By Stuart Ellison 

Improve eyesight  by limiting 3D TV viewing and gaming activity or run the risk of experiencing problems such as headaches and nausea. Watching 3D TV close up can make viewers feel sick, according to a new study undertaken by researchers at Eindhoven University in Holland. In one experiment, 39 people who could see 3D were asked to read some text on a screen from 10 feet away. Seven of the group suffered symptoms that can lead to nausea, including double vision and eye strain. Earlier this year, The Royal College of Opthalmologists said more research was needed into the long term effects of 3D TV but conceded that short term effects were already visible.

There are two types of 3D television known as 'active' and 'passive' which show 3D images in different ways. An 'active' 3D television is where it is recommended that viewing is restricted to improve eyesight . This 3D TV version displays the programme in a series of rapidly alternating frames - left eye, right eye, left eye, right eye - changing at such speed that the viewer cannot even detect it is happening. To watch in 3D, the viewer wears a pair of battery-powered shutter glasses which block out one eye or the other on alternate frames at the same high speed, synchronising with the image being displayed on TV via a wireless connection to the set.

Nintendo - who will shortly be launching their new 3DS gaming console - have issued advice which recommends that players restrict their 3D gaming activity to sessions lasting no more than 30 minutes to improve eyesight . The 3DS is the gaming giant's latest version of its DS line of hand-held video game consoles which can handle 3D gaming and movies and displays the depth-adding effect of 3D without requiring users to wear 3D glasses. Parents are also advised not to let pre-school children use the 3D option on the 3DS console at all given that their eyesight is in such an important developmental stage which could be affected by the delivery of 3D images.

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