour. 

3. The Nearsightedness Epidemic

Collectively, our humans eyes are becoming more nearsighted or myopic. It’s happening at rapid rate with some experts predicting 50% of the world’s population will be nearsighted by the year 2050. 

This is rather concerning because high nearsightedness or myopia can result in blinding eye diseases such as retinal detachment, cataracts and glaucoma.

Myopia is starting to become an epidemic, especially in South East Asia countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, where approximately 90% of the young people are nearsighted. 

The big question scientist have asked,  “What factor can prevent myopia or nearsightedness from starting in the first place?”

The answer is simple: spend more time outdoors. 

Read of the summary of this study: CLICK HERE

However, if you or your child is already nearsighted, spending more time outdoors will not slow down the progression of your nearsightedness.