Prescription to slow worsening myopia in Canadian kids? Head outdoors

[ATraveller]

While genetics play a role, the study’s authors have two pieces of advice for what families could do:

• Reduce screen time.
• Spend more time outdoors.

Research suggests that spending time outdoors protects against myopia. In the Waterloo study, each additional hour of outdoor time per week lowered the odds of a child having myopia by 14 per cent.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/myopia-children-1.4627366

 

[Dan_Defender]

Not only that, infrequent time outdoors is also linked to increased risk of multiple sclerosis.

 

[Inisfallen]

Outdoor time is good. Even here in the big city, we make sure our girls get as much time outside as possible.

On a related note, I remember reading an article a long time ago (so I can’t link to it, unfortunately) that said one of the problems that long-time prisoners faced upon release was that their eyes could no longer focus on long distances, because they’d been inside so long, with nothing more that minimal time in a small outdoor yard every day or so.