Tag: Eyes

Red and near infrared LED light on the eyes is fine. There is evidence that red lights can improve some eye diseases. Just be sure you are using LED lights and NOT laser lights. Lasers should NEVER be used near your eyes.

Red lights & macular degeneration

Thanks to Sharon for sending me a link to this podcast: The Science of Vision, Eye Health & Seeing Better | Huberman Lab Podcast #24.

Prof Andrew Huberman describes how we see. By this he means how our eyes focus and convert light information into electricity so that the rest of the brain can understand ‘and how our brain creates the incredible thing we experience as “sight”.’

Here’s the link to the podcast.

The part about the effect of red lights on age-related macular degeneration is at about the 1 hour 15 minute mark. All of it is worth listening to, though!

Thanks to Harry Quan on Unsplash for the beautiful image.

More on eye lights

Prof Glen Jeffrey at University College London released the results of a small study looking at the effect of red lights (deep red 670nm in particular).

Click here to go straight to the article

Prof Jeffrey’s work has been previously described in this blog. He and his team have clearly shown that deep red light is good for eyes.

Remember, though, only use LED lights.

Never ever use lasers on your eyes!

You can make your own eye light using LED strip and an old pair of glasses – here’s a link to a recent post showing a home-made eye light.

Comfort is paramount – the Not List

I’ve been contemplating the DIY red light hats I’ve seen. Some are brilliant, made with artistry and an aesthetic balance that is breathtaking. Some are, um, not so magnificent to behold. Does appearance matter? Not really.

It is not the beauty, it is the function.

If the DIY light hat is heavy, hot, oppressive or worse, covers the face, it is not going to be comfortable to wear, no matter how elegant it looks.

If it is a physical burden to wear the light hat, then it is unreasonable to expect anyone to take on such a daily commitment of misery.

Comfort is the key to any DIY light device.

Here is the List of Nots:

  • Not heavy
  • Not hot
  • Not oppressive
  • Not covering the face
  • Not difficult to balance on the head
  • Not physically awkward or painful to wear for 20-odd minutes at a time

The User of the device must always have the final say.

If the User finds the light hat distressing or uncomfortable wear, the User can and should refuse to use it.

The User’s opinion is final.

How do Red and near infrared lights affect the eyes?

A very interesting email arrived today, querying the effect of red LED lights on eyes.

It is all about the wavelength, not the type of light.

Red and near infrared wavelengths are not harmful to the eyes.

In fact, red wavelengths (especially 670nm, a deep red colour) are showing promise as a treatment for Age-related Macular Degeneration, a devastating progressive eye condition.

The lead researcher is Prof Glen Jeffery, professor of neuroscience at University College London.

Here’s a list of Prof Jeffrey’s publications.

And here’s a link to one of his articles.

If you are planning to make your own light hat device, make sure that you purchase red LEDs. There are LED strips available with lots of colours – avoid these as a rainbow isn’t helpful.

You just want red or near infrared wavelengths.