Posted by saturn on October 4, 2006, at 12:37:16
In reply to blue- or green-light therapy » saturn, posted by pseudoname on October 4, 2006, at 10:50:26
> Hi, Saturn. I saw your earlier post, but I wasn't yet back on Babble from my break. I'm glad you asked again.
>
> At the American Psychiatric Assn convention in Toronto a few months ago, there were several competing light-therapy vendors on the floor. All sold the boxes (which have decreased in size lately), and several sold goggles. One sold visors with GREEN light (http://www.feelbrightlight.com/). I don't remember any BLUE vendors. Anyway, the green salesman told me that it was the only spectrum that actually mattered, and that you only need the light in your peripheral vision, not to look into it. No scientific references are given on the sheet I kept or their web site. The visor was about $200.
>
> The Google CACHE (not the current page!) of the Mayo Clinic page on light therapy for depression says:
>
> “Exposure to the blue light spectrum should be minimal
> since it may cause vision problems, such as glare or
> macular degeneration.”
>
> But Mayo removed that warning! What the heck is going on?! http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:hXeFSulGp7AJ:www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/MH00023+%22seasonal+affective%22+blue-light&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5
>
> Sorry I can't point you to any scholarly research, Saturn. Can I ask why are you interested in blue light, especially?Hi pseudoname. A have delayed sleep phase syndrome and have been using a blue light for over a year with variable success. I've only been using it generally around 15 min/day. I don't think that's enough. Recently I noticed a significant improvement in mood when I briefly increased the duration to 20-25 minutes. I can't say for certain it was this increase that caused it, but I have a strong suspician this may be the case.
My understanding is you're correct, the green spectrum actually is what's important. Although my blue light does not emit UV, it does strain my eyes. So I decided to do a little more research before continuing at a higher duration and found this website:
http://www.sunnexbiotech.com/Now I'm not here to advertise and can't vouch for the validity of the info...but they allow for a 2 month rental which can then be applied toward purchase so you can try it out. The blue light does really strain my eyes and I don't want to mess with my eyesight so I'm going to try this thing out, at increased duration to 30-45 min/day. Hopefully I'll get the unit this week and it will improve my mood and sleep without the eye strain. Fingers crossed but guardedly optimistic...Saturn
poster:saturn
thread:691600
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061003/msgs/691789.html