Scientists say that spending a lot of time browsing on the phone can directly affect our lives.
While this isn’t the first time scientists have warned of the potential harm of this skill, most of us still spend a lot of time in front of screens.
Surprising surveys suggest that the average adult will spend the equivalent of 34 years of their life looking at screens.
The latest study looks at how light exposure to the eyes contributes to a person’s longevity.
The Buck Institute for Research on Aging has studied fruit flies, an insect commonly used by scientists because it has human-like biological processes.
“It’s a surprise to researchers that the eye can be directly regulated for life,” explained the study’s lead author Dr. Brian Hodge.
The connection depends on circadian rhythms, the body’s 24 -hour clock.
The circadian clock controls bodily functions throughout the day, adapting to light and temperature as the sun rises and sets.
Depending on the light of day, circadian rhythms (circadian rhythms) regulate hormones so that we feel drowsy, hungry, or awake.
These rhythms can be disrupted by our behavior, such as exposure to light at night when watching TV or working the night shift.
Scientists have discovered that excessive exposure of the eyes to light can disrupt circadian rhythm and cause health problems.
Leading author Professor Pankaj Kapahi explains: “Staring at computer and telephone screens, and exposure to light pollution at night are very unsatisfactory conditions for everyday time. They destroy eye protection and it can have consequences beyond vision, harming others. ” of the body and brain.
The research group previously found that restricting the fruit fly’s diet caused significant changes in its circadian rhythms and increased its lifespan.
To find out why, they looked at which genes were acting like clockwork and found some that were not only turned on by food restrictions, but all seemed to come from the eye.
In particular, in photoreceptors, special neurons of the retina that respond to light.
They then investigated whether the genes in the eye influence lifespan and found that they do so.
Professor Kapahi suggested that light itself can cause photoreceptor degeneration, which can cause inflammation.
“Disorders in eye function can lead to problems in other tissues,” he said.
In the long run, it can exacerbate a variety of common chronic conditions.
This was proven by an experiment in which flies were hidden in complete darkness, because flies live longer.
Professor Kapahi said: “We always think of the eye as something that serves us, to give us vision, and we don’t think of it as something that needs to be protected in order to protect the whole organism.”
It is not clear whether these findings are directly applicable to humans, but Drs. Hodge that circadian rhythms are key to aging.
He added that people can help maintain vision by turning on the clocks inside our eyes, explaining: “It could be through diet, drugs, lifestyle changes… and there are many interesting research there. ” in front of”.
Source: The Sun.
Source: Arabic RT
