Encourage children to blink frequently during online classes to ease strain: Ophthalmologists
Dr Ramesh KekunnayaHYDERABAD: Stressing on the need for breaks during online classes, ophthalmologists from the city said that a teacher must give a break every 45 minutes and a long break of 1-2 hours during long sessions.
They said that online classes should be scheduled in the morning and afternoon hours only, ensuring that children do not use these devices in the evening and night time.
“The amount of time the child spends using digital devices should be proportionate to the child’s age. While 12 to 16-year-olds can be allowed 8 hours of online study, the hours of screen time for younger children should be restricted to less than 4 hours. Toddlers (younger than 3 years) must be refrained from using any digital device,” Dr Ramesh Kekunnaya, Head, Child Sight Institute, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad adding that children should be encouraged to consciously blink frequently.
“An easy method to follow is the 20-20-20 rule, where every 20 minutes, the child should take a 20 second break and look at any object 20 feet away. This will relax the ciliary muscles of the eyes and ease the strain due to prolonged near work,” he added.
They said that increased use of electronic gadgets, prolonged near work, and lack of daylight exposure can result in the progression of myopia or near-sightedness in children. Prolonged exposure to blue light, which is emitted by electronic devices, especially before bedtime can cause sleep disturbances in children. Too much screen time can also result in dry eye, headache, stress, anxiety, behavioural, and mental issues, they added.
They said that online classes should be scheduled in the morning and afternoon hours only, ensuring that children do not use these devices in the evening and night time.
“The amount of time the child spends using digital devices should be proportionate to the child’s age. While 12 to 16-year-olds can be allowed 8 hours of online study, the hours of screen time for younger children should be restricted to less than 4 hours. Toddlers (younger than 3 years) must be refrained from using any digital device,” Dr Ramesh Kekunnaya, Head, Child Sight Institute, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad adding that children should be encouraged to consciously blink frequently.
“An easy method to follow is the 20-20-20 rule, where every 20 minutes, the child should take a 20 second break and look at any object 20 feet away. This will relax the ciliary muscles of the eyes and ease the strain due to prolonged near work,” he added.
They said that increased use of electronic gadgets, prolonged near work, and lack of daylight exposure can result in the progression of myopia or near-sightedness in children. Prolonged exposure to blue light, which is emitted by electronic devices, especially before bedtime can cause sleep disturbances in children. Too much screen time can also result in dry eye, headache, stress, anxiety, behavioural, and mental issues, they added.
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