By Consultant Ophthalmic, Corneal and Refractive Surgeon, Damian Lake
The long sunny days have begun, which brings a smile to everybody's face. Sunshine has many beneficial effects on our metabolism including conversion of vitamin D which helps bone formation and strength. Exposure to sunlight during the day helps our sleep-wake cycles in a positive way, through chemical changes in our brain.
For children, exposure to sunshine is positive for eye development. There is now good evidence to support that children who regularly play outside have a decreased risk of becoming severely short sighted. In the Far East short, sightedness in children is now at epidemic proportions which leads to significant issues in adulthood, such as increased risk of glaucoma (eye pressure), retinal detachment, cataracts and blindness. Experts suspect that a lack of natural light, and children being exposed to bright, computer lights could be to