5 ms·

I thought the reason outdoor time is recommended for myopia is that it causes you to focus your eyes on objects at greater distances that aren’t available indoo

• wiml 8y ago
  It's also a lot brighter outdoors than it is indoors (we're really good at adapting to different light levels, so it doesn't seem like a large change, but it is). Recently I've read that simply being in a brighter environment has effects on the way your eyes develop when you're young.
• smolder 8y ago
  That remains as a very plausible (IMO) hypothesis but is not rigorously proven, afaik. It's sort of a tough one to prove. So they're being conservative and not guessing here.
  • smolder 8y ago
    To clarify WHY I think it's very plausible: There is of course a lot of data connecting indoor time and myopia. There is also a muscle which controls the curvature of the lenses in our eyes to adjust focus to different depths. Not using this mechanism in a "normal" way, across its full range and with regularity, stands out as the important factor of the indoor time link, since it's most directly related to focusing.
    • specialist 8y ago
      Like cimmanom, I had long assumed being outdoors exercises one's eyes better. Because I sit at a desk all day long, I try to do those eye exercises, to compensate. (I doubt it helps.) But there were some tidbits in the recent myopia research that suggested light also played a factor. Like maybe exercising pupil dilation is a factor too, which I find plausible. I guess we'll see. Oops, unintentional pun, but I'm gonna leave it.
      • smolder 8y ago
        Interesting tidbit for sure!