What if I told you that just 3 minutes of 670 nanometer deep red light from the sun during the early morning can help facilitate eye regeneration?
Well, it’s true.
This was one of the first studies I came across in my research on eyesight regeneration using a wise approach to light exposure, and it floored me because of the implications involved.
Your mitochondria regulate both your metabolic rate and aging.
Yet, the efficiency of the mitochondria declines with age which results in a lower production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the cellular energy that allows you to be alive, and it’s solely controlled by the mitochondria in your body.
The way people live today accelerates the process, especially when you consider the light environment most people are under. They religiously avoid the sun or manipulate its full light spectrum in harmful ways. Couple this with the fact that most people spend 90%+ of their lives indoors under toxic artificial light sources.
What many do not consider is that the photoreceptors, both visual and non-visual, within the retina have the GREATEST mitochondrial density and metabolic demand in the body.
As a result, they’re prone to rapid aging in the context of modern lifestyles.
The retina is the body's most oxygen-consuming tissue, and mitochondria are the major intracellular source of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which serve a number of pro-life roles in human biology. It’s the excessive amount of ROS and RNS that are problematic here.
From what I’ve seen, it seems that the functional aging of the visual and non-visual photoreceptors in the human retina appears to be around 40 years of age.
This is where about 30% of central rods progressively die, and while cones remain, they have reduced functionality.
But does this mean that we’re doomed to experience this rapid degeneration when we hit the age of 40?
Of course not.
Regenerating aged cone function and the opsins associated with this area is possible, and this study is one of many strong pieces of evidence to prove so, yet it’s only possible when you have the correct light environment.
You will not achieve these results if you have a poor relationship with the sun and live under artificial lights for the majority of your life.
What have I mentioned about the mitochondria time and time again?
They use red and NIR light from the sun in the electron transport chain which is found in the inner mitochondrial membrane. More specifically, they use these light wavelengths in the last two Complexes of the ETC.
The last complex (Complex V) of the electron transport chain contains these quantum nanomotors that spin to produce our life-giving ATP, cellular energy.
These are light-sensing nanomotors that use the sun’s light and free electrons to keep you alive, every second of every day.
Here, we have proven that the function of the mitochondria and photoreceptors are key to eyesight function and regeneration. They fundamentally use sunlight to carry out their biological duties.
Onto the study.
This study builds on the team's previous work, which showed daily three-minute exposure to longwave deep red light 'switched on' energy producing mitochondria cells in the human retina, helping boost naturally declining vision.
In this study I’m referencing, they wanted to test the effect of a SINGLE 3 minute exposure, while also using much lower energy levels than their previous studies.
“Furthermore, building on separate UCL research in flies that found mitochondria display 'shifting workloads' depending on the time of day, the team compared morning exposure to afternoon exposure.
In summary, researchers found there was, on average, a 17% improvement in participants' colour contrast vision when exposed to three minutes of 670 nanometre (long wavelength) deep red light in the morning and the effects of this single exposure lasted for at least a week. However, when the same test was conducted in the afternoon, no improvement was seen.”
I find it interesting that they didn’t achieve the same results when conducting this experiment in the afternoon, which goes to show that different times of day offer different benefits for biological systems.
Getting your eyes and skin in the game during the morning is special for a number of reasons, this being one of them.
They go on to say that the “benefits of deep red light, highlighted by the findings, mark a breakthrough for eye health and should lead to affordable home-based eye therapies, helping the millions of people globally with naturally declining vision.”
By affordable, the implications of this equates to a $0 cost solution for eye health.
I’m not reckless, so I’m by no means saying that this will solve all of your eye problems because there are many different ocular conditions out there.
But if you study the eyes in relation to circadian biology, it’s certainly responsible for immense benefit on many different ocular manifestations.
All the participants were aged between 34 and 70, had no ocular disease, completed a questionnaire regarding eye health prior to testing, and had normal colour vision (cone function). This was assessed using a 'Chroma Test': identifying coloured letters that had very low contrast and appeared increasingly blurred, a process called colour contrast.
Using a provided LED device, all 20 participants (13 female and 7 male) were exposed to three minutes of 670nm deep red light in the morning between 8am and 9am. Their colour vision was then tested again three hours post exposure and 10 of the participants were also tested one week post exposure.
This gets into the differentiation between red light therapy devices and morning sunlight. This study was done using a red light therapy device, but the benefit still stands which is why I still advocate for photobiomodulation therapy with eyesight regeneration.
I will always push for the real thing though.
Nothing comes close to getting outside and exposing your body to sunlight because that’s what all biological systems evolved for.
What do I find shocking about this study?
A single three minute exposure to deep red light in the morning facilitated an improvement in vision. 3 minutes people. That’s all.
The improvement from a single exposure of this deep red light lasted for up to ONE week, which means this has massive implications for people, especially when they get outside and watch sunrise for 30-40 minutes in one go, day in and day out
Through these two insights, you can appreciate the second and third order benefits that this practice has on eyesight regeneration when combined with strict blocking of artificial light in your environments, especially after sunset.
We want to block artificial light because that type of lighting, which is primarily focused on blue light wavelengths without much of the other spectrum, causes eyesight DEGENERATION.
You must have the light and dark cycle in check.
This is why I advocate for replacing all bulbs in your home/office to circadian friendly full spectrum bulbs, opening the windows, working outside, using blue light blockers + red filters on all tech.
Think about the power of this practice when done consistently for days, weeks, months, and years. I firmly believe this is why I have excellent vision, even though my mother needs reading glasses and my father had macular degeneration.
What’s sad about this is the opthamologists and dermatologists are largely ignorant of this work. Reflect on all of the other things they don’t know about in the realm of circadian biology.
This strikes at the heart of convenient, effective, and scalable.
Much love,
Zaid
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Great news and easy to implement. I’ve been stepping out into the sun first thing in the morning since your discussions on circadian rhythym and melatonin production. Now, I can improve my eyesight too? As a 61 yo these easy steps will help me maintain my health span for many years to come. Thanks Zaid.
I always tell my people, take off those sunglasses, and get some morning light!
https://romanshapoval.substack.com/p/4-ways-sunglasses-harm-our-health