In modern history, vision loss has been accepted as an unavoidable part of ageing. Commonly referred to as age-related vision loss, loss of vision as well as visual processing can arise in people who do not even have eye disease. However, research has discovered that age-related vision loss is less of an eye health issue and more of a brain function issue. Fortunately, this finding has given researchers just the insight they needed to actually reverse age-related vision loss!

Changes in brain function drive Age-Related Vision Loss

Common symptoms of age-related vision loss caused by changes in brain function include:

• Loss of visual contrast
• Difficulty viewing grainy images
• Challenges viewing poorly defined images
• Trouble driving at night
• Falling more frequently

So, a group of researchers examining the link between age-related vision loss and brain function developed a study to determine if age-related vision loss could be reversed by training the brain.

Visual Training reverses Age-Related Vision Loss

In the study, 16 adults with an average age of 22 years and 16 adults with an average age of 71 years without eye disease or decline in cognition participated in visual training for 1.5 hours every day for seven days. The visual training consisted of:

• Looking at striped images and determining which way they had been rotated
• Watching the striped images as their contrast was altered over time
• Staring at the striped images while their graininess was changed to the farthest adjustment that participants had been able to make out in prior tests

After only five days of training, the visual acuity of all the participants dramatically improved! Older adults were able to see nearby objects and younger adults were able to see distant objects. By the end of the study, older participants’ contrast sensitivity improved significantly and matched the contrast sensitivity level of the younger participants. On average, participants were able to read three more letters using the standard acuity test. This was very close to the five letters it takes to move down one line on an optometrist’s standard chart-based vision test. Visual training is something that can be done daily on your own but best in conjunction with your optometrist (Behavioural Optometrists* in particular can help) who can assess you and give you the right exercises for your specific needs. So, ‘Ask a Naturopath’ for advice on making visual training part of your lifestyle as well as how you can support your eye health through your diet. *Australian College of Behavioural Optometrists - www.acbo.org.au