{
  "id": 1732562,
  "title": "Restoring a missing slice of sunshine to indoor light may help prevent myopia",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/restoring-a-missing-slice-of-sunshine-to-indoor-light-may-help",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-18T15:00:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-slice-sunshine-indoor-myopia.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Researchers have found that increasing indoor lighting with indigo light may help prevent myopia, a condition where distant objects appear blurry. This study, conducted by vision researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, used tree shrews, animals with a visual system similar to humans, to test the effects of indigo light. Indigo light, a short-wavelength light abundant in sunlight, was shown to completely prevent myopia from developing in these animals. Myopia, which develops when the eye grows too long from front to back, usually begins in childhood and can progress through adolescence. It increases the risk of serious vision complications later in life. The study's findings suggest that modern indoor lighting, which lacks indigo light, may contribute to the rise of myopia. Encouraging children to spend more time outdoors or improving indoor lighting could be effective ways to prevent myopia. The next step for researchers is to test whether indigo-enriched lighting can prevent myopia in children.",
  "summary": "Research has already shown that the more time children spend playing with screens indoors instead of outdoors, the more likely they are to develop myopia. In fact, some experts predict that nearly 5 billion people (or 50% of the world's population) will be nearsighted by 2050.",
  "key_points": [
    "Increasing indoor lighting with indigo light may prevent myopia.",
    "Study used tree shrews to test indigo light effects.",
    "Modern indoor lighting lacking indigo may contribute to myopia rise."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}