What Is Nearsightedness?

Myopia Causes Distant Blurriness

Table of Contents
View All
Table of Contents

Nearsightedness, or myopia, is an eye problem that causes objects at a distance to appear blurry. A nearsighted person can see things close to them but have a hard time focusing on objects far away.

This article explains nearsightedness types, symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment. It also covers risks associated with the condition.

Point of view looking through a pair of eye glasses looking at a city skyline
Mario Gutiérrez / Getty Images

Types of Nearsightedness

Nearsightedness may be mild (called “low myopia”) or severe (called “high myopia”). If you have high myopia, your nearsightedness will usually stabilize in your twenties. Those with more severe nearsightedness are at higher risk of developing other eye conditions, like cataracts and glaucoma.

Children can inherit nearsightedness if one of their parents has it. You might notice signs of this vision problem when a child is between 8 and 12 years old.

Nearsightedness Symptoms

If you have nearsightedness, you may exhibit specific symptoms, including:

  • Squinting when trying to view distant objects
  • Sitting very close to the television
  • Holding books very close to your eyes while reading
  • Difficulty seeing far-away objects
  • Asthenopia (eye strain)
  • Headaches

If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s good to visit an eye doctor for an evaluation.

What Causes Nearsightedness?

Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball is slightly longer than usual or when the cornea (the clear dome of tissue at the front of the eye) is steeper than average. These conditions cause light to focus in front of the retina (thin tissue lining the back of the eyeball) instead of directly on its surface.

Potential causes of nearsightedness include:

  • Genetics
  • Not enough time spent outdoors
  • Close-up activities

In most cases, nearsightedness is inherited. However, some evidence suggests that the shift from outdoor activities to indoor, close-up activities, like reading, using computers and handheld electronics, and playing video games, may induce nearsightedness.

Although doctors often see this in clinical practice, research is still ongoing on the role of close-up activities and nearsightedness. In some countries, the general population is so nearsighted that it is considered a public health crisis or epidemic. For example, 80–90% of high school graduates have myopia in East and Southeast Asia.

In addition, a meta-analysis published in 2012 found that for each additional hour children spend outdoors per week, their risk of developing nearsightedness dropped by 2%.

There is some evidence that near-work, like lots of screen time or reading, combined with little outdoor time, may contribute to the risk of developing nearsightedness. So, take frequent breaks when doing near work (like the 20-20-20 rule, where you rest your eyes every 20 minutes by looking at something more than 20 feet away for 20 seconds). In addition, if you combine those breaks with daily outdoor time, you’ll be doing your eyes a favor.

How Is It Diagnosed?

To diagnose nearsightedness, an eye doctor will do a comprehensive eye examination. This exam screens for all potential problems with your eyes and usually includes:

  • Visual acuity: Check how clearly you see reading an eye chart
  • Refraction: Checks your vision against different prescriptions
  • Eye dilation: Allows the doctor to check your retina and optic nerve for damage or disease
  • Pupillary reaction: Assessing how your pupils respond to light
  • Ocular motility: How your eyes are aligned
  • Tonometry: Eye pressure test with a puff of air to test for glaucoma
  • Slit-lamp exam: Looks for injury and diseases of the cornea, iris, eyelid, and lens

When tested, some individuals over-focus or have accommodative spasms or blurry vision after focusing on something for a while. This episode occurs because your eyes have trouble relaxing after working hard on focusing on a near task, like a vision test. These spasms usually resolve after a few minutes.

Nearsightedness Treatment

Depending on the degree of nearsightedness, some people may only need glasses for driving or watching a movie. Others with a high degree of nearsightedness may only have clear vision a few inches from their nose.

Eye doctors treat nearsightedness with different types of devices or procedures to modify your vision, including:

Low-dose atropine may slow the progression of myopia.

Outlook

Nearsightedness is common and treatable. It varies in severity, and for some people, wearing corrective lenses can completely resolve the problem with no side effects. However, others may experience occasional eyestrain or headaches.

High myopia increases the risk of some eye conditions, including:

Consistently wearing your glasses or contacts and getting regular eye exams to keep your prescription current reduces the likelihood of symptoms and helps catch problems early.

Summary

Myopia is the medical term for nearsightedness. Symptoms include eyestrain, headaches, and difficulty seeing distant objects. Nearsightedness may be low (mild) or high (severe). High myopia increases the risk of certain eye conditions, including glaucoma, cataracts, and a detached retina.

Eye doctors diagnose through a comprehensive eye exam. Then, they treat it with corrective eyewear, like glasses or contact lenses, or with laser surgical treatment. Regular eye exams to keep your prescription current and screen for potential problems are critical when you have nearsightedness.


9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Nearsightedness: what is myopia?

  2. National Eye Institute. Nearsightedness (myopia).

  3. Wolffsohn JS, Flitcroft DI, Gifford KL, et al. IMI – myopia control reports overview and introduction. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2019;60(3):M1-M19. doi:10.1167/iovs.18-25980

  4. Xiong S, Sankaridurg P, Naduvilath T, et al. Time spent in outdoor activities in relation to myopia prevention and control: a meta-analysis and systematic review. Acta Ophthalmol. 2017;95(6):551-566. doi:10.1111/aos.13403

  5. Sherwin JC, Reacher MH, Keogh RH, Khawaja AP, Mackey DA, Foster PJ. The association between time spent outdoors and myopia in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ophthalmology. 2012;119(10):2141-2151. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2012.04.020

  6. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Eye exam and vision testing basics.

  7. Khalid K, Padda J, Pokhriyal S, et al. Pseudomyopia and its association with anxiety. Cureus. 2021;13(8):e17411. doi:10.7759/cureus.17411

  8. Khanal S, Phillips JR. Which low-dose atropine for myopia control? Clin Exp Optom. 2020;103(2):230-232. doi:10.1111/cxo.12967

  9. Williams K, Hammond C. High myopia and its risks. Community Eye Health. 2019;32(105):5-6.

By Troy Bedinghaus, OD
Troy L. Bedinghaus, OD, board-certified optometric physician, owns Lakewood Family Eye Care in Florida. He is an active member of the American Optometric Association.