Constant eye fatigue, regardless of whether you read in transport, or lie with a book on the couch, which is no less harmful can lead to the development of diseases of the eyes.
Each of us spends about a quarter of the day on public transport. Very often the road seems dull and boring, and the hours spent on it are recorded in the passive, which accumulates into weeks and months of inactivity, frustrating us even more.
Reading Books
Literature is considered one of the greatest works of human endeavor. Through reading, people learn new information and seek answers to questions. Now literature has become an interesting entertainment. To say that books have ceased to be relevant is silly. People continue to read, including young people. Previously, the classics, which reflected serious problems, human feelings and suffering, were popular. Now the fashionable genres are science fiction, fantasy and youth literature.
You can read the works in several variants:
- Paper version.
- Electronic version.
- Audio book.
Many online resources allow you to spend time reading without paying money for it. Audio versions are good for busy people: you can do things and educate yourself at the same time.
The Benefits of Spending Time with A Book
- Intellectual development. Many works have a deep meaning, a vital idea or an answer to a question that has long been of interest to the reader. Reading scientific works and articles increases a person’s level of knowledge. This activity develops his worldview.
- Improving literacy and speech. Teachers have noticed a pattern: a child who enjoys reading (regardless of the genre) makes fewer mistakes than a non-reader. The same is true for all book lovers. The correct spelling and pronunciation of words is stored in a person’s memory. This is much more effective than memorizing the rules of the Russian language. Literate speech will help to formulate your thoughts better and pass them on to other people.
- Increase the vocabulary. When readers encounter unfamiliar words, they become interested in their meaning. Literary works often make separate chapters with vocabulary. Scientific works contain professional terms, and historical novels – old words that have already gone out of use.
- Variety of genres. At school, children are told to read the classics, which, more often than not, do not interest young minds. Because of this, reading is a boring activity for many. However, now there is a wide range of different genres, from children’s literature, to science fiction. You can read for entertainment or to gain new knowledge.
- Development of creativity and imagination. It is not uncommon for famous poets and writers to create their masterpieces by drawing inspiration from their peers. After reading a beautiful poem, a person will try himself as a creator. He may not become a great poet, but he will gain creative skills. In addition, reading helps to develop imagination. When a child reads an interesting book, he imagines in his head the characters, the situation, the plot. This has a positive effect on his mental activity.
- New acquaintances. People organize book clubs, invite others to reading evenings. Here a person finds new friends in common interests and genres. Book crossing – free exchange of books – is gaining in popularity. Works “travel” from one reader to another. Everyone can leave their comments or suggestions. Before borrowing a book, you must leave it on the shelf.
Disadvantages of Reading
- Heavy preoccupation. If a person reads too much without paying attention to other things or people, it becomes a problem. Closeness and unwillingness to contact society may appear. The person will have difficulty communicating even with loved ones. Lack of other interests will cause physical, moral and financial damage.
- Vision issues. This is a controversial issue, because doctors do not give an exact answer: whether reading books worsens vision. Experts say it’s not the process itself that affects eye health, but the conditions: lighting, reading posture, concentration, and the level of calm around you. The wrong conditions can cause eye fatigue and dryness, leading to serious issues. Regular reading in poor light or in a turbulent environment contributes to visual impairment.
- High cost. Books have become very expensive in recent years. Some copies can be bought as an expensive gift for a loved one. There are libraries where you can get a work for free, but your own home collection is much more satisfying than a couple of books to return. Besides, the work you want may not be on the shelves of a public institution.
- Electronic versions. With modern technology, it has become possible to read anywhere, without the extra burden of a thick book. However, when reading this kind of information is less absorbed, the eyes tire more quickly from contact with the screen (a person blinks much less often than when reading the paper version). Readers notice that they do not remember much of what they read from the electronic version. Also, having a personal copy of a literary work is much more enjoyable than having a copy on a mobile device.
- Waste of time. If one becomes engrossed in reading, it will take many hours and the person won’t even notice. For some people, it is more practical to do other things. This disadvantage applies to those who are more concerned not with mental development or self-improvement, but with physical activities or finances. Everyone chooses what to do, but one should not get carried away for a long time.
Why You Can’t Read in A Moving Vehicle
The fact is that any trip is accompanied by a sufficient level of vibration and jolting. For the normal process of reading the human eye needs a calm static environment, which can not be said about the trip. Chaotic amplitude movements of the head to the sides, systematic bending up and down create not only a strong physical load on the permanently lowered neck, but also terribly strain the eye muscles. They just don’t have time to concentrate on a particular line and focus on a single word.
Add to that the poor artificial lighting of the car interior, and you get the most unintended place to read. It’s amazing how some people don’t understand this, forcing their body to do what it can’t do. And yet it constantly signals it to us with headaches, dizziness, and eye fatigue.
What’s More Dangerous, Reading from Paper or A Gadget?
There aren’t any serious scientific studies carried out in favor of gadgets or paper media, so they can be equaled in the degree of their influence on the human vision.
Ophthalmologists see the only advantage of gadgets is that you can choose the optimal font size for reading, adjust the contrast and brightness of the backlight, set the necessary intervals between lines for more comfortable focusing of the eye pupil.
However, if you have in your hands not an e-book, which uses a special technology of information transfer, but an ordinary tablet or smartphone, reading text from which in itself is harmful, in case of reading on the go, the harm to the eyes increases exponentially. The glare and blue glow fatigue eyesight. By the way, enjoy playing games in public transport should also not.
What Eye Disease Can Arise from Reading in Transport
Remember that constant eye fatigue, regardless of whether you read in public transport, or lie with a book on the couch, which is no less harmful can lead to the development of visual impairment.
1. Dry Eye Syndrome. Reading on the move, we are afraid of losing the text and begin to blink less. As a result, the cornea is not moisturized normally and is constantly dried up (in the scientific terminology of conjunctival xerosis).
2. Asthenopia. In order to focus on one place, the eye muscle is greatly overstretched, feeling discomfort. Eye fatigue may be accompanied by tears and dryness.
3. Spasm of accommodation. The disease stems from the previous one, when due to prolonged concentration on a close object and in poor light, the ciliary eye muscle becomes exhausted. The object becomes fuzzy at close range and blurred at a distance. In this case false myopia is diagnosed.
4. Astigmatism. It is caused by incorrect positioning of the eyes with regard to a book or gadget, especially during transportation.
Bottom Line
Take care of your eyes, look more often into the distance, create the most comfortable conditions for reading with good light and sleep more. And then your eyesight will be perfect even in old age. We hope this article was helpful to you!
