Regularly go outdoors to exercise, reduce the risk of myopia

In Vietnam, statistics are incomplete in 2023, 40% of urban children are nearsighted, a figure much higher than in rural areas˳

Myopia has become a common “refractive error”˳

But parents, who are waiting for glasses in the store, or waiting for surgery for their children at the hospital gate, do you know the simplest and most effective way to prevent and prevent myopia, the best is to take your children outdoors to exercise?

Many parents don’t know

Well, Professor Morgan, an expert in visual science at the Australian National University, conducted a statistical study and found that if children under the age of 7 spend 4-5 hours outdoors, only 1% will have myopia, but if only stepping outside the door for 30 minutes a day, the number will be 30 times higher˳

What about Vietnamese children? With a 40% nearsightedness rate, city children are almost locked indoors˳ One study found that if children were to be outside for 30 minutes a day, the risk of nearsightedness was reduced by 30%˳

Experts recommend that children should be outdoors for more than 2 hours a day, which is also the reason why children in the West spend most of their time in kindergartens, and in elementary schools, they spend a lot of time outdoors˳

Why go outside during the day?

Mr˳ Morgan did an experiment, chickens raised in low light conditions will have a higher risk of myopia than chickens raised outdoors˳ Likewise, people who exercise in the room or at night are much less effective in preventing myopia than during the day exercise in outdoor conditions˳

Is there any mysterious power in sunlight?

Scientists agree that the universal dopamine is the key to the problem, sunlight stimulates the release of dopamine in the retina, this chemical will lengthen the axis of the eye, helping children control myopia˳

To test this consensus, scientists from the Institute of Ophthalmology Research of the University of Tubingen in Germany conducted an experiment in 2010, by injecting spirobutaline into chicken eyes that inhibited dopamine secretion and the function of protecting chicken eyes from sunlight disappeared˳

The vast natural world needs children to explore

That is, the core of outdoor activity is not “activity”, because activity can be done indoors, but the core must be “sunlight”˳

Therefore, parents and their children going outside during the day, whether exercising or not is not the point, even sitting in the sun is very meaningful, especially to protect the eyes from refractive errors, in which myopia is very important˳

Children locked in the house are always tired and sleepy˳ But children who get enough time outdoors will be different˳ Because the baby walking out the door will be embraced by nature, the green color of the plant has a shorter wavelength, the image is also in front of the retina, which helps to promote relaxation of eye accommodation, relax the eyelid muscles and reduce visual fatigue˳

But proper sunbathing is very important, remember that children’s eyes are very fragile, always clear, if exposed to direct sunlight, especially ultraviolet rays in the afternoon and afternoon, can cause corneal burns, retinal damage, cataracts˳

Therefore, take advantage of more in the morning, tending to the sun’s rays or horizontal rays, avoiding the sun’s rays directly into the eyes˳ In the afternoon or afternoon, you should stay in the shade, and if you are out in the sun, use a hat and use sunglasses to protect your eyes˳

In addition, the outside environment must be very clean and unpolluted˳ The air indicators such as fine dust and exhaust gas must be very good˳

The natural world is so big, children need to go out to explore˳

80-90% of Vietnamese children will be nearsighted

This is a forecast of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the proportion of children with myopia in Asia, including Vietnam, by 2050˳