4 Reasons Why Uncorrected Myopia Can Affect Learning

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Can improving one’s vision improve academic grades? Apparently so, according to this randomised controlled trial done in Western China and this 3-year clinical study done in the United States. Both showed students’ math scores improving significantly after they corrected their visual acuity.

The vision of a child is at the heart of his development, with over 80% of childhood learning being done visually[1]. Good vision allows children to learn well, but also, to feel comfortable with others, and thrive at school.

When uncorrected, myopia can impede learning

Being short-sighted is not just an inconvenience. Myopia progression causes vision to deteriorate and also affects a child’s learning abilities and overall quality of life, such as in the following four scenarios.

  1. If your child has blurred vision, he will have difficulty seeing what’s written on the class whiteboard, especially if his desk is further away. He may have problem keeping up with lessons and return home without jotting down any lesson notes.

  2. Falling behind in class can affect your child’s self-esteem. He may worry about getting teased by classmates if they find out that he had missed what was written on the board. Or for admitting that he can’t see when his name gets called by the teacher to read what’s written on the board.

  3. Excessive eye strain can often cause headache, which in turn, affects your child’s well-being and mood. After squinting and having difficulty to see clearly all day, your child may end up being too lethargic to do his homework when he gets home.

  4. Poor vision can impede your child’s ability to take part in sports that require distance vision or accuracy. If your child cannot gauge the distance to a basketball hoop or can never accurately trap a football that’s kicked towards him during PE lesson, he will quickly lose interest or even confidence in learning those sports.

Slow Down Myopia Progression Early

Do not let short-sightedness interfere with your child’s learning journey. Visit your nearest eye care provider for a thorough eye check, which can uncover eye problems, such as reduced visual acuity and to explore a suitable myopia management solution for your child if he or she is found to be myopic.

Rather than simply correcting myopia with single-vision lenses, opt for myopia management spectacle lenses that can slow down eye elongation – the cause for worsening myopia that potentially leads to more serious eye conditions later in life.

Essilor® Stellest® Lenses have been clinically proven to slow down myopia progression by 67% on average compared to single vision lenses, when worn at least 12 hours a day[2].

Using “H.A.L.T*” technology – Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target – Essilor® Stellest® Lenses are made up of a cutting-edge constellation of 1021 invisible** lenslets, , which creates a volume of signal in the child’s eye acting as a shield against eye elongation. They are comfortable and easy to adapt for children, with no compromises.

Learn more about Essilor® Stellest® Lenses here or find an Essilor Expert near you today here.

 

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[1] Eyeglasses for Global Development: Bridging the Visual Divide; World Economic Forum, Social Entrepreneurs, EYElliance; June 2016.
[2] Compared to single vision lenses, when worn 12 hours a day. Two-year prospective, controlled, randomized, double-masked clinical trial results on 54 myopic children wearing Stellest® lenses compared to 50 myopic children wearing single vision lenses. Efficacy results based on 32 children who declared wearing Stellest® lenses at least 12 hours per day every day. Bao J. et al. (2021). Myopia control with spectacle lenses with aspherical lenslets: a 2-year randomized clinical trial. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.; 62(8):2888.
* Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target
** Aesthetic finish