When I first read about light therapy as a recommended eye exercise for improving eyesight, I was a little skeptical. And if I’m honest, I’m still skeptical about it. But I’ve gathered some internet-research on the subject and instead of just letting my research sit aimlessly on my computer, I thought I’d post my findings here in case it’s helpful to anyone.
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What is Light therapy or Sunning?
Sunning is a subcategory of sun therapy (or heliotherapy). It is the belief that use of light, and in particular sunlight, can be healing to the eyes.
Dr William Bates, founder of the famous “Bates Method” of improving eyesight advocated the Sunning technique to improve vision naturally and several other cultures throughout history have also supported this method. For example the Taoist Shaolin monks have some eye exercises which involve letting the sun’s light indirectly strengthen the eye.
Proponents of the Sunning technique also suggest that one of the reasons poor eyesight is more common today than it was in the past is because people are outdoors less; and their eyes are hardly exposed to the light and rays of the healing sun. More and more people are sitting in buildings, in offices, in homes rather than being out under the sunlight.
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How do you do Sunning or Light Therapy for the eyes?
There are three main techniques for light therapy. For all techniques an important safety precaution is to *always* keep your eyes closed when your face is turned towards the sunlight, and take your contact lenses out before doing any sunning or light therapy exercises.
Here are the three light therapy techniques:
1.) Sunning
- Pre-exercise preparation: Make sure your eyes don’t have contact lenses or glasses. Go outside on a sunny day and find a comfortable place to stand, sit or lay down.
- Close your eyes and with closed eyes, let your face point towards the sunlight.
- Slowly move your head from one side to the other, letting the sunlight scan across your face, warming first one eye, then the other.
- Repeat the slow, relaxed, gentle side-to-side head movements for a minute or two at first. You can build up to longer durations like up to 7 to 10 minutes, with practice.
- Do palming for a minute or two
If sunning with your eyes closed feels too intense for you and irritates your eyes. You can try “Skying” instead.
2.) Skying
Skying involves the same process as Sunning but instead of facing the sunlight with your eyes closed, you look up at a non-sunny piece of sky with your eyes open, and move your head from side to side whilst allowing yourself to blink.
3.) Light Therapy with Lamp
In the book “Improve Your Vision without Glasses”
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Why would Light Therapy or Sunning help Eye Health?
I found myself wondering this very question when I first heard of Sunning. A little research has lead me to find these possible answers although I should note that these are answers I found in online articles so I don’t know how credible they are:
1.) Sunning reduces light sensitivity
Articles I’ve read say that eye problems like myopia are often compounded my several things: it’s like an onion of problems and it’s possible that light sensitivity is one of the problems contributing to the condition. So by desensitizing a person’s light sensitivity, it’s like removing another layer of the onion, moving towards better eyesight.
The idea of Sunning is that by exposing your closed eyes to light, you are desensitizing them to bright light, and therefore reducing light sensitivity.
You’ll know if you’re sensitive to light according to how you feel when you go outside on a nice day. Do you find yourself squinting a lot more than the average person and reaching for your sunglasses? Or do you have a good tolerance to sunlit conditions? If you already have a good tolerance to light and are not sensitive to it, then it’s possible that light sensitivity is not contributing to your visual problem.
2.) Sunning strengthens the muscles around the pupil
Since the muscles around the pupil contract to make the pupil small in bright light, this reaction happens even behind the closed eyelid when Sunning. By giving the muscles around the pupil this workout during Sunning, it strengthens these muscles for optimal functioning during normal-sight situations too.
3.) Sunning causes eye muscles to massage the lens
When the muscles inthe eye cause the pupil to contract, this muscle movement is right near the eye’s lens, and as the muscles brush past the lens capsule, they gently massage it. I’m not sure what massaging the lens capsule achieves.. perhaps it helps the whole lens-ciliary-muscle unit be more relaxed and ready to let go of the bad habits its gathered through years of untreated eye strain, but that’s just my guess.
4.) Sunning nourishes the cone cells of the eye
One article I read said that the light receptors in the eye (the photoreceptors), which are called “Cone cells”, are nourished by light and deteriorate if kept in low-light conditions for long durations. So effectively Sunning helps nourish the cone cells. And cone cells are essential for perceiving sharp color images, so if they’re kept healthy through Sunning, they keep providing us with high quality color images.
If your cone cells are already well-nourished though, then Sunning may not make a huge difference.
5.) Sunning promotes circulation
Since the Sunning technique involves moving your head from side to side, it encourages blood flow circulation to the head and eye area. Better circulation means more important nutrients are circulated to the eyes to keep them healthy and functioning optimally.
6.) Sunning promotes relaxation
Sunning is often also relaxing when done right. The gentle warm sun, the slow gentle head movements, the deep breathing and almost meditative state that goes along with it, all can lead to a relaxed state. Since stress is a known contributor to reduced visual acuity, anything that helps reduce stress and reduces the sensory overload of everyday life, like Sunning, can be good for eye health.
7.) Sunning may affect the body’s chemical balance
One article I read said that when the Sun’s rays enter the brain via the optic nerve (even through closed eyes), the light sets off a chain reaction of processes, stimulating glands like the pituitary gland, stimulating the secretion of certain hormones and certain immune chemicals that boost immunity. To be honest, I’m not clear on the specifics, but if this article is correct, there’s a chance that Sunning positively affects some of the body’s biochemical balances.
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My personal thoughts on Sunning
I’m still undecided about the validity of whether Sunning is truly helpful for improving eyesight. On the other hand, if it’s easy to do and does no harm in doing it, then I guess it’s worth a try. So next time I’m outside, maybe I will spend a minute or two closing my eyes, with my face towards the sun, rotating my head from side to side to let the sun rays caress my closed eyelids. If there’s a chance it can help, then why not?
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Related Products
From Amazon.co.uk
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Disclaimer: Everything in this article is material the author has learned from books and online articles and is not a substitute for help from a qualified eyecare professional. Any exercises or recommendations described are applied at the risk and sole responsibility of the reader. The author takes no responsibility for any consequences arising from a reader practising anything recommended on this website.