5 ms·

Something I heard years ago was that people who live in cities are more prone to be nearsighted because their eyes never focus on objects far away. Because of

by shaddi 17y ago

Something I heard years ago was that people who live in cities are more prone to be nearsighted because their eyes never focus on objects far away. Because of this, among other reasons, I always try to make sure that my computer is positioned in front of or next to a window, since it encourages me to change my eye focus to a far away object. Maybe it's this practice, and maybe (most likely) I'm just blessed with good vision like my mother, but despite the hours and hours I've spent in front of a computer since I was a kid my vision is still 20/20.

rjett 17y ago
I haven't seen the study, but I could believe it. This isn't really what the article talked about, but I caddied for 6 years as a teenager, and during that time, I developed an ability to read the distance to the pin within 5 yards before I even looked at the yardage. I was this accurate from up to 230 yards out. I'm in my mid-20s now and I play golf maybe once or twice a year. I've found that I have lost all distance perception then, even though my vision is still 20/20.
inerte 17y ago
How old are you? Next month I'm turning 30 years old and a couple weeks ago I was diagnosed with myopia. 0.25 of it, and 0.50 of astigmatism. The doctor said that I should only wear glasses when on the computer, and I thought "shit... the whole day then".
- shaddi 17y ago
  This is a good point -- I'm several years your younger, so I guess I have plenty of time time ruin my vision between now and then. :) That said, in my family vision seems to either go early or stay with you forever. My brother has been wearing glasses since he was about 8. My mom wore glasses for a while back in the 80's when she was working as a secretary (I think? Something that put her in front of a computer all day...), but after she left that job her vision quickly restored back to 20/20. Now, as she's getting older, she sometimes needs reading glasses, but I think that's more a function of age than anything else.
akamaka 17y ago
I spent most of my childhood either running around outside or reading books -- I barely watched TV and never touched a computer until I was 12. I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with my perfect vision. All of my friends wear glasses, and they all grew up watching TV and playing console games. Not only were they indoors, looking at a screen a few feet away, but that screen was very fuzzy, not even requiring or allowing them to focus sharply. I'm really interested to see if the advent of HDTV will actually help in the future.
- tokenadult 17y ago
  I'm really interested to see if the advent of HDTV will actually help in the future. My sense of epidemiological research that I have read earlier suggests that genetic susceptibility to myopia is triggered by an environment of maintaining the same near focal length in vision for long spans of time. The key preventive thing to do is not to avoid looking at things that are blurry images, but to make sure to vary one's eyes' focal length continually throughout the day. Most outdoor sports with balls in rapid motion (soccer, backyard baseball or football or basketball, etc.) pretty much ensure this. My second son's vision has actually improved in the last two years from almost needing glasses for myopia back to not needing any vision correct as he stays active on his town club traveling soccer team, which trains year-round. (He LOVES to read and spends many hours in front of the computer writing stories too, but I make sure he gets outdoor play every day, all winter and all seasons.) Vary your eye focus to preserve the best vision you can with the shuffle of genes you were born with.

by shaddi 17y ago

rjett 17y ago

I haven't seen the study, but I could believe it. This isn't really what the article talked about, but I caddied for 6 years as a teenager, and during that time, I developed an ability to read the distance to the pin within 5 yards before I even looked at the yardage. I was this accurate from up to 230 yards out. I'm in my mid-20s now and I play golf maybe once or twice a year. I've found that I have lost all distance perception then, even though my vision is still 20/20.

inerte 17y ago

How old are you? Next month I'm turning 30 years old and a couple weeks ago I was diagnosed with myopia. 0.25 of it, and 0.50 of astigmatism. The doctor said that I should only wear glasses when on the computer, and I thought "shit... the whole day then".

shaddi 17y ago
This is a good point -- I'm several years your younger, so I guess I have plenty of time time ruin my vision between now and then. :) That said, in my family vision seems to either go early or stay with you forever. My brother has been wearing glasses since he was about 8. My mom wore glasses for a while back in the 80's when she was working as a secretary (I think? Something that put her in front of a computer all day...), but after she left that job her vision quickly restored back to 20/20. Now, as she's getting older, she sometimes needs reading glasses, but I think that's more a function of age than anything else.

akamaka 17y ago

I spent most of my childhood either running around outside or reading books -- I barely watched TV and never touched a computer until I was 12. I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with my perfect vision. All of my friends wear glasses, and they all grew up watching TV and playing console games. Not only were they indoors, looking at a screen a few feet away, but that screen was very fuzzy, not even requiring or allowing them to focus sharply. I'm really interested to see if the advent of HDTV will actually help in the future.

tokenadult 17y ago
I'm really interested to see if the advent of HDTV will actually help in the future. My sense of epidemiological research that I have read earlier suggests that genetic susceptibility to myopia is triggered by an environment of maintaining the same near focal length in vision for long spans of time. The key preventive thing to do is not to avoid looking at things that are blurry images, but to make sure to vary one's eyes' focal length continually throughout the day. Most outdoor sports with balls in rapid motion (soccer, backyard baseball or football or basketball, etc.) pretty much ensure this. My second son's vision has actually improved in the last two years from almost needing glasses for myopia back to not needing any vision correct as he stays active on his town club traveling soccer team, which trains year-round. (He LOVES to read and spends many hours in front of the computer writing stories too, but I make sure he gets outdoor play every day, all winter and all seasons.) Vary your eye focus to preserve the best vision you can with the shuffle of genes you were born with.