Key points from article :
Daily three-minute exposure to longwave deep red light ‘switched on’ energy producing mitochondria cells in the human retina.
Twenty participants aged 34-70 years completed a questionnaire regarding eye health prior to testing, and had normal colour vision.
All 20 participants were exposed to three minutes of 670nm deep red light in the morning between 8am and 9am.
There was a significant 17% improvement in colour vision, which lasted a week; some older participants showed 20% improvement.
When the same test was conducted in the afternoon, no improvement was seen.
Benefits mark a breakthrough for eye health and should lead to affordable home-based eye therapies.
“This simple intervention...would likely result in reduced social costs that are associated with reduced vision,” - Glen Jeffery, lead author.
Planet Lighting UK to produce 670nm infra-red eyewear at an affordable cost.
“Simple and very safe technology; the energy delivered by 670nm long wave light is not much greater than natural environmental light,” - Jeffery.
Despite the clear positive effects, the magnitude of improvements can vary markedly between those of similar ages.
Study by UCL, published in Scientific Reports.
