Nightlights and Myopia

No Myopia but Lots of Stubbed Toes

I remember when this study came out many years ago.  At the time, I was a frequent loiterer at a cyberbar for LASIK aficionados.  Clearly not one of the groupies, I would occasionally throw in my two cents about why everyone should investigate natural means to improved vision.

When this study came out, a few of the regulars at this bulletin board tracked me down and asked me what I thought about it.  Upon reading the study, I remembering wondering why the nightlight was on to begin with.  Sure, a nightlight helps to keep one from stubbing his or her toes when nature calls in the middle of the night.  Aside from that, however, could it be that some, perhaps many, of these children used nightlights because they were afraid of the dark?  Could fear play a role anywhere in all of this?

Recently I did some tracking of my own, and I contacted one of the scientists who helped write a big article for Nature dealing with myopia and nightlights.  The study, which came out in the March 9, 2000 issue, was titled "Vision: Myopia and ambient night-time lighting", and the abstract reads as follows:

"Myopia is a common affliction (one in four adult Americans is near-sighted), and juvenile-onset myopia is believed to be due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Results from animal experiments indicate that light cycles may affect the development of myopia, and Quinn et al. claim to have extended these to humans. They reported a strong association between childhood myopia and night-time lighting before the age of two: there were five times more children with myopia among those who slept with room lights on than in those who slept in the dark, and an intermediate number among those sleeping with a dim night-light. However, we have been unable to find a link between night-time nursery lighting and the development of myopia in a sample of schoolchildren."

After finding the e-mail of one of the scientists referred to above, I sent the following e-mail message back in June 2003:

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From: Alan W <[email protected]> 
To: "Unnamed Scientist" <********@***.edu>
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2003
Subject: Quick Question

Hello, 

Today I read an interesting summary of a study you co-authored regarding nightlights and the development of myopia in children. I'd like to see if might have your permission to reprint some or all of your findings on a website that I'm creating. The website is located at http://www.geocities.com/simplyvision/ and deals with the subject of natural vision improvement. 

I look forward to hearing from you -- 

Thank you very much, 
Alan Winn 
[email protected]
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The next day I received the following reply:

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From: "Unnamed Scientist" <********@***.edu>
To: Alan W <[email protected]> 
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2003 14:04:35 -0500  
Subject: Re: Quick Question 

Dear Mr. Winn-- 
Our paper in Nature is in the public domain, so of course you can do anything you want with the information. Its bottom line is that exposure to night lights is not related to the abnormal eye growth that results in myopic refractive error. However, nothing I saw on your website will make these abnormally long eyes shrink either, so I am afraid my view is that you are doing the public a huge disservice in misrepresenting the effect eye exercises and relaxation techniques can have on myopia. 
--"Unnamed Scientist" 
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To this I replied with the following message:

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From: Alan W <[email protected]>
To:  "Unnamed Scientist" <********@***.edu>
Date : Fri, 6 Jun 2003
Subject : Re: Quick Question 

Dear Dr. "Unnamed Scientist"

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. Even when an article is in the public domain, out of respect and consideration for the author(s), it is customary to obtain written permission before any reprinting takes place. Evidently, you view this common courtesy more as an intrusion, so respectfully, I will save myself the trouble of cutting and pasting your article into my website.

I am aware of the fact that exposure to night-lights does not cause or affect myopia. What surprises me, however, is that someone as smart as you can still cherish the notion that myopia is caused by abnormal eye growth. Do you also believe that hyperopia is caused by abnormal eyeball shrinkage?

The fact that you saw nothing on my website regarding positive changes in eyeball shape suggests to me that you either prejudged my site before you pulled it up or did not stay long once you did. Perhaps you did both. Also, my guess is that you are myopic yourself and have never personally explored the possibility of vision improvement through relaxation and biofeedback. Should my guess by correct, this would be unfortunate.

I have prescriptions -- "evidence" or "proof" if you will -- from two independent eye doctors indicating that my own vision has improved from -6 to -4. That was two years ago, and my vision has shown greater improvement since then. I won't pretend that you're remotely interesting in such unconfirmed and trivial reports, but it's true nonetheless. Perhaps I might gain some added credibility should I tell you that I'm wearing a white lab coat with a cute little mouse in the side pocket.

In any case, I appreciate your correspondence, and I look forward to hearing from you again. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have further disservice and greater misrepresentation to which I must attend.

Take care,
Alan W.
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I have yet to hear back from the Unnamed Scientist....

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