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  5. Keke Palmer said she damaged her retinas while sun gazing in Joshua Tree and is 'seeing double' — here's why the practice is dangerous

Keke Palmer said she damaged her retinas while sun gazing in Joshua Tree and is 'seeing double' — here's why the practice is dangerous

Andrea Michelson   

Keke Palmer said she damaged her retinas while sun gazing in Joshua Tree and is 'seeing double' — here's why the practice is dangerous
  • Keke Palmer said she sunburnt her retinas while trying to meditate, according to a Wired interview.
  • She attempted sun gazing, or staring directly at the sun, in Joshua Tree National Park.

Keke Palmer said she burnt her retinas while staring directly into the sun's rays, according to a video interview with Wired.

The 28-year-old actress has worn glasses since childhood, but she recently needed to get a special pair to protect her damaged eyes, she said.

Palmer said she injured her eyes while attempting to sun gaze, a controversial spiritual practice that involves staring at the sun, usually at dawn or dusk. There is no evidence supporting the purported benefits of sun gazing, and plenty of research has documented the risks of too much direct sunlight.

"For all my spiritual heads out there that's always looking for a different meditation vibe, don't ever do the sun gazing, honey," she said in the interview. "I did sun gazing in Joshua Tree and I sunburned my retina playing around trying to be Gandhi and shit!"

Her search for inner peace in the California desert may have resulted in permanent damage, she said, as her doctor cautioned her that her retinas may not ever completely heal.

Staring into the sun can cause blindness or tumors

While some gurus claim sun gazing allows them to connect with the sun's energy, the consensus among medical experts is that looking directly at the sun may cause irreversible damage.

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun can scorch the eye's surface or damage essential structures such as the retina, which translates light into visual information. According to the American Academy of Opthalmology, too much UV light increases the risk of cataracts, eye cancers, and other potentially blinding eye diseases.

Since the incident, Palmer said she's been "seeing double" and that her astigmatism is "going left." Astigmatism commonly causes blurred vision and may occur at birth or after injury, according to Mayo Clinic.

She warned viewers to "protect those eyes" and take sun safety seriously.

"My eyes have been bad since I was 8 and everybody in my family wears glasses," she said. "Hopefully I didn't do too much to mess it up. Pray for me."

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