iPads and Brain research

iPads and Brain research:

Larry Kahn, one of our connected coaches, suggested we see what kind of brain research has been conducted regarding iPads: What are the effects of reading on a backlit screen for long periods of time?  Can using iPads affect sleep patterns?  contribute to eye strain?  headaches?   Our team thought this was a wonderful suggestion, and I decided to find out more. 

From what I could tell from posts on the Apple website, some people experience headaches, dizziness and nausea when using iPads.  This is due to the LED display.  Apparently, some people cannot tolerate reading on LED screens.  However, it appears that most people do NOT have any problems reading on a backlit LED screen.  In fact, these problems appear to be rare.

The big question seems to be is reading on iPads (or any e-readers for that matter) bad for the eyes.  Does it cause eye strain?  I find several articles that address this question.  I am copying and pasting them below.  The first is taken from a New York Times blog by Nick Bilton.  In it, he states that doctors agree that e-readers are safe.  The second is by Tony Bradley.  He addresses ways to prevent iPad eye strain.  If our school decides to adopt iPads, I suggest that we share Bradley's article with parents.  Finally, I found no research to indicate that iPads cause sleep problems.  However, if anyone reading this knows of evidence that it does, please let me know. 


Do E-Readers Cause Eye Strain?

By NICK BILTON| February 12, 2010, 6:30 am 44

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/do-e-readers-cause-eye-strain/

The admonition offered by legions of mothers — “Don’t sit so close to the TV” — isn’t really an option when it comes to e-reading devices. You have to get close to the screen to use it.

The act of reading is going through a number of radical transitions, but perhaps none is more fundamental than the shift from reading on paper to reading on screens. As consumers decide whether to make this jump and which technology to use, one key question is how reading on a screen affects the eyes.

First of all: doctors say that reading on a screen won’t cause any harm.

“Most of what our mothers told us about our eyes was wrong,” said Dr. Travis Meredith, chair of the ophthalmology department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “Sitting close to a television, or computer screen, isn’t bad for our eyes. It’s a variety of other factors that can cause physical fatigue.”

For example, the ergonomics of reading screens and the lack of blinking when we stare at them play a big role in eye fatigue. “The current problem with reading on screens is that we need to adjust our bodies to our computer screens, rather than the screens adjusting to us,” Dr. Meredith said.

Still, as regular readers of Bits comments know, there is a lively debate among fans of e-readers and paper books about which type of reading experience is most friendly to the eyes.

It turns out the answer isn’t as black-and-white as we might assume.

Doctors and researchers note that in most instances, paper can offer more visual sophistication than a screen. But certain types of paper, including inexpensive newsprint and the paper in softcover books, can actually provide an inferior reading experience for our eyes than the electronic alternatives.

With e-readers, there are currently numerous display technologies available, from the black-and-white E Ink technology found in Amazon.com’s Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook, to the coming full-color IPS LCD display that will come built into Apple‘s iPad. And then there’s old-fashioned paper. Does one offer a better reading experience than the others?

Michael Bove, director of the Consumer Electronics Laboratory at the M.I.T. Media Lab, says different screens make sense for different purposes.

“It depends on the viewing circumstances, including the software and typography on the screen,” said Mr. Bove. “Right now E Ink is great in sunlight, but in certain situations, a piece of paper can be a better display than E Ink, and in dim light, an LCD display can be better than all of these technologies.”

E Ink has a very low contrast ratio. Although it can offer an excellent reading experience in bright sunlight, the screens can become uncomfortable to use in dark settings because of the lack of contrast and backlighting on the screen.

LCD screens, meanwhile, have long struggled to offer good viewing angles for reading. Apple’s latest IPS LCD screens include extremely wide viewing angles, but the reflective glass on the screen could be a hindrance in brightly lit situations.

Professor Alan Hedge, director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory at Cornell University, said that reducing eye fatigue is less a matter of choosing a specific display than of taking short breaks from looking at the screen.

When we read, Dr. Hedge explained, a series of ocular muscles jump around and can cause strain, regardless of whether we are looking at pixels or paper. “While you’re reading, your eyes make about 10,000 movements an hour. It’s important to take a step back every 20 minutes and let your eyes rest,” he said.

Today’s screens are definitely less tiring to look at than older displays, which refreshed the image much less frequently, causing a flicker. Carl Taussig, director of Hewlett-Packard‘s Information Surfaces Lab, said the 120 Hz refresh rate typical of modern screens is much quicker than our eyes can even see.

“The new LCDs don’t affect your eyes,” Mr. Taussig said. “Today’s screens update every eight milliseconds, whereas the human eye is moving at a speed between 10 and 30 milliseconds.”

Mr. Taussig said consumers will pick the type of screen that makes sense on an individual basis. “I don’t think there is a single technology that will be optimum for all the things we want to do with our devices. For example, H.P. sells 65 million displays a year, and they are all used in a different way.”

Five Tips to Prevent iPad Eye Strain

By Tony Bradley, PCWorld

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/190354/five_tips_to_prevent_ipad_eye_strain.html

The iPad is coming soon. The rumor that pre-orders would begin this past Thursday failed to materialize, and there are still a number of question marks--most notably "when will the FCC approve the iPad for sale in the United States?" But, one way or another, the iPad will arrive sooner or later.

 If you believe Apple's hype about the "magic" of the device, soon millions of Americans will rely on the Apple iPad for all manner of media consumption--movies, books, TV shows, newspapers, etc. That means millions of Americans will spend even more time with their faces basked in the pale glow of a backlit screen, possibly doing damage to their vision.

According to Dr. Jeffrey Anshel, a noted optometrist and author of the upcoming book Smart Medicine for Your Eyes , is concerned that in today's world we spend more and more time staring at electronic screens. The problem is not unique to the iPad, but includes other devices like the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Kindle , or the armies of Xbox gamers spending hours (days?) in front of a screen playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that young Americans are spending almost every waking hour absorbed in some form of entertainment media: mobile phones, MP3 players, handheld gaming units, and soon the iPad as well.

The problem is not unique to America's youth, though. Business professionals may not be as invested in XBox games or MP3's (OK-maybe some are), but they do spend an increasingly greater amount of time staring into a desktop monitor, notebooks, netbooks, and smartphones.

All of that time engrossed in backlit liquid crystal displays of some type or another can put a tremendous strain on your vision, and have lasting consequences for your long-term eye health. Thankfully, you don't have to live a Luddite existence and simply abandon technology.

Here are five tips from Dr. Anshel to help you maintain your vision health and avoid "digital eye":

1. 3 B's: Blink, Breathe, and Break. When looking at a computer or handheld digital device you blink two to three times less than you normally would. This can often lead to "dry eye". That may seem like something inconsequential, but in reality--for power digital users--can lead to permanent vision damage.

2. The 20/20/20 Rule. While working on the computer, reading your iPad, Kindle, etc., every 20 minutes look 20 feet away for 20 seconds to allow your eyes to refocus.

3. Consult your Doctor. Let your eye doctor know if you are a "power user" of handheld devices. Your eye doctor may provide you with a separate lens prescription for digital devices, to lower eye strain and avoid permanent damage. One pair of glasses or one prescription may not fit all.

4. Get an annual eye exam. The only way to gauge the impact of using an iPad, iPod or other handheld device is to get a year-over-year look at your eye health.

5. Monitor Lighting. Make sure you are in a well lit room, or outside. Eye strain is often a function of lighting. Glare, and low light can really hurt your eyes, and when you are looking at a digital device the back-lighting of the device combined with the room's lighting could be very detrimental.

So, fear not. Pitch your tent outside of the Apple store and camp so you can be first in line for the iPad. Live it. Breathe it. Just make sure you look up every once in a while and follow these tips to make sure you don't hurt your eyes in the process.

Tony Bradley is co-author of Unified Communications for Dummies . He tweets as @Tony_BradleyPCW , and can be contacted at his Facebook page .

The biggest change in Apple’s new iPad is undoubtedly that Retina display. Cramming all those extra pixels into the same size screen is certainly a feat of engineering, but Apple didn’t do it just because it can.

As anyone with a new iPad in front of them, or an iPhone 4/4S for that matter, will have to admit, having a Retina display makes the screen almost look like a magazine. It’s impossible sharp, mesmerisingly clear.

According to one Optometrist and the editor of All About Vision, those extra pixels also help to reduce eye strain, too…

“A key factor in something that’s called computer vision syndrome, or just eye strain from computer use, is screen resolution. The new iPad, with twice the resolution of the iPad 2, 264 ppi (pixels per inch) instead of 132, people are going to notice less pixelation, especially in a small typeface. It’s not just an enjoyment issue or an aesthetic issue, but it’s definitely a visual comfort issue, over time.”

Until now, iPads have been pushed down the e-reading pecking order by the Kindle, Amazon’s own e-reader. The ace up the Kindle’s sleeve is its e-ink display which, because it is not backlit, causes minimal eye fatigue. The new iPad may now be set to give the Kindle a run for its money.

We’d love to know how people are using their new iPads. Are you reading books on yours, or are you still going to use a Kindle or other e-reader as your main paper book replacing tech?

[Mashable]