Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 1113871

Shown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

My experience with green light therapy

Posted by Hugh on February 24, 2021, at 11:12:46

For the past month, I've been exposing myself daily to green light in an otherwise darkened room. The University of Arizona has been conducting animal and human studies of green light therapy for acute and chronic pain, and they've been getting remarkable results. Treatments that alleviate physical pain can also alleviate emotional pain, and I'm finding this to be the case with green light therapy.

The following is from a migraine study done at the University of Arizona:

On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 the highest level of pain, migraine volunteers had an initial average baseline pain score of 8. After completing the green light therapy, their score dropped down to an average of 2.8. The frequency of headaches dropped from 19 to 6.5 per month, and overall quality of life climbed from 48 percent to 78 percent.

"The best part about it ... is the simplicity, the affordability and, most importantly, the lack of side effects," Dr. Ibrahim said. "It's a normal light. We're not using a high-energy laser or anything like that."

In another study done at the University of Arizona, this one with rats, the following was found:

Clues to the mechanism of action came when Dr. Ibrahim and his colleagues administered naloxone to green light-exposed rats. "Naloxone reversed the effects of the green light, suggesting that the endogenous opioid system plays a role in this," he said, adding that enkephalins were increased two- to threefold in the green light-exposed rats' spinal cords, and astrocyte activation was reduced as well.

This series of experiments also showed durable effects of green light exposure. In addition, the analgesic effect of green light did not wane over time, and higher "doses" were not required to achieve the same effect (as is the case with opioids, for example) (Pain. 2017 Feb;158[2]:347-60).

The benefits I've experienced with green light therapy are better mood, less anxiety, less ruminating, better sleep, more energy. My digestion, which I've had problems with for many years, has improved somewhat.

I've been using a green light therapy lamp developed at Harvard University called the Allay Lamp.

https://allaylamp.com/

It costs $149. There are green light bulbs that are far cheaper, but these tend to have a much wider wavelength band that includes red and blue light, which might make them less effective. The Allay Lamp uses a narrow band of green light between 510 and 530 nanometers. I tried a green light therapy bulb called NorbRelief ($20). It helped, but I find the Allay Lamp to be more effective.

Green light therapy should be done in a room with no other sources of light. No sunlight, no other light bulbs, no TV. If you listen to music or podcasts or books on your computer or iPad or smartphone, the screens should be covered to block out their light. Sometimes I read books by the green light.

Here are some links about green light therapy:

https://uahs.arizona.edu/news/green-light-therapy-shown-reduce-migraine-frequency-intensity

https://www.tmc.edu/news/2020/02/exposure-to-green-light-may-reduce-pain/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOx_bVFUW0M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOIJH2u1B78

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fjHwN08948

https://www.freethink.com/articles/green-light-therapy

The green light therapy studies done at the University of Arizona used LED flex strips purchased from ledsupply.com (VT, USA).
LED flex strips specifications: #LS-AC60-6-GR, 525 nanometer wavelength (i.e., green), 8 watts, 120 Volts, 120 degree beam angle.

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy

Posted by Lamdage22 on February 24, 2021, at 22:57:23

In reply to My experience with green light therapy, posted by Hugh on February 24, 2021, at 11:12:46

Interesting, that it helps things other than mood. This must be specific to green light as opposed to the light boxes for seasonal affective disorder? I use the Luminette 3, which has "white light enriched with blue light."

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy » Lamdage22

Posted by Hugh on February 25, 2021, at 0:19:34

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy, posted by Lamdage22 on February 24, 2021, at 22:57:23

The University of Arizona studies were crossovers. They'd start people with migraines or fibromyalgia on white light. It didn't have much of an effect on their pain. After a two-week break, they'd start them on green light (at 525 nanometers), and it had a dramatic effect on their pain.

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy

Posted by Lamdage22 on February 25, 2021, at 0:58:02

In reply to My experience with green light therapy, posted by Hugh on February 24, 2021, at 11:12:46

I will check it out some more and maybe get one. How quickly do you feel results?

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy » Lamdage22

Posted by Hugh on February 25, 2021, at 9:42:47

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy, posted by Lamdage22 on February 25, 2021, at 0:58:02

> I will check it out some more and maybe get one. How quickly do you feel results?

I started feeling better within a few days of starting it. Some of the participants in the green light therapy studies for pain didn't notice an improvement until they'd been doing it for several weeks.

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy

Posted by PeterMartin on March 3, 2021, at 8:06:00

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy » Lamdage22, posted by Hugh on February 25, 2021, at 9:42:47

About 8% of men, myself included, have a red/green color deficiency (mild color-blindness). I can definitely "see" green, but it's not the way you do.

Have they considered this treatment for people who fall into this category of mild color-blindness?


Re condition:
==
Color blindness always pertains to the cone photoreceptors in retinas, as it is the cones that detect the color frequencies of light. About 8% of males, and 0.4% of females, are redgreen color blind in some way or another, whether it is one color, a color combination, or another mutation.
Frequency: Redgreen: 8% males,

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy » PeterMartin

Posted by Hugh on March 3, 2021, at 10:55:01

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy, posted by PeterMartin on March 3, 2021, at 8:06:00

Certain nerves from the retina go directly to the pineal gland--the hormonal regulating center--as well as the pituitary gland, and the hypothalamus, which regulates deep brain processes. These nerves have nothing to do with color perception or vision; they simply connect the eyes directly with deep brain rhythms.

This pathway between the retina and the pineal gland is a very important one when it comes to regulating mood and emotion.

Regular exposure to dichromatic (also called "dichroic") light is an effective modality for positively influencing this pathway in ways that help to reduce the negative impact of chronic stress, and to help the body shift toward greater balance and improved health.

Complete article:

https://www.perqueintegrativehealth.com/news/green-light-therapy/

Despite being unable to see, a group of blind migraineurs who were still able to detect light actually reported that blue light exacerbated their head pain significantly more than any other color of light. These observations helped Dr. Burstein realize there had to be a direct connection that goes from the retina into the part of the brain where neurons that are active during migraine are found.

Complete article:

https://allaylamp.com/blogs/light-reading/green-light-therapy

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy » PeterMartin

Posted by Hugh on March 3, 2021, at 11:04:40

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy, posted by PeterMartin on March 3, 2021, at 8:06:00

> About 8% of men, myself included, have a red/green color deficiency (mild color-blindness). I can definitely "see" green, but it's not the way you do.
>
> Have they considered this treatment for people who fall into this category of mild color-blindness?

"It is not the color that you see that is critical, it is the receptors it activates (in the eye) that is critical for the therapeutic effect," Burstein says.

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy

Posted by Lamdage22 on March 7, 2021, at 1:32:24

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy » PeterMartin, posted by Hugh on March 3, 2021, at 11:04:40

Would it be a problem to do both regular light therapy and green light therapy every day? I wouldn't want to risk falling back into seasonal depression.

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy » Lamdage22

Posted by Hugh on March 8, 2021, at 1:15:35

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy, posted by Lamdage22 on March 7, 2021, at 1:32:24

> Would it be a problem to do both regular light therapy and green light therapy every day? I wouldn't want to risk falling back into seasonal depression.

Doing both would be fine.

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy

Posted by Lamdage22 on March 9, 2021, at 3:29:09

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy, posted by Lamdage22 on March 7, 2021, at 1:32:24

So I have to sit in a dark room while I do it? What is the recommended time investment? What time of the day should I do it? Does it matter?

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy » Lamdage22

Posted by Hugh on March 15, 2021, at 14:32:10

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy, posted by Lamdage22 on March 9, 2021, at 3:29:09

> So I have to sit in a dark room while I do it? What is the recommended time investment? What time of the day should I do it? Does it matter?

Yes, green light should be the only source of light in the room.

In the green light therapy studies done at the University of Arizona, pain patients were asked to use the green light 1-2 hours every day. Future studies will seek to determine if shorter daily exposures to green light are as effective as 1-2 hours.

Try doing it in the morning and in the evening. See what works best for you. Sometimes I'll do it both in the morning and in the evening. Sometimes I'll do it just in the morning or just in the evening.

 

Re: My experience with green light therapy

Posted by Lamdage22 on May 17, 2021, at 23:14:58

In reply to Re: My experience with green light therapy » Lamdage22, posted by Hugh on March 15, 2021, at 14:32:10

It sounds intriguing but don't have that much time. I'd have to cut back on my hobbies. But I sure appreciate your mentioning alternative treatments. Every once in a while there is something that sounds right for me.


This is the end of the thread.


Show another thread

URL of post in thread:


Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ


[dr. bob] Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD, bob@dr-bob.org

Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.