Declining Eyesight Improved by Looking at Deep Red Light
August 7th, 2020I’ll try my luck with: Wolfram Alpha: color of [//number:670//] nm light
Batteries not included, your mileage may vary, your monitor and calibration might produce inaccurate results, etc.
Via: Eurekalert:
Staring at a deep red light for three minutes a day can significantly improve declining eyesight, finds a new UCL-led study, the first of its kind in humans.
Scientists believe the discovery, published in the Journals of Gerontology, could signal the dawn of new affordable home-based eye therapies, helping the millions of people globally with naturally declining vision.
…
Researchers found the 670nm light had no impact in younger individuals, but in those around 40 years and over, significant improvements were obtained.
Cone colour contrast sensitivity (the ability to detect colours) improved by up to 20% in some people aged around 40 and over. Improvements were more significant in the blue part of the colour spectrum that is more vulnerable in ageing.
Rod sensitivity (the ability to see in low light) also improved significantly in those aged around 40 and over, though less than colour contrast.
Professor Jeffery said: “Our study shows that it is possible to significantly improve vision that has declined in aged individuals using simple brief exposures to light wavelengths that recharge the energy system that has declined in the retina cells, rather like re-charging a battery.
“The technology is simple and very safe, using a deep red light of a specific wavelength, that is absorbed by mitochondria in the retina that supply energy for cellular function.
“Our devices cost about £12 to make, so the technology is highly accessible to members of the public.”
This might do the trick: https://670nm.net/
I suspect brighter display settings would be more effective.
Hmm. Side by side, the red from 670nm.net looks very different than the one generated by the Wolfram widget. I wonder which one is more correct.
I’m waiting for the email from some color scientist explaining why trying to use uncalibrated computer displays is hopeless.
I found a discussion at http://budgetlightforum.com/node/73349 where someone pointed out that sunlight has high output in the deep red range. Someone else wrote: I wonder if going outside, and with eyes closed letting the sun shine on my face and eyelids, would produce similar benefits as an LED…
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kelen_Dornelles/publication/280041456/figure/fig2/AS%3A670020073959445@1536756642860/Standard-solar-spectrum.ppm
It was also noted that the abstract says mitochondria like light in the 650-<1000nm range:
https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/gerona/glaa155/5863431?
And that the same authors in a previous paper got results improving AMD using 650-700nm:
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/4/1001/pdf
Anyhow…
Another treatment for vision deterioration, presbyopia specifically, is LACE (Lipoic acid choline ester). I'd like to make my own, but its not cheap at around $5k/gram from MedKoo. Apparently, in eye drops, it helps restore flexibility and perhaps clarity to ageing corneas by repairing oxidative damage to the lens. Rosmarininc acid has also been found to have a similar effect.
https://crstoday.com/articles/2020-mar/pharmacologic-solutions-to-presbyopia/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-27516-9
We sure enjoy our wood stove, with the glass door, six months of the year. Also, sitting around a campfire telling stories and maybe singing a bit, has always been precious time–nice to have an additional reason to do more of it.
But the Sun–Is–the ultimate Mito battery charger.