A new study indicates that having cataract surgery may reduce the risk of dementia. Dr. Bob Melrose reviews this interesting research. Then, Dr. Bob and Dr. Yolanda Scheer dive into the world of glasses that are specifically designed for computer use. Even for people with a very mild prescription, long hours on the computer make your eyes work really hard. Computer or office glasses can take over a lot of that focusing work, reducing your eye strain and making you more comfortable. Finally, Dr. Bob and Mark Calonico explore one of Stockton's "hidden gems": the Stockton Chorale. Learn about the Chorale's history, how they weathered the pandemic, and the exciting new opportunities they've got coming up this year.

Experiencing Eye Fatigue with Computer Use?

We all can relate to hours spent each day on our smart phone, tablet and computer. The average adult American spends close to 4 hours a day on an electronic device (excluding television). You start off each day seeing well, your eyes feeling good, but that all changes as the day wears on. By the end of the day, your eyes are now feeling tired, going in and out of focus, maybe feeling dry and needing to blink a lot to focus and even have some degree of a headache around or behind your eyes.

The terms nearsighted and farsighted are often confused but the easiest way to remember which condition you have is that “you are what you can do best without glasses.” If you see better at near without glasses, then you are nearsighted (myopic). Conversely if you see better at a distance without glasses, then you are farsighted (hyperopic). With farsightedness, a person has difficulty and discomfort when reading or doing computer work.

Most of us have an understanding that overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) light is bad for our eyes. We’ve learned to shop for sunglasses that have “100% UV Protection”. This is still good advice. However, due to a dramatic increase in our use of electronic devices and energy-efficient lighting, there’s increased concern about our exposure to another part of the visual spectrum... blue light.

Blue light itself is nothing new. It’s been present in natural sunlight and in artificial light in varying concentrations since the beginning of time. It’s actually very close to UV light in the visible light spectrum (Ultraviolet = 10-380 nm, Blue-violet = 380-455 nm). The difference is the level of exposure to blue light that we’re receiving in our modern world. The majority of this increase comes from our growing dependence on electronic devices, and how quickly this trend has occurred. Let’s look at a few dates that we can probably all relate to: