Vi er heldige i Norge med en kultur som verdsetter og verdisetter aktiviteter ute. En kultur som tilrettelegger for lek ute til barn og unge. Allikevel bruker barn og unge mye mer tid innendørs enn før. Ifølge forskere sper seg en epidemi av synsproblemer blant barn og unge over verden. La oss tar det som et varsel.
Research in Asia shows that in the big cities 90% of the students leaving school have to wear spectacles due to myopia (nearsightedness). The reasons given are too much hard work for school and far too little exposure to daylight and lack of time spent outdoors.
Recent research in The Netherlands shows a steep increase in myopia (nearsightedness) among 20 year old students (Klaver, 2017). Myopia is the eye disorder with the most rapid increase in prevalence worldwide. In 1990 only 5% of the school leavers in The Netherlands suffered from myopia. In 2017 this has risen to 50%, and this is likely to increase. It develops in childhood, with a peak incidence between the ages of 13 to 15 years. Myopia developed in childhood cannot be reversed.
The main reasons given for the steep increase is the frequent use of social media on smartphones and iPads, and og computers in general. Children use their eyes too one-sided, namely for nearsight mainly. This results in eyes that change shape to accomodate for this effort. Another negative side-effect of the use of digital devices is the fact that the eyes become too dry. We blink only 10% of the normal amount when watching at a screen.
Other causes, related to the use of digital devices, are a decrease in hours spent outdoors and the decrease in exposure to daylight. In childhood the eyes need both daylight and the exposure to farsightedness.
Hvordan kan vi reversere myopia epidemien?
Forskere og eksperter på syn har utviklet en tommelfingerregel.
20-20-2
Etter 20 minutter arbeid på et skjerm
tar en pause av minst 20 secunder
tilbring minst 2 timer om dagen utendørs.
I tillegg finnes det kloke regler for foreldre og lærere som forebygger myopia og andre synsproblemer:
- De yngste barn (< 6) burde ikke jobbe på et digitalt skjerm i lengre enn 20-30 minutter om dagen.
- Digitale tavler i klasserommet skal slås av regelmessig, særlig nær de blir ikke brukt for en stund.
DiScoroNorge 