Myopia in children progresses during the winter, when days get shorter, and slows down during the summer months, when daylight can slow children’s vision loss, according to a new study. “Most likely, light exposure is the reason that leads to a decrease in the progression of myopia in winter,” said lead author Dr. Dongmei Cui , an ophthalmologist at the University of Guangzhou, China.

Cui and his colleagues analyzed data from clinical studies that included more than 200 children aged 8 to 14 with myopia, or myopia, living in Denmark – where daylight hours lasts from seven hours in winter to almost 18 hours in summer. time. The researchers looked at changes in both children’s ability to see and the shape of their eyes.

In six months with the least amount of daylight, myopia progressed by 0.32 diopters. In comparison, children’s vision deteriorated by 0.28 diopters during the sunny months.

As the length of the eyeball increases from front to back, myopia tends to worsen. In winter, study participants’ eye length increased by an average of 0.18 millimeters, compared with 0.14 mm during the summer.

The researchers did not analyze how much time children spent outdoors based on the season. Danish children spend much more time outdoors in the summer and very little in the winter.

However, Cui says his team was the first to link the progression of myopia with the length of daylight hours.

Cui also believes that parents should take advantage of the sunny seasons and send their children outside to play. Winter in Northern Europe does not offer much sun for children, “but close to the equator the day is long enough that it can have a significant impact on spending more time outdoors,” Cui said .