When your mother told you that sitting too close to the TV would make your eyes pop out, she wasn't far from the truth. Science and medicine have linked the ritual of close TV-viewing with a condition known as dry-eye syndrome.
While most people would love to believe that there is nothing wrong with a few uninterrupted hours in front of the idiot box, doctors say that a few breaks will do a world of good. So don't curse the commercials. Allow your eyes the pleasure of more natural surroundings.
But TV isn't the archenemy. Doctors say that the rays of the sun are harsher than those radiated from a television screen. Dr. J.B. Singh, an ophthalmologist with Belhoul Speciality Hospital, believes that TV is not to blame. It is the habit of prolonged TV-viewing that is the real danger.
According to Dr. Singh, "Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the television screen is not as bad as that received from direct sunlight. In the days of black and white TV we were relatively safe from UV radiation. One has to realise that UV rays are negated by 10 to 12 levels once reflected by glass. So as long as you are viewing the TV from a safe distance you are better off."
He adds, "The harmful effects of TV-viewing are related to radiation and glare. Viewing TV in a dark room for long periods of time can cause a certain amount of eyestrain. In fact, computer screens cause more problems as they are placed in a closed environment and usually in air-conditioned rooms causing the eyes to dry more than they ordinarily would.
"The eye is like a fish. It needs water at all times. Low humidity leads to dryness of the eye, which in turn causes eyestrain. The body has a built-in mechanism - blinking - which coats the cornea and keeps it moist.
"Children concentrate on an image on screen and ignore this vital reflex. Most computer games require much more concentration. These cut us off from our natural reflexes to an even larger extent," he says.
Dr. Singh mentions that low humidity and bad posture invariably lead to eyestrain. He says, "The human eye is used to reading from a lower angle, if TVs are placed on a higher ground, there is a strain over a period of time.
"People must take regular breaks while watching TV. One doesn't realise that a two-hour film takes four hours including commercials, which we sometimes watch without giving our eyes a rest. We also tend to ignore the smarting of our eyes, which becomes chronic over a period of time."
Dr. Singh sees more than 200 patients a month, 40 per cent of whom complain of tired eyes. He attributes this to the patients' places of work, which often require use of a computer for extended periods of time. The eyestrain is compounded by many hours in front of TV.
"I also meet mothers who complain that their children need an eye check because they are sitting too close to the TV. What they don't realise is that the television is helping doctors get to the root of the problem. We can actually test the eyes of the child and recommend treatment for a possible defect that is detected by them wanting to sit closer to the image on screen," says Dr. Singh.
He adds, "We have seen red eye or error of refraction in some patients. This is not induced by TV but precipitated by it."
Common mistakes
Dr. Singh cites some common mistakes people make while watching TV. "Viewing television from a side angle may cause a certain amount of eye strain. It is best to view television from the front of the screen. Looking upwards for a long period of time is also unnatural and best avoided."
He believes that TV is here to stay. "Television is an indisputable part of our lives. It has educated people around the world depending on what they are viewing. Most parents come to me saying, Please tell our children to stop watching so much TV, I tell all the children that they can watch TV as long as it is in moderation."
Ensuring you don't strain your eyes and ears is one way to maximise your TV-viewing experience. Another way is to position your home entertainment system in a suitable room. Amir Anwar, Marketing Manager from Dubai Audio Centre says, "While acoustics are important, we tell our customers not to let their acoustics dominate their home entertainment experience. After all a good system will work regardless of where it is placed. Not everyone is able to alter the dynamics of their homes to suit the home entertainment system purchased.
"In normal circumstances, curtains in a room will absorb sound and this is actually beneficial since one would want to block out a certain amount of sound. While room treatment is important to maximise the audio-visual experience, this is not mandatory. As long as the room isn't totally bare, the acoustics are generally of a favourable quality."
He adds, "When it comes to high-end products, consumers must take care of their equipment to maximise its true potential. This can be done by setting up dedicated rooms such as a TV-viewing room where the furniture is tailor-made to make the most of the equipment. It is the experienced ear that can denote when the sound quality of his or her own system isn't quite perfect."
Dr. Karim Zaki, of Archimedia says, "In the context of a dedicated home theatre room, which usually has a more expensive system, the customer has to take care of not only the equipment but also the carpeting, acoustic panels, and place diffusers in certain positions. One doesn't want sound absorption in 100 per cent of the room but a certain amount of sound reflected in one's ears."
He adds, "In a normal living room, people are not going to disturb the surroundings and furniture to make way for equipment. In these cases, its important to interweave their system using a Sound Pressure Level metre."
Anwar says, "The great thing about flat panels is that there is no specific place to keep it. The user can mount a flat screen in any of the rooms or walls he or she prefers. We advise our customers and tell them to not let the component decide where it should be placed, the decision should be their own choice. If one is setting up a home cinema with surround sound one needs five speakers and a sub woofer.
This is when one should be careful about where the front three speakers are placed (they should always be placed in front and in line with the TV screen). The other two speakers must be placed opposite the front speakers, preferably closer to the seating to give an amplified effect. It is also important to place the sub woofer at a distance from the monitor. In the final analysis, it's more a case of placing the TV anywhere in the room but ensuring that the sound is placed properly."
Dr. Zaki recommends, "Whether it's a flat TV or a conventional TV, sitting too close to the screen is not the best thing for one's eyes. The flat panel screens are much bigger than the conventional 32-inch TVs so the image is magnified. Flat panels start at 42 inches and go up to 65 inches, so wherever you used to sit to view the TV before, you might want to sit even further."
He adds, "The medical implications of what a TV can do to your eyes becomes less once you are sitting about three to four metres away. Children sit too close to the television with their heads tipped up which isn't the best way to view TV. This especially happens when they are playing video games. To counter this a few wireless controllers or longer cable cords are a better idea as the children can be seated at a further distance from the screen."
Dr. Zaki offers advice for those seeking to optimise their home entertainment experience. "People should observe the convergence of technologies in today's market. The IT world is very quickly fusing with the home entertainment industry. Today you may still see CD and DVD players in the market but very soon that is also going to disappear and merge into a comprehensive system.
While people are listening to music off their I-Pods, in the next five years home owners could set up a hard disk server which will contain the family's entire video and audio collection that can be signalled to different members of the house at the same time. In simple terms, the father can listen to Mozart while his son listens to punk rock."
