Do you like passing your time with book in hand? Do you enjoy broadening your horizons or simply immersing yourself in fictional stories? If you suffer from a dioptre error, then right dioptre correction is of great importance to you whether you happen to be an avid reader or not. Can over-indulgence in reading worsen your eyesight? Is a regular book more acceptable for your eyes than a kindle for example?
Book or kindle?
The readers of today have a choice. A regular book printed on paper versus an electronic book. Electronic books (e-books, kindles etc…) have an advantage over regular books. While it is undeniable that books have a certain magic to them, e-books have the advantage of fitting in your entire library of books while weighing much less. Most may also be connected to the internet, not to mention the possibility of adjusting text size.
How do your eyes handle hours of reading?
While reading, due to long periods of focusing on short distance a muscle cramp may occur. This may cause temporary inability to focus on things further away. This usually fades away gradually after a little while. The eyes may tire when reading in a similar way they tire when spending long times in front of your monitor or other digital devices. Tired eyes can manifest themselves in irritability, sensation of dry eyes, blurred vision, or redness in the eyes. This too is only a temporary condition and will disappear when rested. When quick relief is desired then artificial tears eye drops will help. It is also advisable to take breaks and looking into the distance every now and then when reading for long periods of time. In any case, neither reading a regular book or a kindle will worsen your eyesight.
Reading with a vision ailment
If you are one of the many diagnosed with a vision ailment, then you certainly wear either glasses or contact lenses. Changes occur within the eye over time. As such, your prescription may change with time too. For you to truly enjoy your reading sessions it is important to have your eyes checked regularly by a specialist who will notice such changes in good time.
Do you require different dioptre correction on different distances? In that case you should opt for bi-focal or multi-focal glasses or contact lenses. Alternatively, you should consider undergoing refractive surgery that will rid you off your glasses or contact lenses once and for all.
Will reading under poor light damage your eyesight?
This is something we have all been hearing over and over again – reading under poor light damages your eyes. Latest research, however, indicates, that this is not entirely true.
Wintertime is probably the best time to indulge in a good book. Preferably accompanied by the soft lighting of your bed-side table lamp. Children even enjoy hiding under their blanket with a pocket light to read in secret. Such joys, however, have been dampened by fear that reading without proper light is just not good for your eyes. We’ve all heard it at some point “turn on that light or you will ruin your eyes!”
Fear no more – reading under dim light will not damage your eyes. If you do require reading glasses though, you certainly ought to use them.
There exists no evidence supporting the saying that reading with poor light damages your eyesight. One thing’s for sure though: reading with insufficient light does require your eyes to work harder. The dimmer the light, the harder reading is for your eyes and the faster they tire. The results may be redness in the eyes or headache. Even so, the eyes themselves do not suffer when reading with insufficient light.
So… if you do enjoy reading with dim lights, you need not fear for your eye’s wellbeing. At the same time though it is important that you allow your eyes time to rest either by taking a break or doing a little eye exercise in between. This will take but a few minutes and your eyes will feel refreshed and ready for devouring more pages.