How does red light therapy help the eyes?

The primary theory explaining the effects of red light therapy and near infrared light therapy, anywhere in the body, involves the interactions between light and the mitochondria. The core function of mitochondria is to produce energy for its cell – light therapy improves its ability to make energy.

The eyes of humans, and specifically the cells of the retina, have the highest metabolic requirements of any tissue in the entire body – they require a lot of energy. The only way to meet this high demand is for the cells to house many mitochondria – and so it is no surprise that cells in the eyes have the highest concentration of mitochondria anywhere in the body.

Seeing as light therapy works via interactions with the mitochondria, and the eyes have the richest source of mitochondria in the body, it is a reasonable assumption to hypothesise that the light will also have the most profound effects in the eyes compared to the rest of the body. On top of that, recent research has shown that degeneration of the eye and retina is directly linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. So a therapy that can potentially restore the mitochondria, of which there are many, in the eye is the perfect approach.