Is reading in the dark bad for your eyes?

Corey Houghton
By Corey Houghton
Questions and Answers

As far as I know, the eye is a biological camera. So why exactly is it bad for the eyes to read a book or watch TV in a dark room? A certain reasoning would be that you receive less light in a dark environment, so that the eye receptors are used less intensively and are therefore less stressed.

I have also been told that all images are ultimately processed in the brain (so that the eyes provide incomplete information), so I would rather expect that the heavy burden of the dark environment is bad for the brain that regulates vision.

Asker: Dieter, 21 years old

Answer

In a dark environment, the pupils dilate to let in more light. This is controlled by a muscle. Reading for a long time in the dark is therefore very tiring for the eyes.

The rods are responsible for night vision. They are 100 times more sensitive than the cones with which we perceive colors. However, they are also slower, so you see things moving in the dark more shadowy. The rods are mainly responsible for peripheral vision. When you read in the dark, you focus very closely. This causes the cones to overwork, which could lead to their exhaustion. But this recovers relatively quickly.
For the brain there is probably little difference in processing little or much light. However, your brain does aim for a more intense action of the eye receptors because you order your brain that you want to see the letters clearly.

Is reading in the dark bad for your eyes?

Answered by

dr. Pieter Stragier

Molecular Microbiology Biomedical Sciences Medical and Pharmaceutical Research Molecular Biotechnology

university of Ghent

http://www.ugent.be

.

Recent Articles

Related Stories

All about technology and science.
Contact us: khaobanmuang@gmail.com