Exposing your eyes to deep red light in the early morning stimulates the cells in your retinas in a good way.
Waking up early in the morning to start your day is said to have many benefits. As long as you’re getting enough sleep and not simply trying to burn the candle at both ends, the old saying holds true. “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man (or woman) healthy, wealthy, and wise!” The facts reflect it. According to Barnsley College in the UK, 50% of self-made millionaires get up before 6AM, or three hours before their work day officially begins. Additionally, about 90% of executives do so as well. And a new study has shown that waking early isn’t just good for your wallet, it can also bring about physical benefits.
Researchers from University College London have found that exposing yourself to early morning light can improve your eyesight. The key is being able to take in what’s called ‘deep red light’. You want to be able to see this for about a minimum of three minutes at least once a week.
The study doesn’t stipulate exactly what hour is the best in the morning for this exposure. We’re assuming that the earlier you get it, the better. (The words ‘deep red’ do bring to mind visions of the sunrise glowing on the horizon).
How Does It Work?
Why does early morning light improve your eyes more than afternoon light? It has to do with the mitochondria in the cells of your retinas and the light’s wavelength. It’s a fact that once you hit about 40 years old, the cells in your retina start to age. They do so a bit faster than the rest of your body. The mitochondria in your retina’s cells (and elsewhere) produce energy. Exposing them to deep red light is said to boost their energy production. In your eyes, this results in better eyesight.
The study analyzed the effects of deep red light on people aged 34 to 70. On average, participants experienced a 17% improvement in their colour vision for about a week when exposed to deep red light in the early morning. Older participants showed even better results with a 20% improvement in their eyesight.
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“Mitochondria have specific sensitivities to long wavelength light influencing their performance,” said the study’s lead author, professor Glen Jeffery. “Longer wavelengths spanning 650 to 900nm improve mitochondrial performance to increase energy production.”
The same boost in energy production and eyesight wasn’t encountered when the same test was conducted in the afternoon, it should be noted.
“…morning exposure is absolutely key to achieving improvements in declining vision: as we have previously seen in flies, mitochondria have shifting work patterns and do not respond in the same way to light in the afternoon,” Professor Jeffery stated.
Light Therapies for the Future
The benefit of looking at deep red light as you age is something that could be developed as a treatment for waning eyesight, researchers are saying. And you might not have to get up with the rising sun to reap them. Affordable home-based therapies could potentially be developed as something you could do for a few minutes while drinking your morning coffee, or even after dinner.
Looking for other ways to keep your eyes shining bright? Check out these common sense tips for great eyesight as you age from Johns Hopkins Medicine.
photo credits: C_Atta/Shutterstock.com
