AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Looking for another reason to be less glued to your devices? We have a big one for you - eye health. According to recent research, digital eye strain, also known as computer vision syndrome, affects around 70% of us. One 2025 study found that just one hour of scrolling, especially on social media, can cause blurred vision, dry eyes or headaches. But there are easy ways to care for your vision, and Andee Tagle from NPR's Life Kit is here to tell us about some of those. Hey, Andy.
ANDEE TAGLE, BYLINE: Hey, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So let's start with blue light. I know a lot of our devices emit this blue light, and there's all this concern that too much blue light could damage our eyes. Is that true?
TAGLE: Not true. So I talked to Dr. Rupa Wong about this. She's an ophthalmologist and professor at the Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. And she told me because blue light is so prevalent, it's often singled out as a bad guy. But actually, no studies have proven a negative effect from blue light specifically on any part of the eye.
RUPA WONG: I think people get a little confused with ultraviolet light and blue lights. But what blue light does is it affects your melatonin. It affects your circadian rhythms.
TAGLE: So if you have a big TV or computer near your bed, blue light might mess with your sleep in the same way any other bright light would, but the real reason for your digital eye strain is likely much simpler. When we look at screens, we tend to blink less.
RASCOE: Is that what it is? So it just all comes down to blinking?
TAGLE: Yeah, that's it. So it turns out your tear film is responsible for a good part of the clarity of your vision.
WONG: People don't come in saying, I have dry eyes. They come in oftentimes saying, my eyes hurt or my vision is blurred. There are a lot of different medical problems that can be associated with severe dry eye syndrome.
TAGLE: Things like inflammation, infections even damage to the cornea or corneal ulcers. So it's important to protect them.
RASCOE: How do we do that when so much of people's day-to-day work is looking at screens?
TAGLE: Yep, it's a fair point. I'm one of them. I've got options for you. So you could keep artificial tears handy, not eye drops. There's a difference. You could start or end your day with a few minutes of warm compresses over your eyes, and that moisturizes the oil glands on your eyelids. But my favorite is to practice the 20/20/20 rule. So for every 20 minutes of screen time, take a 20-second break and look 20 feet away. And that's not a precise number, mind you. You don't need a tape measure. It just means look at something off in the distance because when your eyes are looking farther away, they're more relaxed. And your eyes need that rest from your screens, as well as any other types of near work. So, you know, reading, writing, sewing, because that close-up activity is associated with becoming nearsighted. And on that, I've got just one more tip to help, and it's pretty simple.
RASCOE: OK. So what do you have for us?
TAGLE: OK, you ready? It's just get outside. Because research suggests regular outside time for kids, like up to two hours a day, may help slow or even prevent nearsightedness. That might be because when you're outside looking at nature, you spend less time looking at things so close up so you let your eyes rest more, or it could be because sunlight slows eye growth, which could help eyes from unnaturally elongating. That's a cause of nearsightedness. Whatever the reason, consider this your excuse to take a break from your screens and go get outside in the sunshine.
RASCOE: OK, well, I will take that. That's Life Kit's Andee Tagle. Thank you so much for joining us.
TAGLE: Hope it's helpful, Ayesha. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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