Eyes Right

After an evening in front of the neighbors' television set, guests should sit for at least 20 minutes in a darkened room before driving home. This friendly tip to the audience was offered last week by Dr. John C. Neill of Philadelphia's Pennsylvania State College of Optometry. Reporting .on a year-long study of TV's effect on the eyes, Dr. Neill concluded that the human eye becomes so light-adapted in the glare of the television screen that it suffers up to a 40% loss in night vision.

Optometrist Neill also reached some slightly more alarming conclusions on the recreational hazards of television viewers. By now, he estimates, the effects of television account for a good 10% of U.S. eye troubles. But despite his own statistics, Dr. Neill is not unduly pessimistic.

Eye strain, he pointed out, may come from the fact that TV represents a new experience for the human eye--that of continuous middle-distance vision. "About the only time we have used our eyes for distances of four to ten feet has been in the act of walking," said Neill. "But this is done by frequently repeated glances at the ground, and does not require the continuous, eye-level visual attention of TV."

To adjust to the middle-distance demands of television, he recommended a seating arrangement which puts the audience at a distance about eight times the height of the screen (4 ft. for a 7-in. screen; 6 ft. for 10 in.; 8 ft. for 12 in.). At such ranges, adults' eyes would feel a lot better, and television might even be used as an excellent supplementary method of treating squint or crossed eyes in children. By covering the healthy eye, a youngster's "lazy" eye can be painlessly strengthened while it is focused happily for an hour or more on Hopalong Cassidy and Captain Video.

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