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Children who spend more time indoors and looking at screens may face a higher risk of developing myopia, or nearsightedness, while new research suggests that exposure to indigo light could help protect developing eyes.
A study led by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s and the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that indigo light, a short wavelength of visible light that is abundant in natural sunlight but largely absent from standard white LED lighting, completely prevented the development of myopia in experiments involving tree shrews.
The findings were published online on Aug. 18, 2026, in Cell Reports Medicine.
Myopia is becoming increasingly common worldwide, with some estimates suggesting that nearly 5 billion people, or about half of the global population, could be nearsighted by 2050.
Myopia develops when the eye becomes elongated, causing incoming light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it. The condition commonly begins during childhood and can worsen through adolescence.
Although glasses and contact lenses can correct blurred distance vision, severe myopia increases the risk of serious eye conditions later in life, including retinal detachment, glaucoma and macular degeneration.
The researchers used tree shrews because their eyes have anatomical and optical characteristics similar to those of humans. Using specially designed spectacles, the scientists induced myopia in one eye while leaving the other eye as a control.
The animals were exposed to different wavelengths of light, while researchers monitored changes in eye shape and refraction.
Previous studies in mice had suggested that violet light around 380 nanometres could suppress myopia. Those experiments also indicated that the light-sensitive receptor opsin 5, or OPN5, was involved in the protective effect.
However, the researchers found that wavelengths below about 400 nanometres are largely blocked by the lenses of both humans and tree shrews. This prompted them to test slightly longer wavelengths that could still activate OPN5.
They found that indigo light between 419 and 446 nanometres was the most effective at preventing myopia in the tree shrew experiments.
Richard Lang, director of research in the Division of Ophthalmology at Cincinnati Children’s and the study’s corresponding author, said the results were significant because the researchers used a particularly strong model of myopia.
The findings suggest that modern indoor lighting may lack some wavelengths of light that could play a role in normal eye development. Standard white LEDs typically provide relatively little indigo light compared with the full spectrum of natural sunlight.
Researchers say the results also reinforce the potential benefits of children spending more time outdoors, where their eyes are exposed to the full spectrum of sunlight and regularly adjust focus between nearby and distant objects.
However, the researchers cautioned that further studies are needed to determine whether indigo light can prevent myopia in humans and how the findings could eventually be applied to indoor environments.