Just 3 minutes of red light therapy improves declining eyesight due to old age

Good news! However, what are the long-term effects of this therapy? How often would this therapy need to be repeated?

"... Deep red light, which has a wavelength of 670 nanometers, enhances the function of mitochondria ... When water encounters this wavelength, it absorbs its energy, which raises the frequency of vibration of the water molecules.

Since a type of molecular structure within the mitochondria, known as the ATP synthase pump, is bathed in water, the extra energy allows these pumps to rotate faster and release more energy into the biological cell. ...
The human retina ages faster than other organs due to its high density of mitochondria, with a 70% ATP reduction over a person’s lifetime. The degeneration is particularly noticeable from around 40 years of age. ..."

From the abstract:

"Mitochondrial decline in ageing robs cells of ATP. However, animal studies show that long wavelength exposure (650–900 nm) over weeks partially restores ATP and improves function. The likely mechanism is via long wavelengths reducing nanoscopic interfacial water viscosity around ATP rota pumps, improving their efficiency. Recently, repeated 670 nm exposures have been used on the aged human retina, which has high-energy demands and significant mitochondrial and functional decline, to improve vision. We show here that single 3 min 670 nm exposures, at much lower energies than previously used, are sufficient to significantly improve for 1 week cone mediated colour contrast thresholds (detection) in ageing populations (37–70 years) to levels associated with younger subjects. But light needs to be delivered at specific times. In environments with artificial lighting humans are rarely dark-adapted, hence cone function becomes critical. This intervention, demonstrated to improve aged mitochondrial function can be applied to enhance colour vision in old age."

Just 3 minutes of red light therapy improves declining eyesight due to old age

Weeklong improved colour contrasts sensitivity after single 670 nm exposures associated with enhanced mitochondrial function | Scientific Reports (open access)