Does reading in the dark damage your eyes? & bull; hello healthy

Reading in the dark or in low light is bound to be done. When you were a child, your parents may have warned you not to force your eyes to read in dark conditions, because they think it will damage your eyes. However, if up to this point you thought that the warning was just a myth, then you may be wrong and maybe you are right. When you dig a little deeper and look at some of the following scientific evidence, the myth about reading in the dark becomes something more complex.

The relationship between light and eye health

The human eye is designed to adapt to different light levels. If you try to read in the dark, your pupil will dilate to take in more light through the lens of your retina. Cells in your retina, known as rods and cones, use this light to provide information to your brain about what you see. If you are in a dark room, for example when you just wake up, this process allows you to gradually get used to going from complete darkness to a luminous state. It can be seen that when you turn on the light, you will feel a very bright light until the pupil adjusts.

The same thing happens if you force your eyes to read in the dark. Your eyes will make adjustments, but for some it will be a headache. Likewise when you are looking at something very closely, like reading a book or sewing, which requires a lot of eye adjustments. Muscles extend an area known as the vitreous space (gelatin from the eyeball that lies between the lens and retina.

What effect does it have on the eyes when reading in the dark?

Unfortunately, no study has examined the long-term effects of reading in the dark. So, we have to look at studies that examine different factors and try to gather information. Much of the research and debate on nearsightedness has focused on the effects of seeing things up close, as opposed to the effects of reading in low light.

As explained above, Howard Howland, an ophthalmologist at Cornell University, says that in low light, your pupils have to open wider to let in enough light to see. It changes the location where light hits the retina, so the image will appear blurry. So the eye gets the signal to grow longer, so the image hits the right spot on the retina. And that will eventually lead to nearsightedness.

According to Richard Gans, MD, FACS, an ophthalmologist at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute, says that low light may make it difficult for the eye to focus, which can lead to short-term eye fatigue, and there is no scientific evidence that reading in the dark has any lasting effects. long.

"Challenging visual work, such as reading a book without sufficient light, can also cause short-term eye drying because you blink less frequently," says Gans. However, they do not damage the structure or function of the eye. If dry eye is the problem, you can use over-the-counter eye drops.

Genetic influences

Dr. Jim Sheedy, an ophthalmologist and director of the Vision Performance Institute at Oregon's Pacific University, sees that there isn't enough evidence to suggest that what you do leads to myopia (nearsightedness). "The main determinant of myopia is genetics," says Dr. Sheedy. "This is a mother's strategy to get her child to sleep."

Conclusion

The best thing we can do right now is that outdoor play seems to benefit the eyes and perhaps children should study in bright light to avoid fatigue in their eyes. For adults, this study was conducted on children whose eyes were still developing, so if you still wanted to read in a dark room, it would have no effect on anything. Of course, you're old enough now to decide your own bedtime, so you don't have to worry about being warned by your parents for reading in the dark any more.