As high school students gear up for exams, ophthalmologists highlighted the often-overlooked impact of prolonged study hours and increased digital screen time on children’s eye health.

According to health professionals from Narayana Nethralaya, over 50 per cent of students in the 10th grade or preparing for competitive exams experience various eye issues, affecting their exam performance.

A child in high school, on average, spends 10-14 hours reading or writing, which may increase to up to 16 hours during board exams. While perfect vision is essential for academic success, it is not the sole factor. Many factors in the eye can affect visual attention, concentration, and focus beyond refractive errors. Common issues such as accommodative spasms, accommodative infacility, convergence insufficiency, pseudo myopia, and an increase in myopia can significantly impact a child’s exam performance.

Over 50 per cent of patients with these eye issues are in the 10th grade/PUC or are preparing for competitive exams. Unfortunately, 95 per cent of focusing issues or binocular vision anomalies are not diagnosed during routine eye examinations. When left unnoticed, these issues can lead to symptoms such as eye strain, fatigue, poor concentration, frequent headaches, double vision, and blurred vision. In addition to focusing issues and binocular vision anomalies, excessive use of digital screens and increased screen time for reading online study materials can lead to dry eyes, progression of myopia, and disturbed sleep. These eye symptoms are often misinterpreted by parents or teachers as disinterest in studies, leading to a lack of confidence and feeling of overburden in children.

Dr Rohit Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Nethralaya said, “In the last 5 years, academic examinations have become tougher, leading to a significant increase in the challenges children face during exams—this has escalated by 30-50 times. Parents and teachers should refrain from labelling a child as an underperformer until the root cause of the child’s difficulties are identified. No child should risk losing their vision, career, or life due to undetected vision problems.”

Traditional eye check-ups usually focus on identifying problems of distant vision only, thus missing out on the crucial diagnosis of eye problems that require a detailed orthoptic evaluation. This evaluation ensures tailored treatment that includes glasses, targeted eye exercises, and in rare cases, surgery, offered only by specialised centres.

Dr Jyoti Matalia, Consultant in Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismology, stresses the importance of a detailed orthoptic evaluation for tailored treatments, including glasses, targeted eye exercises, and, in rare cases, surgery, extensive screen time, and lack of outdoor activities contribute to eye strain, dry eyes, and myopia progression. Dr Sumitha Muthu, another consultant at Narayana Nethralaya, recommends early detection through orthoptic tests and prompt treatment to alleviate eye health issues caused by increased digital stress.

Preventive Measures

Eye conditions like accommodative spasm, accommodative infacility, convergence insufficiency may recur with exam stress, therefore it’s essential to follow certain tips while studying for exams:

• Avoid using small devices like mobile phones for online study materials.
• Follow the 20-20-20 rule for taking frequent breaks.
• During breaks, avoid using mobile phones or watching TV.
• Practice meditation to rest your eyes and improve concentration.
• Maintain a healthy diet.
• Ensure sufficient sleep.