With the warmer weather during these amazing summer months, many of us take to sitting outside and enjoying the weather. Some people will read a good book, whether it be an actual page-turner or reading a book on an electronic device, or look at their phones to keep up with social media. Unfortunately, this can be harmful to your eyes.

Reading in dim light is bad for your eyes. Reading in the dark or during twilight, when there is not a lot of natural light around you, can cause eye issues. We will share with you some of the effects of reading in dim light that can harm your eyes.

Eye Fatigue

Reading in the dark or at low levels of light can strain your eyes and make reading difficult. The lack of sufficient lighting will cause you to squint more frequently as you are trying to read; this, in turn, causes eye fatigue, leading to headaches, dry eyes, and eye irritation.

Headaches

Eye fatigue can lead to headaches, and the lack of light is also linked with migraines. Reading in low light levels may cause mood swings because it increases irritability and anxiety due to headaches.

Dry Eyes

Sitting in a dark or dimly lit area for long periods of time while reading can lead to dry eyes. Reading in low light levels will cause you to squint more often, which doesn’t allow your eye’s tear ducts to open and keep them moist.

Reading with insufficient light speeds up how quickly your pupils dilate-which makes it harder for them to contract when they need to be small again.

Eye Irritation

Reading at night can also irritate the surface of your eyes, which can cause problems such as redness, dryness, and itchiness. Reading in dim light is also harmful to your retinas because it’s hard for them to adjust the brightness of what you’re reading, making it difficult to see sharp lines or letters.

Blurred Vision

The dim lighting makes it more difficult for your eyes to focus on the words, leading to blurred vision.

Long Term Issues

Some of the issues listed above may only be immediate or short-term issues, but some long-term issues can occur if you continue reading in dim light.

Reading in dim light can lead to a decrease in vision, which is especially bad for children who are still developing their eyes. So let’s help to protect your eyes and theirs. Keep reading, but make sure you have sufficient light to continue reading and not harm your eye.