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The article by Colleen Sloan, PA-C, RDN, Healthy eyes in a digital world, provides detailed information about the relationship between nutrition and screen time for young children.
Sloan presents the role of fatty acids, flavonoids, carotenoids, and antioxidants, such as Vitamin A, C, and E, along with the specific foods that provide these nutrients in the diet. Pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) and all health care providers (HCPs) will benefit from reading this article either as a refresher for nutrients that support eye health or to review new information about the foods that should be included in daily and weekly food choices.
The connection between nutrients and screen time highlights important information for PNPs and all HCPs to consider when providing anticipatory guidance, not only for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, but for children of all ages, adolescents, and young adults.
For parents who report that their toddler and/or older children, including adolescents, refuse to eat healthy foods that contain essential nutrients for eye health, recommendations for a multivitamin may be appropriate.
Maintaining eye health while exposed to blue light from computer screens
Sloan provides recommendations for nutritional guidance and digital eye health, however, information on possible changes in vision secondary to exposure to blue light emitted from computer screens must also be addressed.
There is a limited amount of research evidence on recommendations for the amount of time that is safe for children and adolescents to be engaged in on-screen activities.
Research studies have focused on internet addiction for school age and/or adolescents,1 negative behaviors encountered during screen time, such as bullying 2 and suicide risk,3 the physical, cognitive, and emotional outcomes of media overuse for school aged children,4 electronic media use and sleep patterns,5 and sedentary behaviors with an increased risk for obesity.6
During the COVID-19 pandemic children and adolescents spent more time on screens, attended classes online, completed homework on computers or tablets, played games online, and spent more time watching television. This extended time on screens was recognized as having the potential to negatively affect eye health leading to refractive errors which was termed "quarantine myopia."7
While the authors, Desideri, Barra, and Tovani-Palone did not conduct research studies to investigate whether an increase in refractive errors occurred during COVID-19’s home-schooling periods, they recommended myopia screening and a complete ophthalmological examination for children and adolescents who participated in online learning during COVID-19 stay-at-home mandates.7
Today, educators should consider using a variety of educational strategies in classrooms and for homework assignments to reduce overall screen time during learning activities both at school and at home.
