By Steve Roberts 

Night contact lenses for children  worn only while sleeping can help to combat the epidemic of adolescent short-sightedness - known as ‘Myopia' - affecting almost all major regions of the world. Recent research carried out by the University of Sydney in Australia has claimed spending more time staring at a television or computer screen - and increasingly, smart phone - is a key factor which is having an adverse effect on the eyesight of children. The study evaluated 1,500 six-to-seven year-old children in 34 primary schools in Sydney and the results revealed that on an average all of these children spend almost two hours a day in front of a TV or computer screen and only 36 minutes in organized physical activity.

The impact of spending increasing amounts of time focusing on screens which are only a short distance from the eye - typically under indoor light - is believed to promote changes in the adolescent eye which result in myopia. Given that children are also spending significant amounts of time at school and at home on academic tasks which are book or computer-based, the time devoted to short distance focusing represents a large part of the average adolescent day. To combat myopia, glasses and daytime contact lenses will normally be prescribed but now the new night contact lenses for children correct short-sight while the child is asleep and provide clear natural vision once they are removed each morning.

Another major benefit of the new night contact lenses for children  is that clinical research shows the lenses can stop myopia from worsening thus holding the child's eyesight prescription once lens wear commences rather than it continuing to deteriorate throughout their adolescence. The Sydney research also revealed that children spending too much time staring at screens and not enough time in physical activities have narrower blood vessels in their eyes which have been found to be linked with an elevated risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes at an older age. By contrast, physical activity enhances blood flow and has a positive effect on the linings of blood vessels. "Excessive screen time leads to less physical activity, unhealthy dietary habits and weight gain," said Dr Bamini Gopinath, lead author of the study.

Check if your child is suitable for overnight ortho-k corrective contact lenses  for children.