Why Light-Based Training is Supercharging Athletic Performance

OKKULO, the team behind new methods of improving athlete performance via exposure to specialized lighting conditions, has demonstrated a 72% improvement in anticipation times, and an 18.8% reduction in sensory reaction times in soccer players. But what is light-based training, and what does it mean for the future of other sports? M&F takes a look.

As part of the study OKKULO worked with elite soccer players from Sunderland AFC in the UK exposing them to a unique range of light sequences from blue to near-black, all in a bid to “recalibrate the brain’s visual processing pathways.” The researchers hoped that by manipulating light exposure while the players tried to save goals or make accurate strikes on the ball, the new technology would challenge athletes to perceive and process visual information more swiftly. The study involved 24 professional football players from Sunderland AFC’s U18 and U23 men’s teams, as well as the women’s first team.

- Advertisement -

Players were divided into two groups: an intervention group that trained twice weekly with OKKULO’s technology, and a control group that worked under regular lighting.

Light Based Training Provides ‘Extra Time’ for Athletes

Upon returning to normal lighting, it could be demonstrated that the soccer players had gained a sense of “extra time,” enabling faster decision-making in high-stakes moments. Since improving anticipation and reactions is essential to all athletes, the key findings make for a glowing review of light-based training:

Dynamic Visual Acuity: Enhanced by 8.4%, improving players’ ability to track fast-moving objects with precision.

Peripheral Identification: Accuracy increased by 10% and speed by 20%, allowing athletes to better monitor their surroundings.

Sensory Reaction Time: Reduced by 18.8%, the speed of sensory processing between eye and brain.

Recognition Time: Increased by 59.9%, facilitating quicker identification of critical game cues.

Depth Perception: Boosted by 45.6%, essential for accurate distance and timing judgments.

Anticipation Time: Improved by an impressive 72%, sharpening players’ ability to predict opponent movements.

Motor Reaction Time: Increased by 36.3%, optimising physical response capabilities.

With 50% of our brain’s activity dedicated to vision, OKKULO says it’s light-based training optimises neural pathways between the eye and brain, driving breakthroughs in both visual and motor efficiency that redefine human performance. Looking beyond sports, OKKULO aims to extend its transformative impact into everyday life, enhancing cognitive and mental health and unlocking human potential in unprecedented ways. But how do the lighting conditions during training have such an effect on performance?

“We have developed four different ambient light levels that create a stepping stone from easy to hard, but also each level has a direct impact on different areas in the visual system,” Mel O’Connor, the founder and CEO of OKKULO tells M&F. “There is method in the madness, so to speak! Each level has a slightly different delay on the perception of the athlete that allows us to speed and up and slow down their world. We recalibrate the visual system: the brain, to allow more information to pass more quickly, essentially giving the athlete more time to perform their sport.”

So, how might success hungry athletes and coaches be able to apply light-based training? “It is simple, says O’Connor. “We have a roadmap of the four different light levels and the coaches use each light level dependent on what they want to get out of each session. Blue creates focus, Green works on peripheral vision, Red works on depth perception and Purple is the hardest level. The athlete has to train as normal, we just change the lights!”

With the results that light-based training has already brought, major sporting teams are keen to get involved and get hold of the new system. “At the moment we are B2B (business to business) but will migrate quickly as direct to consumer with systems already in the planning,” says Mel O’Connor. “OKKULO uses athletes as the doorway but we could be in every house and home in the future. It is not just athletic performance that we work on, but human performance. For example, we have seen many instances of people with ADHD and brain trauma who feel significantly better post OKKULO. It’s fascinating.”

See light-based training in action with Sunderland AFC’s Luke O’Nien