Associate Professor Scott Read, an academic and Director of Research at QUT’s School of Optometry and Vision Science, has been investigating the eye’s response to outdoor light in the fight against myopia. An estimated 25 per cent of Australians have already developed myopia (shortsightedness) and based on the current rate, by the year 2050, about half of the Australian population will have developed myopia.
Associate Professor Read’s recent eye research involved children aged 10 to 15 years, and showed that increased eye growth and less exposure to natural outdoor sunlight were linked and attributed to an increased risk of the development of myopia. This research showed that children should be spending at least 60 minutes (preferably longer) outdoors every day in brighter light. Scott has stated that, “Once myopia develops you can not reverse the process, but outdoor light can most certainly slow the progression of myopia.”
Associate Professor Read is currently undertaking exciting, cutting-edge research, investigating the benefits to human sight when eyes are exposed to outdoor light as opposed to indoor light.
Want to know and read more, refer to these web links …..
Australian Geographic | Playing outdoors can save children’s sight
Brisbane Times | Outdoor light helps to prevent short-sightedness, according to QUT researcher