Myopia Pandemic
Evidence is mounting that myopia is growing around the world, with a recent study estimating that on average, 30% of the world is currently myopic and by 2050, almost 50% will be myopic, that’s a staggering 5 billion people.
– International Myopia Institute
When I was a teenager, I got my first pair of glasses after visiting the optician. I didn’t like wearing them because it made doing fun activities like playing more difficult. They weren’t comfortable and it also made me feel self-conscious, as no one else my age around me wore them. My mother also had bad eyesight, so I wasn’t surprised that I got diagnosed with a mild myopia.
Myopia is the medical name for near-sightedness, which means that you can see objects that are near clearly but have difficulty seeing objects that are farther away. It’s now very common eyesight problem, and the number is rapidly rising. Experts estimate that half of the world’s population could be myopic by 2050.
In the US, Myopia has doubled in the last three decades to 42%. It’s still relatively low In the UK where 26% of the population is Myopic, although that has doubled since 1960’s.
In some Asian countries like Japan and China, the rate of myopia among young adults is already around 90%. It's worth examining why some countries are faring so much worse than others. I’m from Japan and know that children are often under immense pressure to do well academically. They barley have time to do anything, let alone play outdoors. Many people, especially women, also avoid the sun to maintain their pale skin for beauty’s sake.
The exact cause is still unknown, but due to the sudden spike in Myopia, it is looking less likely that it is purely genetic, and environmental factors are now being considered. For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a sudden rise in myopia, especially amongst children. Experts suggested that this was due to combination of factors including, less time spent outside, increase in screen time and home confinement. To combat this, they recommended taking breaks and reducing screen time, working in better lit places, eating healthier diet, sleeping properly, and spending more time outdoors.
It’s encouraging to see the beginnings of a more holistic approach to curbing the Myopia Pandemic, but I believe we should also consider mental and emotional aspects. The pandemic was stressful and anxious time for many people and there was significant rise in mental health issues.
As I highlighted in my previous blog ‘Eyes and Emotions’, there is a strong connection between our eyes and brain, and our emotions affect all aspects of our being. Now that my eyes are healthier, I’ve noticed that they’re affected by how I’m feeling. When I’m feeling angry, my eyes feel like they’re burning and when I’m feeling happy, they feel clearer. These changes weren’t easy to notice due to many years of wearing contact lenses, which made them feel numb and dull.
Until recently, Myopia had been thought of as a nonthreatening issue, but researchers are noticing serious repercussions to the Myopia Pandemic.
As Professor and internationally renowned scientist Mark Bullimore says:
The eye care community’s perspective on myopia has evolved from regarding it as a benign refractive condition to a fuller understanding of its role in eye disease and visual impairment. Myopia increases the risk of posterior subcapsular cataract, glaucoma, retinal detachment, and most importantly, myopic maculopathy (myopic macular degeneration). Furthermore, the risk of these conditions increases with each diopter of myopia. Myopia therefore increases a patient’s risk of uncorrectable (nonrefractive) visual impairment.
It's now recognised that Myopia, (especially high Myopia) is the leading cause of permanent vision impairment, which includes blindness. Sadly, the prevalence of high Myopia is also on the rise and forecasted to continue at an alarming rate. High Myopia is a severe form of near sightedness that has refractive error of -6.00 diopters or more. (sources vary, and some say -5.00 or more).
Before my natural vision journey, I was on the verge of high Myopia and had no idea of these terrifying risks. In all my visits to the opticians, they never advised to change my lifestyle, they just fitted me with a new pair of stronger glasses each year, as my eyesight slowly deteriorated.
Like many people, I didn’t know what the numbers meant on my eye prescription, and I often got terms like near sightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism muddled up.
Looking back, I don’t understand why I was so disinterested my eyesight. I’m usually very involved with my health issues and try to support them through yoga and other natural remedies. For example, I’m going through my menopause now, and although I’m getting some help from my GP, I’m also adapting my practice to include soothing self-massage and meditation.
As my eyes regained their sensitivity, they’ve become an important barometer for my wellbeing. When I’m tired, I now also feel it in my eyes which reminds me to take breaks and do some relaxation practice like palming or Savasana (full relaxation pose).
Our vision is one of the most used and important senses. How we see directly influences our mind and behaviour, and vice versa. As Peter Grunwald, in his book the Art of Integrating Eye, Brain and Body, said,
‘By only focusing on clear eyesight, we are attending to the effect rather than the ultimate cause and impeding the multiple functions of the visual system. So doing means that our natural vision is not able to emerge. My understanding is that visual dysfunctions originate in the function of a specific part of the visual brain.’
He goes on to recommend that we get to know the whole system that is responsible for vision, rather than focusing only on the eyes, as they are only a part of our visual system. It’s the brain that interprets and make sense of what we see. By focusing only on the symptoms, we’re not adequately exploring the root causes of issues with our vision. Perhaps we should look beyond the eyes and start to explore our mind and body as well.
As the rates of myopia increase dramatically around the world, and we become aware of the dangers of severe visual impairment which can be the outcome, I feel it has never been more important to explore holistic solutions. I have developed Vision Yoga to bring greater clarity and connection to our eyes, mind, and body.
Resources:
https://www.euronews.com/health/2023/05/02/theres-a-global-epidemic-of-myopia-can-we-protect-our-children-from-short-sightedness#:~:text=Experts%20estimate%20that%20by%202050,is%20over%2080%20per%20cent.
https://myopiainstitute.org/myopia/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8579-myopia-nearsightedness
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8769366/#:~:text=The%20overall%20frequency%20of%20primary,27.3%25%2C%2027.8%25%5D%20hypermetropic.