The retina inside the eye ages along with the rest of the body, slowly resulting in vision degradation that can be substantial at the end of life. However, a new study has found a promising way at home to slow down or even reverse this decline, and it involves ordinary red light. According to the researchers, it only takes a few minutes of daily light exposure to experience positive effects.
Most studies involving vision and light revolve around blue light and its possible negative impact on retinal cells, leading to loss of vision over time. This new study, which comes from University College London and was recently published in Gerontology magazinesInstead, it focuses on red light and its possible therapeutic effects on aging vision.
Aging of the retinas impacts everyone, but is particularly problematic in older years. According to the researchers, retinal aging begins around the age of 40 in humans and, in fact, ages faster than other organs in the body due to the cells’ high energy needs and mitochondrial density. As the amount of energy available to these cells decreases, so does the functionality of the photoreceptor.
By the time someone reaches 65 or older, their eyesight may have decreased significantly as a result of this natural aging process … something that daily red light therapy can help decrease or correct. Based on previous existing studies involving various animal models such as mice, the new research tested the effects of this light on human eyes.
Twelve men and 12 women aged 28 to 72 who had no eye disease at the time of the study participated in the study. The researchers evaluated the participants’ eyes specifically to determine the sensitivity of the rods and cones. After the test, participants received an LED flashlight that had a 670nm ‘deep red’ light beam.
Participants were told to look at this light for three minutes per day for two weeks. Although the younger participants did not experience much change from this, the older volunteers (approximately 40 years and older) experienced ‘significant improvements’ as a result. Some participants experienced up to a 20 percent increase in their ability to detect colors, particularly blue shades that are more vulnerable to damage over time.
The light is described as “recharging” the energy that powers the cells of the retina, which increases vision as a result. This could be a home treatment option with effect for age-related vision impairment – the researchers say the light they used only costs around $ 15.
