Day Hiking Trails: Reason No. 30 to hike w/ kids: Better eyes

Friday, March 27, 2015

Reason No. 30 to hike w/ kids: Better eyes

If your children are having trouble seeing in school, tell them to focus more on hiking. That’s because an array of new studies suggest that kids who spend more time playing outdoors tend to have far lower rates of myopia than kids who spend much of their time indoors.

Why? The eyes of kids who spend more time outdoors constantly must adjust their focal lengths. Such “exercising” is good for developing eyes, researchers say.

In addition, sunshine releases dopamine from the retina, which some scientists speculate may have a protective effect.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Meet the Author

My name is Rob Bignell. I'm a long-time hiker, journalist and editor. My son Kieran and I have been hiking together for the past decade. Before Kieran, I taught middle school students in New Mexico and Wisconsin, served as an infantryman in the Army National Guard, and worked in newspapers. I've won several journalism awards, from editorial writing to sports reporting. In 2001, The Prescott Journal, which I served as managing editor of, was named Wisconsin’s Weekly Newspaper of the Year. Currently I own and operate an online editing business, Inventing Reality Editing Service. After spending several years in Southern California, my son and I now live in Wisconsin on the scenic Red Cedar River.