News Study says Staring at Deep Red Light May Help Improve Eyesight

A new study has found that looking at a deep red light for more than three minutes a day can improve eyesight. The study was published in the Journal of Gerontology, the first scientific journal on ageing published in the United States. The Journal is published by the Oxford University on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA).

The new studies could prove to be a breakthrough for home remedies that are gaining popularity across the world. The study included 24 participants with 12 males and 12 females between the age group of 28-72. The research paper titled “Optically improved mitochondrial function redeems aged human visual decline” was published on 29th June 2020.and was co-authored by Harpreet Shinhmar, MSc, Manjot Grewal, BSc, Sobha Sivaprasad, MBBS, Ph.D., Chris Hogg, Victor Chong, MBBS, Ph.D., Magella Neveu, Ph.D., Glen Jeffery, D.Phil. Dr. Glen Jeffrey, the lead author from University College, London, UK said” Our study shows that it is possible to significantly improve vision that has declined in aged individuals, by using simple brief exposures to light wavelengths that recharge the lowered energy system in the retina cells."

The paper talked about how the age spectrum of the human population growing old was suffering from physical decline. The paper argued that the problem was that mitochondria play a big part in as they produce provide energy in the form of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the production of which declines with age. Since the mitochondria’s density is most in the photoreceptors cells (also called cones) in the retina that helps in sensing lights a drop in the production of Adenosine triphosphate(ATP) may be responsible for the decline in eyesight.

All the participants were given a LED torch and were asked to look at the red light for three minutes a day for two weeks. While there were not any improvements in the younger people those above the age of 40 years saw significant improvements with the sensitivity of the cones to detect contrast in different colours increasing by 20 to 40%.