Eye Health News

Move to the grove: aerobic exercise benefits retinal health

022014
Yet another reason to get up and get moving: not only can aerobic exercise benefit retinal health and vision, it can also help to preserve the structure and function of nerve cells in the retina that have been damaged. Using mice as test subjects, researchers had the rodent subjects run on a treadmill over a period of two weeks and then exposed them to a bright light that causes retinal degeneration. They found that they treadmill exercise preserved the photoreceptors and retinal cell function of the mice. Previous studies of long distance runners found they received benefits to their retinal health and this study points to moderate exercise also being beneficial.*