Why screens are bad for you

Unfortunately, this is not happening today. Children, as young as 5 months old are already exposed to media devices for more than an hour on a daily basis. Infants and toddlers naturally learn from their environment. Physical activities ranging from crawling to walking around the house and interacting with the family members are all fundamental to their growth.

He said that newborn brains weigh about grams and by two years old, the brain weight averages grams. Dr Christaki s said :. Christakis If most of the early experiences of a child are with media devices, there are usually no social and physical skills involved. Whilst a child is engaged in screen time they are in a passive state ; hence, they are sensory-deprived. In line with this, their brain development is reduced significantly compared to those whose senses are stimulated by the real-time environment as seen in the figure below.

Figure 2 Stimulated Brain vs. Speaking of stimulation, longer screen time gives little to no room for communication and social skills. Obviously, they are stuck for 2 hours or more sitting on the couch with all the images and suggestions directly implanted into their minds without their participation.

This takes places when the young minds are subjected to the never-ending stream of images while unknowingly inhibiting their natural capability to communicate and socialize Valdez, A recent study found parents say about words or less in an hour if the TV is on compared to the words an hour if the TV is off. On the other hand, a study was conducted in a Seattle clinic that gathered kids months focusing on block play that could improve language acquisition and application.

The Block Play was given 20 minutes per day for 6 months. The results were significant. However, these studies have looked at general screen time, not specifically at time spent reading.

As such, parents who are willing to proactively monitor screen time to ensure children are reading — not doing something else — may have less to worry about. Though parents might be skeptical about allowing their children to read from screens, some research on the topic has found that reading from screens can be a good thing.

One study found that toddlers may actually learn better when they read electronic books. Researchers found that parents reading to their children from e-books pointed to the books more frequently, encouraging their children to become more engaged. This style of reading can support the development of reading and thinking skills in young children. One of the most significant concerns associated with reading from digital devices has nothing to do with reading itself. Digital devices can provide tempting distractions.

From frequently checking email to refreshing Facebook over and over, many people find the draw of connecting to others through digital devices irresistible. It depends on the reader, on how they use digital devices, and on personal preference. Ultimately, reading from screens is unlikely to cause serious harm, but it might involve less in-depth reading than a paper book offers. The flip side is that digital readers are more portable, and for some readers, that makes them more attractive.

Try striking a balance. You or your child can read from a digital device while on the go, but at home, stick to paper books. Tweet us questions and comments caredash. Zawn Villines is a writer who specializes in health journalism. Recent research from Nature shows that the only environmental factor that seems to prevent myopia is spending more time outdoors. Previously, researchers believed that the recent degradation in vision was due to blinking less and the eyes constantly having to refocus when looking at digital screens.

For instance, one study attempted to compare the eye health of children who spent their time looking at screens and those who did physical activity instead. These findings support the idea that light has some protective properties for vision. As well as greater viewing distances and being able to see as far as the horizon, some research demonstrates how exposure to moderate levels of natural light every day can help safeguard vision and slow the progression of myopia.

Ian Morgan, a myopia researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra estimates that children need to spend around three hours per day under light levels of at least 10, lux to be protected against myopia. This is about the same as what you would get from sitting under the shade of a tree, while wearing sunglasses, on a bright summer day.

An overcast day can provide less than 10, lux and a well-lit classroom or office is usually around lux. Three or more hours a day spent outdoors may still be the norm in some parts of the world, but for many of us who spend more and more of our time in front of screens—especially in Europe, the US, and East Asia—the time is becoming less and less.

More than a century ago, in , the renowned British eye surgeon Henry Edward Juler hinted to what researchers are now just discovering.

But making sure you spend a few hours a day outdoors, where there is lots of natural light and fresh, open-air, may just keep your eyes healthy and help you avoid those readers for a little while longer. The other main problem from staring at a screen too long is eyestrain.

Gardiner says one possible cause of this is the brightness or glare that comes from the electronic screen. Gardiner says. Eyestrain can also result from focusing up close on a screen without the proper eyeglass prescription.

You can exhaust your eyes' ability to focus," says Dr. Some research has even suggested that eyestrain may result from difficulty focusing on the text and images on computer screens in particular, since they're made of pixels that create blurry edges. Fortunately, eyestrain and dry eyes are easily treated. Gardiner recommends using artificial tears several times throughout the day.

The artificial tears don't have to be preservative-free. Another tip: remind yourself to blink from time to time. If you have eyestrain and headaches after looking at the computer screen for long periods, make sure your eyeglass prescription is up to date. Once the person gets reading glasses, the headaches are gone. Adjusting your environment can also help reduce the risk for developing computer vision syndrome. Some ideas:. Make sure the center of the computer monitor is slightly lower than eye level — four to eight inches.

Gardiner's best advice: take a break from electronic screens every 15 to 30 minutes, just for a minute.