If you’ve read enough of my blog posts, you’ve probably figured out that I am a little obsessed with both the short and long term effects that digital devices have on our eyes. I am particularly interested in the effects it has on kids since many of them are exposed to some kind of tech as early as the first year of life. Recently, a company called EyePromise debuted a vitamin named Screen Shield Teen aimed at kids aged 4-17 that is a supplement meant to support and preserve visual comfort and wellness for this age group. The main ingredients are 5 mg of dietary zeaxanthin and 2.5 mg of lutein which are antioxidants that help eradicate free radicals produced by blue light and help protect the macular pigment which is crucial for developing eye health. The vitamin is a fruit punch flavored chewable that is gluten free and can be taken together with regular multivitamins. Increasing amounts of children and teens are coming into my practice with complaints of tired eyes, headaches and eye strain from too much screen time and aside from the common sense advice of decreasing screen time this vitamin could play a part as well in protecting young eyes from future damage.
A few days ago the World Health Organization (WHO) came out with their first ever guidelines for how much screen time is healthy for kids under the age of five. They recommended no screen time at all for babies under a year old and less than an hour a day for kids ages three to four. Their definition of screen time included TV and videos, electronic devices, and computer games. Their recommendations were based not necessarily on the fact that screen time is inherently bad for little ones, but that increased screen time increases sedentary behavior which in turn leads to decreased physical activity. It is the emphasis on physical activity which is the key point to these WHO guidelines. Dr. Fiona Bull, a program manager at WHO had this to say: “Improving physical activity, reducing sedentary time and ensuring quality sleep in young children will improve their physical, mental health and well-being, and help prevent childhood obesity and associated diseases later in life”. Other childhood researchers disagreed with the new guidelines saying that they did not take into account the quality of the digital interactions, only the quantity. So what’s the upshot of these new recommendations? As with most things in life, moderation and common sense go a long way in figuring out how to interpret this kind of advice.
Park Eye Center 