Outdoor Time is Good for Your Eyes

It appears to greatly cut the risk that you will need eyeglasses for nearsightedness.

Today， kids are more likely to have a hard time seeing distant objects clearly than they would have even a few （1） d ago. That has been a consistent finding in studies from around the world. New Canadian research sheds more light on why this nearsightedness is increasing. Its conclusion： Kids today spend too little time playing （A） o .

The idea is not new. In parts of the world where people spend most of their time indoors， rates of nearsightedness — or myopia — have been skyrocketing. By adulthood， one in three

（B） p in the United States has myopia. In parts of Asia， the rates are far higher. In some

（2） n there， more than 95 （3） p of children and teens may wear glasses to correct for myopia.

Previous research suggested this might stem from children spending too much time focusing on close-up objects. Those might include books， smartphones and video （C） s . Other research has linked rising rates of myopia to a drop in the time kids spend outdoors.

Children who spend plenty of time outdoors in the bright light face a lower risk of needing

（D） g for myopia.

Why might that be？ It probably has something to do with the lighting being much brighter than indoors. Also， when outside， your eyes have more opportunity to focus on things in the （4） d . For now， however， no one is sure why these things make a difference. While the exact cause remains unknown， the bright light levels outdoors are thought by scientists to be key.

Research shows that （5） m is becoming common in ever younger kids. When young

（E） c become myopic， they risk an even greater decline in their eyesight over time when compared to their parents' and grandparents' generations.

（A， B， C， D， E FOR CROSS， 1， 2， 3， 4， 5 FOR DOWN. The first letters of the absents were given.）