Is your lifestyle affecting your eyesight?

Ever waved at someone on the street, only to realise they’re a complete stranger when they get nearer? Awkward! But you’re not alone. Studies have shown soaring numbers of young people are suffering from short-sightedness, but what's to blame?
Well, as a ‘four eyes’ myself, I have no doubt my lifestyle has affected my eyesight. Between watching TV, playing on my phone and using computers all day at school, uni, and now at work, it’s no wonder why I’m short-sighted, which means I struggle to see things in the distance.
The condition, known as myopia, is on the rise, and is now twice as common in 25 to 29 year olds than 55 to 59 year olds. It is also twice as prevalent in people who went to university compared to those who left school before the age of 16.
Researchers from King’s College London have found the increase is related to combination of factors, including spending a longer period of time studying and less time outdoors in natural light, and using computers regularly. It could also be linked to genetics or education.
While researchers are not entirely sure of the impact of computers, tablets and phones on eyesight development, I might rethink my nightly scroll through social media before bed…
Are you short-sighted? Do you think your lifestyle has affected your eyesight?
62 Member Comments
I'm short-sighted and have been wearing glasses most of my life!
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Short sighted, astigmatism and gulp early signs of cataracts, bane of my life worry about eyesight worsening. But I won't give up or reduce any sort of reading.
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Used to be short sighted, yet investing in a behavioural optometrist and vision training reversed all of that.
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Hey BeautifulJusty have you had any luck with the behavioural optometrist and do any exercises actually work? Has your short sightness improved or do you still need your glasses?
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Wow that's amazing BeautifulJusty. Good for you.
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I'm short sighted too!
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My eyesight is damaged from too many long nights of studying. At the conclusion of year 12 (that was five years ago now) I noticed that my eyes were damaged. I went on got my eyes tested and I ended up been short sighted. Since then glasses have helped me so much during university.
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My short sighteness really exacerbated when I went back to Uni and the high volume of textbook reading. Nothing to do with computer screens, as I wasn't using computer more or less at that time.
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I'm short sighted, but wasn't until I fell pregnant with my son 15 yrs ago. It had my Optometrist stumped at the time, but my new Optometrist has told me they now they know that pregnancy and being on the pill can change some women's eyesight. So now I have to wear glasses permanently.
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very informative, never thought that our life style can affect our eyesight
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I think not wearing sunglasses outdoors is a really big one.
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I was shocked when I was diagnosed with astigmatism a couple of years ago, because up until then, I had perfect eyesight. My main difficulty now is reading the fine print on labels.
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I'm a little short sighted but don't need to wear glasses just yet.
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I'm short-sighted and my lifestyle has definitely affected my eyesight!
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I should probably get my eyes tested
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I actually have a slight prescription for close-up items (and have superwoman vision for distances) and I highly blame that on iPhone use! It could potentially be that I have also now finished university and almost always am staring at a computer for work however I believe smartphones have a LOT to blame on this issue.
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Working in front of a computer all day resulted in me needing glasses for screen use when I was about 19.
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No myopia here, actually, I have the opposite problem, I just got reading glasses last year (at age 50) because I have problems with seeing small print up close. I have no problem with distance vision though, but I do spend a lot of time outdoors with my dogs and in my garden.
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I have slight astigmatism too, I neber thought it was my lifestyle but it could be. It would be interesting to know the exact cause.
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While I have not had a problem with my eyesight yet, I do worry that later on in life I may have an issue because my job requires me to stare at a computer screen for 8+ hours every day!
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suffer from long-sighted myself......interesting article
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I'm a 3rd year optometry student and this is a nice summary for the general public. There's nothing in this article that's specifically wrong but there's a profound lack of evidence supporting the statistics mentioned.
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My long distance vision has always been good - husband and daughter both have short sightedness - he had laser correction a few years back after wearing contact lenses since his late teens - best thing he ever did. Daughter has to rely on glasses for long distance and struggles to recognize people in the distance! I need reading glasses so we make a perfect pair when shopping!
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