Protection from short-sightedness

Myopia (short-sightedness) is an important public health issue. There is some evidence to support the idea that children who spend a lot of time outside are less likely to become nearsighted or have myopia.

One 2020 study included 10,743 Taipei children between the ages of 9 and 11. Children who spent more time outside during break had a 22% lower risk of myopia growth than their classmates. Some protection was also provided by increasing the eye-work distance when doing close-up work and by taking a break after 30 minutes. Spending more time outside was found to have a protective impact against the development of myopia, with a 50% lower risk corresponding to an extra 76 minutes outside each day. Additionally, more time spent outside was associated with a -0.30D reduction in the myopic shift in both myopes and non-myopes.