The end of Rodriguez's vision was seen in the 2020s. I was sad because I used to brag that I never wore braces or glasses.
Rodriguez is a member of a rapidly expanding group. According to a 2016 Ophthalmology study, almost half of the global population will have nearsightedness by the year 2050. Many of their current lifestyles introduce risk factors that are thought to be driving this upward trend.
A Blurry Burden
Like a camera, the lens in the front of the eye and the length of the eyeball from front to back work together to focus an image on the back of the eye. Either the optical power of the lens is too strong or it is too long. Donald Mutti is a professor at the Ohio State University College of Optometry.
According to the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, myopia usually develops between the ages of 6 and 12. The tail of the bell curve represents people whose eyes remain flexible into early adulthood on average. About 20 percent of people with myopia develop it after 20 years of age.
Mark Bullimore, an associate professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry, says that the earlier the onset, the more severe it is. It is only so much damage that can be done if you become nearsighted later in life.
Investments of both time and money are required to manage mild myopia. Quality of life doesn't necessarily improve after correction because no treatment is perfect, says a professor at the University of New South Wales. Refractive surgery carries risks and the results are not always permanent.
Adults may become nearsighted because their eyes keep growing long enough to affect their vision. The muscles in the visual focusing system have been able to correct for a slight tendency towards nearsighted people. She explains that stress or exhaustion can cause the muscles to tire out.
The explosion of nearsightedness over time shows that environment can also play a role. The scientific picture of the precise external forces behind the disease is blurry. Bullimore says that because most research focuses on the more prevalent and problematic childhood myopia, we are left to generalize from the literature on children to what goes on in adults.
An Outside Chance
The traditional explanation is that reading, writing and other activities encourage the eye to focus more on what's in front of it. While using a computer isn't inherently worse than non-electronic work, people tend to bring their faces closer to screens than to books.
Some researchers say that the rise in children's eye problems is due to what they aren't doing instead: playing outside. Adding a 40-minute outdoor period to the end of the school day was found to decrease the number of children that develop vision problems.
Spending time in the natural world could help us see the world better. One hypothesis is that bright light causes the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the retina, which counteracts the effect of eye extension. Another theory is that time outdoors acts as an antidote to near work, allowing the eyes to focus far into the distance.
Current research suggests that people who are no longer working may be more prone to nearsightedness.
Adults should keep in mind that they don't necessarily have to stop caring for their eyes. When working on the computer, experts recommend that you look at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes, take breaks to spend time outside each day and maintain regular eye exams.
Rodriguez wishes she had been more proactive about protecting her vision.
