Why Your Eyes Are Killing Your Productivity (And How to Fix It) | Dr. Pam Theriot

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Entrepreneur DNA Episode Title: Why Your Eyes Are Killing Your Productivity (And How to Fix It)
Guest: Dr. Pam Theriot
Host: Justin Colby
Date: April 10, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Justin Colby sits down with Dr. Pam Theriot — optometrist, author, and TEDx speaker — to discuss how digital eye strain and poor eye care are undermining the productivity, creativity, and well-being of entrepreneurs. The conversation covers practical solutions for everyday eye health, the impact of screen time on adults and children, and the often-overlooked connection between vision clarity and mental focus.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The #1 Cause of Eye Issues for Entrepreneurs

[02:57]

• Dr. Pam Theriot highlights that dry eyes are the leading problem for entrepreneurs, primarily due to prolonged screen time on phones and computers which significantly reduces normal blinking.
  • "Because we're on our phones and our computers all day long, we stop blinking as regularly as if you and I were sitting at a coffee table and enjoying a cup of coffee, we would be blinking three times more than we are while we're staring at our phone or, or our computer." [02:57]

The Power of Blinking and “Blink Breaks”

[03:22] – [04:34]

• Dr. Theriot recommends taking intentional "blink breaks" every 20 minutes:
  • Look across the room or out the window for 20 seconds, then blink firmly three times.
  • This routine can counteract the effects of staring at digital screens for prolonged periods.
• Justin Colby connects with this personally:
  • "I blink all day long. I'm doing it consciously right now because they're talking about blinking, but we don't really know when we're blinking." [03:22]

TEDx Insights: Preserving Vision in a Screen-Filled World

[04:44] – [05:52]

• Three Main Eye-Saving Habits While Using Phones:
  1. Distance: Hold your phone as far as comfortably possible.
  2. Brightness: Lower screen brightness while maintaining contrast.
  3. Scrolling: Minimize endless scrolling; focus on purposeful actions.

Phones vs. Laptops: What’s Worse for Your Eyes?

[05:52] – [06:33]

• Phones are more harmful than laptops because:
  • They are held closer.
  • Their small bright screens command more attention and strain.
• "The phone is worse, it's smaller, it captures our attention a bit more and we hold it closer than we would our laptop." [06:00]

Distance is key, no matter your current eye prescription.

Age-Related Eye Changes for Entrepreneurs

[06:48] – [07:53]

• Entrepreneurs aged 40–45 lose their ability to focus up close—a natural aging process.
  • Reading glasses, specialized contact lenses, and new presbyopia-correcting eye drops are possible solutions.
• "Between the ages of 40 and 45, we lose our ability to focus up close. It's just a natural part of the way that we age..." [07:09]

The Broader Impact: Eyesight and Well-Being

[08:23] – [08:57]

• Dr. Theriot warns that struggling with eyesight can cause a direct drop in productivity and creativity, while also heightening anxiety and even contributing to depression from persistent strain.
  • "As we're struggling to see clearly, it can really cut back on how well we are functioning. It can even cause some anxiety and depression." [08:23]

Proactive Eye Care: The “Toothbrush” Analogy

[09:47] – [11:45]

• Treat eye hygiene as seriously as dental hygiene:
  • Use artificial tears regularly to prevent dryness.
  • Apply lid and lash cleansers (hypochlorous spray) to reduce biofilm and bacteria.

"How much more embarrassing is it to walk around with bright red eyes?... Artificial tears... Hygiene... Lid and lash cleanser." [09:47 – 11:45]

Styes, Eye Infections, and Prevention

[12:29] – [13:56]

• Styes are typically bacterial infections in oil glands caused by buildup or contamination—often preventable with good eyelid hygiene and regular use of lid cleansers.
• Persistent or long-lasting styes sometimes require medical intervention.

Artificial Tears: The Right Kind Matters

[14:04] – [14:44]

• Premium artificial tears (e.g., Systane Hydration PF) can provide significant relief for dry, tired eyes, though they come at a higher price point.
  • "They're basically tears... It just makes your eyes almost go, oh, I needed that." [14:04 – 14:44]

Blue Light at Night: Scientific Proof

[18:55] – [20:12]

• All screens emit blue light, which suppresses melatonin, disrupts the circadian rhythm, and delays sleep onset.
• To improve sleep:
  • Use blue light blocking glasses or dark mode.
  • Cease screen exposure at least one hour before bed.
  • Watching TV from across the room is preferable to up-close devices.
  • "If we are stimulated by blue light towards the end of the day, after the sun has already set, you're giving your body mixed signals." [18:55]

Children's Eye Health in a Digital World

[20:47] – [25:38]

• Children's eyes are still developing until age 20; excessive close-up screen time causes the eye to grow longer (increases risk of nearsightedness).
• Before age 8, the visual system is “locked in” — early detection and correction are critical.
• Kids naturally hold screens or coloring pages close because their visual systems can handle it briefly, but habitual close viewing should be managed (e.g., with elbow-on-table trick).

"Giving more near work to children under the age of 20 will actually cause their eyes to grow longer." [21:12]
"The visual system between our eye and our brain gets locked in around age 8." [22:03]

• Get children an eye exam before school age, ideally before age 1 (free via InfantSEE program).

Best Practices for Daily Eye Health & Productivity

[28:19] – [30:12]

• Daily habits:
  1. Regular eye hygiene (lid/lash cleansers).
  2. Use artificial tears at your workspace.
  3. Take “blink breaks” every 20 minutes; get up every two hours.
  4. Set a digital curfew — switch from screens to print an hour before bed.
  5. Prioritize 7–9 hours of sleep to recharge brain and eyes.

"It's the prolonged time that we're spending on our devices... These helpful tips can really make a difference. These small habits that we can put into place will really help our eyesight and our brain power going forward." [28:19]

Annual Eye Exams & Latest Innovations

[30:35] – [31:03]

• See your eye doctor annually — technology and treatments are advancing rapidly, with new solutions every few years.
  • "If you have not been to the eye doctor in the last 12 months, make an appointment, see your eye doctor." [30:35]

Lasik and Vision Correction Procedures

[31:03] – [31:53]

• Lasik is safe, has improved significantly, and can be life-changing for many, though it's a personal decision based on eye health and prescription. Innovations continue in non-glasses corrective vision as well.
  • "I have had Lasik myself. I work for a Lasik surgeon... There's still tons of innovation in Lasik and vision correction." [31:20]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "We're all going to continue to use our phones and our computers all day long. It's just the world we're living in. But if we can take some short breaks and remember to blink, we'll do a ton better." — Dr. Pam Theriot [04:13]
• "Your brain will work better if you take a break, right? That whole brain fog, at some point it's just too much. We need to, we need to shut it down, take a break." — Dr. Pam Theriot [29:17]
• "I can't even touch the screen where you are and I could even sit further away and still see you perfectly... Much less effort on our visual system." — Dr. Pam Theriot [06:00]
• "Kids have such amazing visual systems. They can focus up close so well, it's easy for them." — Dr. Pam Theriot [25:43]

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Key Timestamps

| Time | Topic/Segment | |----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:57 | Main cause of eye troubles for entrepreneurs: dry eyes | | 03:39 | How to implement "blink breaks" and why they matter | | 05:00 | Phone usage tips: distance, brightness, scrolling | | 05:52 | Phones vs. laptops for eye strain | | 07:09 | Eye changes around age 40–45; need for reading glasses | | 08:23 | Productivity, anxiety, and vision problems | | 09:47 | Eye hygiene compared to dental hygiene; essential daily habits | | 12:29 | Cause and prevention of styes | | 14:04 | Benefits of premium artificial tears | | 18:55 | Blue light’s effect on sleep and best nighttime practices | | 20:47 | Effects of screens on children's eye development | | 22:03 | Visual system "locks in" by age 8; importance of early eye exams | | 28:19 | Proactive strategies for entrepreneurs' eye health | | 30:35 | Annual eye exams and new advances | | 31:20 | Lasik: when to consider it and new innovations |

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Proactive Eye Health Checklist

• For entrepreneurs and adults:

  • Schedule annual eye exams.
  • Take 20–20–20 breaks: Every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
  • Use lubricating/artificial tears.
  • Practice daily eyelid hygiene (lid/lash cleanser or hypochlorous spray).
  • Adjust device settings: lower brightness, increase contrast, maximize distance to screen.
  • Minimize unnecessary scrolling and practice purposeful tasks.
  • Avoid all screens at least one hour before sleep; try blue light blockers or dark mode.
  • Ensure adequate hydration and sleep.

• For children:

  • Schedule early and regular eye exams (start before age 1).
  • Limit up-close device time; encourage distance from screens.
  • Teach "elbow-on-table" trick for activities like coloring.

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Resources & Where to Find Dr. Theriot

• Instagram: @PamTheriot
• Website/Downloadable Eye Health Guide: pamtheriot.com/phone

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Final Thought:
Dr. Theriot emphasizes that eye health is foundational to productivity, creativity, and overall well-being — especially in the digital age. Small, sustainable habits, regular check-ups, and embracing new eye-care technology can make a significant difference for both entrepreneurs and their families.

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Transcript

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[Justin Colby]

What's up Entrepreneur DNA? This one's going to make a lot of sense to you if you feel a little foggy headed during work hours. If you've lost your creative touch, well, my next guest is not only a TEDx speaker, not only an author, she is a doctor, an optometrist that helps us entrepreneurs overcome a lot of our brain fog. Overcome a lot of our creative issues because she helps us get clarity pun on words. Dr. Pam Terrio is here. How are you?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Great. Thanks for having me, Justin.

[Justin Colby]

Excited about this. I myself wear glasses. So I would love to talk to you about what happens in our lives as entrepreneurs as we focus on these laptops or computers or phones and all the other things that can damage our eyes. I want to kind of just jump in. What's the number one cause or leading cause of eyesight going bad for the entrepreneur?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Specifically, it's dry eyes. I know that sounds a little bit crazy, but because we're on our phones and our computers all day long, we stop blinking as regularly as if you and I were sitting at a coffee table and enjoying a cup of coffee, we would be blinking three times more than we are while we're staring at our phone or, or our computer.

[Justin Colby]

So the simple act of blinking really can overcome a lot of this. Right. But it's not a very conscious effort. Right. So I blink all day long. I'm doing it consciously right now because they're talking about blinking, but we don't really know when we're blinking. What can we do about that?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

So a couple of things would be to build blink breaks into your schedule. So if you're sitting down doing your work, whether it's on your phone or your laptop, you want to take breaks about every 20 minutes. And it doesn't have to be a long break. It can be 20 seconds. Refocus your eyes across the room looking at out the window. Look at a clock across the room for about 20 seconds. When that's done, blink really firm, about three times. That'll take an extra five seconds and then get back into work. What damages our eyes are the prolonged periods of time that we're using our digital devices. Two hours without getting up. That's what's really giving us the harm. We're all going to continue to use our phones and our computers all day long. It's just the world we're living in. But if we can take some short breaks and remember to blink, we'll do a ton better.

[Justin Colby]

So blink breaks are going to be important every 20 minutes. You said you gave a TEDX talk. Congratulations. That's pretty phenomenal.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Thank you. What was your TEDX talk about exactly this. How to preserve your vision while living in a screen filled world.

[Justin Colby]

Okay, so besides the blink breaks, let's go through what you were able to do on TEDx and what got you there. And let's talk to the audience about how they can preserve their eyes.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Absolutely. So a couple of things that you can do on your phone while, while you're holding it in your hand is think about how close are you holding it. So, so the further you hold it from your eyes, the better off you're going to be. The less stress it's going to be on your visual system. The other thing is the brightness of the image. So we can turn down the brightness so that you still have that nice contrast and you're able to read. But the, the phone isn't so bright. And the third thing that really impacts how much we're blinking on our phones is scrolling. We're, we're looking, we're concentrating because we're trying to catch that thing that's going to catch our, our attention. The scrolling is keeping us from blinking. So less scrolling, more purposeful action as well on the phone.

[Justin Colby]

Okay, so what about phone versus laptop? Does is there any indicators say one's worse than another?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Absolutely. The phone is worse, it's smaller, it's captures our attention a bit more and we hold it closer than we would our laptop. Like right now, my laptop, I can't even touch the screen where you are and I could even sit further away and still see you perfectly. So I could sit much further. It's me. Much less effort on our visual system.

[Justin Colby]

So as a whole range is regardless of you being nearsighted or short sighted, range really is going to be, you know, where you're holding the laptop, where you're holding your phone. The further away the better no matter how you cut it, regardless of where your eyes are at.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Right. I would recommend that you get your, if you wear glasses, get them set for your working distance. So if you have a workstation set up at home and you know you have you 1, 2, 3 monitors measure how far out they are where you need to be able to focus your eyes.

[Justin Colby]

Before you and I just talked about my eyesight and just how I have astigmatism, my left and then nothing really in my right. But all of a sudden my right eye is being like strained and painful. Talk to us a little bit about that. I'm 44 years old. Talk to us about like what, what am I going through that maybe some listeners are probably going through that they don't even recognize. They just think their eyes are tired or whatever the case may be.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Exactly. So what happens specifically in Justin's case is that between the ages of 40 and 45, we lose our ability to focus up close. It's just a natural part of the way that we age and at that specific range of time is when our eyes can no longer focus, focus up close as well as we did before we were 40. So reading glasses are the quintessential easy fix for this. Seeing your eye doctor, you could talk about reading glasses, contact lenses, or even now there are some presbyopia correcting eye drops that you can put in your eyes, refocus, use you so that you can see up close and lasts about 10 hours a day.

[Justin Colby]

What is your now US entrepreneurs typically are in front of these devices all the time. It's probably most of society. What can we do? Like, what are you seeing when working with business people? When you see a lot of people that are coming in, they're in front of the laptop all days. Like, what else besides just their eyesight going bad? Like, what is it causing in the human condition? Because your eyesights are strained, because you're always trying to focus, because what are you seeing the result of that?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

I think there's a lack of productivity and creativity. As we're struggling to see clearly, it can really cut back on how well we are functioning. It can even cause some anxiety and depression. And so as you tend to struggle with something, whether it be your eyesight or a pain in your shoulders or your back or your neck, because of the position that you're in constantly, it can give you that chronic problem throughout the day, can really start to build anxiety and that can lead to depression as well.

[Justin Colby]

Yeah. Is there a best use case for, you know, trying to navigate your day to day? Now you're talking about 20 minute breaks. What is the best use case? Like in an ideal world, do you think everyone should get some level of prescription? Should they be wearing glasses? Like, should they be doing anything day to day to try to solve for this? Because I, I can tell you my experience, my experience is my eyesight is getting worse and worse. It's getting strained and strained. I will leave my office and like, my eyes feel like toast, like bloodshot. My wife sometimes are like, oh my God, honey, your eyes. And you know, and those are the days that I'm most focused on the laptop. What can we do to prevent what, where are we preventing? How do we prevent this type of stuff?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Absolutely. So I'm going to flip, flip the coin on you a little bit right here and talk to you about your teeth. So, okay, since you were 2 years old, your mom stood you on a stool in front of the mirror and you knew that you had to brush your teeth at the end of the day. This happened in the 1940s. We finally got toothbrushes and toothpaste. We could walk, we could buy at the store. Before that, people's teeth just fell out of their mouth. Probably around between the ages of 35 and 45, they just lost their teeth and there was nothing they would do. They just get false teeth. Right. Back in the 1800s, George Washington, he had these false teeth. So before. Before this, we didn't know what to do. There was nothing to prevent it. People's teeth fell out. Now we know that we must brush our teeth twice a day. We have toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, mouthwash, and we do it right. We don't leave the house without brushing our teeth. We're afraid of our breath being bad. But how much more embarrassing is it to walk around with bright red eyes? Right? Like, that's embarrassing, too. So are there steps that we could take every day to prevent your eyes from getting red tomorrow? So, absolutely. There's four things we could use. Artificial tears, which you and I just talked about. Having a bottle of artificial tears by your desk that could rehydrate your eyes. Number two is hygiene. So you've never thought about brushing your eyes. But the biofilm that we get on our teeth that, you know, we have to have scraped off at the dentist twice a year, and we brush off on the daily. That biofilm is also on our lids. And for women. Now, if you. If I were talking to your wife right now, she'd be like, oh, well, of course I clean my eyes every day because we wear makeup and we remove our makeup at the end of the day. And then we wash our faces with a different face wash. And then I would even recommend washing your lids. Lid and lash cleanser. That's going to get rid of that biofilm that's on our lids.

[Justin Colby]

I think I have it because I went in, I was so concerned of my eyes from our first conversation. I went in again and I got a prescription in my right eye now that I have to go get. So that's another thing. But they gave me this spray, and I can even go show this spray to you guys. Like, it's a spray, and you just rub your. You wash your hands, you spray it on your eyelids. You rub your eyelids and it comes. You're the. I don't know, the grease comes off.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

No. So the spray. It's a hypochlorous spray and it is antiseptic. So you can just spray that spray on your lids. You could leave it there. You could rub it in, and it's going to keep that Bacteria that normally live on our lids and lashes. It's going to keep the bacteria at bay so that we're not having the redness, the irritation, the stinging and burning. Absolutely.

[Justin Colby]

You know, I went through, I mean, it must have been like all of Q4. I had a sty. And you can't really, maybe you would be able to notice it a little bit, but like, it's essentially gone. But it lasted 90, at least 90 days, probably more. Right. I mean, it got to a point where my wife is like, you need to do something more. I'm like, I've gone to optometrist twice. What. What are styes caused by? How do we prevent them? It was so annoying, right? Because I'm public facing, I am in front of people all the time and I can't. You can't get rid of it. Like, there's no. Well, I don't think you can go pop it. I didn't try, but like, it's not like a zit. Like, you pop it, it's gone in a couple days. Like it was there for a very long time.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Right. So it's like a cavity. So if you had been doing the spray and keeping your eyelids clean 30 days before you got this diet, you, you probably wouldn't have gotten this dye. But because we have that bacteria that live on our lids and lashes. If something got into your eye, dirt, dust, pollen, who knows? You know, just something flew in on them, one of those oil glands, and then the bacteria got trapped in there and it caused an infection in an oil gland. And so then it gets big and red and yeah, if you put enough warm compresses on it, probably some white pussy stuff came out of it. But yeah, it takes a long time for it to completely resolve. Some antibiotic ointment can help. Sometimes swallowing an antibiotic pill can help, but it can take a long time

[Justin Colby]

to get rid of 3 oil. Is that right?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Oh, great. Yeah. To. To help your oil glands be healthier. Absolutely.

[Justin Colby]

You know what I'm talking about because I'm giving you the things. Right? And for everybody. I was actually. Dr. Terrio is telling me, like, I use for all those areas, see the sustain clear drops and they're basically tears. She gives it a thumbs up. Not making any money off this. Maybe I should. But you know, the stain S Y S T A N e hydration. PF they are, I would tell you guys, you can find it in CVS. They're not cheap. This is not your $6 eyedrop bottle. This is a $25 eyedrop bottle. But I promise, just like doctor tells everyone right now, like, it helps. It just makes your eyes almost go, oh, I needed that. Right?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Some relief. Exactly.

[Justin Colby]

Yeah.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Yeah.

[Justin Colby]

So is. Is, you know, again, in the public eye, pun not intended. But it happened. You know, I went to a conference. Someone came up to me in the health space, not an optometrist or in the eye industry, and they're like, oh, are you stressed out? I was like, I don't know. Yeah, I got some stuff going on or whatever. And he's like, yeah, I could tell by your sty. Was there any relevance to that, or is it literally gre, like, bacteria got in my gland?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Well, one thing that you could have been doing is you could have been rubbing your eyes, and you. You didn't have clean hands, and. And maybe that's what they were referring to is that, boy, you're probably. Your ear. Your eyes are irritated, and you're touching them more because the sty is. Is kind of a sign that, yeah, there's a bacterial infection on your eyeball, so somehow you got that bacteria in there.

[Justin Colby]

Now, I've also gone through abrasions on my eyeball, which I hope no one ever deals with, because it is beyond painful for a very long time. I mean, the only reason I say that is I. There's no real way to stop that. But, you know, when you start spraying stuff in your eye and rubbing your eyes, in a general sense, you get a little cautious of. Of that.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Yeah. Of. Of harming your eyes. Is that what you mean? You don't want to.

[Justin Colby]

Yeah. Like, again, knowing best practices and what to use and things of that nature. Like, because painfully, I had this abrasion. You don't want to hurt your eyes, right?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Yeah. The eyes have more nerve endings than anywhere on your body. It is really painful to get a grain of sand, a speck of dust in your eyes really is painful.

[Justin Colby]

Now let's talk about the entrepreneur who's just frustrated right now because of their eyes. Like, the creative loss. Talk about the brain fog. The creative loss in their space dealing with issues that maybe seem easy, but they can't figure it out. Is there a connectivity to those issues in our eyes?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Absolutely. Half of what we're experiencing is coming through our vision all day long. So when we have a blurred image, when our eyes aren't functioning at their peak, it can really slow down our brain functioning. So that if we're tiring our eyes, then at the end of the day, we're having more brain fog. As well, yeah.

[Justin Colby]

And so how do we do that? Do we go to. So there's two different doctors, right? Optometrist and ophthalmologist.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Correct.

[Justin Colby]

Why would you go to which one?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Absolutely. So optometrists are technically vision doctors who prescribe glasses and contact lenses. We can also prescribe most medications. And ophthalmologists are surgeons. So they're medical doctors who prescribe medications and do eye surgeries. So if you were like, Forget these glasses, Dr. Therio, I'm getting Lasik. Right. Then you would see an ophthalmologist. If you, if you had needed a glaucoma surgery or a cataract surgery, you would see an ophthalmologist. But probably for most of your listeners, entrepreneurs who are under the age of 60, you would go to see an optometrist and we could work out what's, you know, holding you back as far as. Do you need prescription medication to help your eyes make more tears because you're not blinking as much and you're straining your visual system? Or do you need a specific pair of glasses with some blue light blocking to decrease your eye strain, help you sleep better at night and focus you on your work?

[Justin Colby]

Now let's talk about nighttime. Us entrepreneurs, we don't get a lot of time. At least I can speak for myself. I don't get a lot of time to scroll, so I'm not overly worried about me like scrolling. But at night, I do try to relax and watch some TV with my wife. And I've read countless things about, like, stay away from screens within about the last hour of you going to sleep. Any, any truth to that? Is it a little. It doesn't really matter.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

A hundred percent, scientifically proven. 100. So any of our screens, television, computer, cell phone, tablet, are emitting blue light? Blue light is wonderful. It comes from the sun. It tells us to wake up. As we get blue light into our eyes, we go, yay, let's be awake. Let's. The serotonin of our circadian rhythm is released into our system. And then if we, if we were outdoors at the end of the day, the sun sets and melatonin is released and we start to calm down and we start to relax and then we go to sleep and we stay asleep. But if we are stimulated by blue light towards the end of the day, after the sun has already set, you're giving your body mixed signals. It's like, oh, I look out the window and I think I need to go to sleep. What you're putting in Front of my face makes me think that I need to be awake again. So doing something blue light blocking glasses or this dark mode on your, on your phone or on your laptop will decrease the blue light that's coming out and that'll help you to release that melatonin that you need to go to sleep and stay asleep.

[Justin Colby]

Is there a time frame? Is it within an hour or so?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Exactly.

[Justin Colby]

About an hour.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

About an hour, yeah. To really stop any blue light emitting screens or so even

[Justin Colby]

my, my bedroom's rather large, right? The TVs, it's a large TV, but it's not that close to me. Does that like lessen it or. No, because it's a TV and it emits the blue light.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Still emitting some blue light, but you're not right up close to it like you would if you were watching a movie on your phone in bed.

[Justin Colby]

That's right.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

So at least you, you've got that going for you. You could wear your blue glass, blue light glasses while you're watching the television though.

[Justin Colby]

What up? Oh, never thought about that. Yeah. What about children? Screens? I, I'm guessing your answer, but how do screens affect children, their eyesight? Does it damage it? You know, I have very young children. I have a two year old, I have a five year old. We don't really let them on the screens too much. I mean, they have some level of access. But talk to us about children and the damage it does to their eyes.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

So the big difference between you and your kids as far as screen time and eyesight goes, is that your vision isn't changing and developing anymore. Yeah, well, yes, right. Yours isn't developing. So their eyes and their brains are constantly developing, their eyeballs are still growing. And there is a specific length of eyeball that we all want. If we, if we spend too much time looking up close, our eye actually, actually grows longer than the average eye and you become nearsighted. So giving more near work to children under the age of 20 will actually cause their eyes to grow longer. I know it's once a year, like

[Justin Colby]

those aren't kids no more, but children under 20.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

I'm like, yeah, 20 is like an adult. But our eyes still change until about 2022. They're still changing, they're still growing. The visual system between our eye and our brain gets locked in around age 8. So the way that we see, if, if you have a lazy eye, if one eye doesn't see as well as the other eye before you're the age of 8, then the lazy eye May never see as well as the good eye for the rest of your life. So really important to get your, especially your five year old in for an eye exam. Even if you think little Justin sees fine, you, you want to get them in for a, for an eye exam.

[Justin Colby]

By school age, is there anything to do to strengthen children's eyesight or make them, I don't know, better eyesight or strengthen it or correct some, you know, not great vision?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Yeah, absolutely. So before that age of eight, where, where the visual system kind of locks into place, there's eye exercises that become, can be done by a vision vision specialist. You know, sometimes wearing a pair of glasses can help correct at, at those younger ages. And there's, there's a process that we go through from birth to age 8 called immetropization, which really doesn't matter. But the way that the eye is growing and you're going towards what, what you have been all your life, a zero power. You didn't need glasses. Right. That is the goal of the visual system is to get to a point where we don't need glasses to see across the room to see the board where the teacher is teaching. Um, and so if we can help the eyes in that timeframe with lenses, then all goes well.

[Justin Colby]

So that is actually out now. Is this something relatively new where we can use for kids to keep their eyes really strong or help them grow strong? I guess. Is there like a proactive approach that we can take besides just not telling them to look at a screen?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Right. So having them not have a lot of time with their devices up close and kids are the worst, man. You hand them a device and they're like in it.

[Justin Colby]

Why? I literally swear to my son like 2 inches. We have an 80 inch screen TV in our living room. He's on it is right here. I'm like, brother, like, what? Why? I don't understand, why did they do that?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

All of them do it. It's, it's, it's very exciting. It just, it draws them in and, and parents always bring their kids into the eye doctor. Like, Johnny can't see. He's standing 2 inches from the television. I'm like, it's not because he can't see, but they'll tell me, oh, but I sit him back on the couch and he gets up again. It's, it's more the, the stimulus of it than the vision part of it.

[Justin Colby]

Well, you just helped me out, by the way, because I was like, literally. I think we got to bring him in. I think his eyes Are bad. Now coloring. I'll give you another coloring. He loves the color, man. He gets this close to the paper. Yeah. Like, I'm just like, brother, you need to be able to see what you're coloring.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Push it away. Yeah. So for that, I give the kids a. You put your elbow on the table and then you put your chin in your elbow in your hand, the palm of your hand. And you can't get any closer than that. So they got to sit there and they can color, but it'll block them from getting closer to. Because their elbow is on the table.

[Justin Colby]

So that is also somewhat natural. I mean, you're literally answering my own question right now. Because I was like, honey, I think Jace is his name. We gotta go bring him in. Because he literally is this far away from the paper when he's calling.

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Yeah.

[Justin Colby]

And it's like right there. And I'm like, I can't even see anything.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Right. But kids have such amazing visual systems. They can focus up close so well, it's easy for them. Right. And so getting up close is. It's not straining, you know, to them in the moment, over time. But yeah. So you want to block, you know, have them.

[Justin Colby]

It is natural for that to occur.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Yeah.

[Justin Colby]

Parents don't need to rush to the doctor to say, my child's blind. Oh my God, no.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

But, you know, an eye exam in the school age kids is so important. Absolutely.

[Justin Colby]

Do they. What age can a parent take a child for? Normal eye exam.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Is it Right. So there's a. A nationwide program called Infant C, Infant SS where you can get an eye exam for your child from an infancy doctor for no charge before the age of one. So it's really a screening for some very deadly but uncommon eye eye diseases that can happen before the age of one. And also for, you know, kids who may be at risk for developing lazy eye and, and getting them to an eye doctor before the age of one and getting them into the system to help strengthen the lazy eye and, you know, find this, this deadly cancer that is very, very rare. But it can happen.

[Justin Colby]

I think most cancer is rare. It's just, you know, some don't get talked about very often. But it's good to have an awareness. And this would be another reason. And by the way, I want everyone to get a hold of you if they possibly can. Where would they want to get a hold of you?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Right. So two best places would be in my Instagram is Pam Terrio. My last name is spelled the Riot easy way to remember. And my website, pamterio.com and I did make a downloadable for your audience. So pamterio.com forward/phone. Since we're talking about ways to keep your eyes healthy on the phone.

[Justin Colby]

There you go. So, Pam Terrio, T-H-E-R-I-O-T.com forward/phone and then go communicate with her. She's phenomenal. I just want everyone to get more knowledge. I'm trying to ask for the people, if you will, but, you know, we want to make sure people are doing. Now, any words of advice to be proactive moving forward for whether you're an entrepreneur, whether you're a business owner, whether you're a parent trying to help your kids. What are some general proactive approaches to keep your eye strong to, you know, get better? I mean, I don't know if you're going to answer, like get some corrective surgery sometimes. Maybe that's an answer. What are some proactive ways that, that people can go about keeping their eyes strong?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Well, you know, our phones don't damage our eyes overnight. These little habits that I'm about to share with you can really help prevent the damage that we're doing on a regular basis. So hygiene we talked about earlier, using the lid and lash scrub, the hypochlorous spray on a daily basis, lubricating our eyes, keeping a bottle of those great artificial tears while we're, you know, sitting at our workstation doing our, doing our creative stuff, taking some blink breaks every 20 minutes, take a blink break every two hours. Get up, get up on the computer, look far away, look out the window, hydrate, get some water, walk, do a lap, then come back down. It's the prolonged time that we're spending on our devices. Number three would be. Or would that be four? Let's, let's set a bedtime when we can put our devices down. I know all of us entrepreneurs, we feel like we've got to work all day long to get it all done. But your brain will work better if you take a break, right? That whole brain fog, at some point it's just too much. We need to, we need to shut it down, take a break if it's nighttime, if the, if the sun has set, pick up a book, you know, read, read a novel on pages instead of on your Kindle and, you know, having that blue light admit to you. So. But the most important part about all of that is that you need your rest. Seven to nine hours is what we adults need so that our brain and our bodies can function again the next day. These helpful tips can really make a difference. These small habits that we can put into place will really help our eyesight and our brain power going forward.

[Justin Colby]

I love it. And so everyone. Pam terrio on Instagram, pamtario.com forward/phone. These are very practical tips you've given. Anything else that we. I haven't asked about, or anything that you'd want to bring to light that maybe is what's the biggest misconception or misunderstood part about our eyes? Is there anything out there that we haven't discussed?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

I would say if you have not been to the eye doctor in the last 12 months, make an appointment, see your eye doctor. There are so many new things that have come in the last three years. You'll be amazed if you haven't been to the eye doctor lately. How technology has changed. The innovations that we've had in your vision care have really are phenomenal. So make your appointment, see your eye doctor once a year.

[Justin Colby]

What do you think about lasik? Do you think it's gotten good enough? I mean, you know, that's not your department per se, but when someone's frustrated with contacts and frustrated with glasses, and they're just frustrated as an adult, worth it, not worth it. Too many downsides. All upside. What. What is your professional?

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

So it's really very, very personal, depending on your prescription and your eye health, but in general, it can absolutely correct your vision. I have had Lasik myself. I work for a Lasik surgeon. Every single day, we do workups in my clinic for LASIK surgery. So it's still happening. There's still tons of innovation in Lasik and vision correction. There's new ways to correct vision without contacts and glasses. And if that's something you've been thinking of, talk to your eye doctor about it.

[Justin Colby]

Yeah. Well, this is Pam Terrio. This has been the entrepreneur DNA. I am Justin Colby. If you think a couple people need to know a little bit more about their eyesight, make sure they reach out to Pam. Make sure you share this episode again. Pam Terrio. Pam Terrio on [e-mail] forward slash phone. Pam, I greatly appreciate you.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

Thank you so much. Cole. Justin, I was so glad to be here.

[Justin Colby]

All right, talk soon. See you guys. Ugh.

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I barely got any sleep last night.

[Dr. Pam Terrio]

What? Why?

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[Dr. Pam Terrio]

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[Justin Colby]

If you like the show, please take

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a moment to rate, review and subscribe.

[Justin Colby]

It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening.