Discussing the Health Benefits of Light

Blog Posts Across Healthy Light Network

Watch Your Sleep, Watch Your Weight

April 1, 2008 - Ah, sweet sleep. We seem to get too little. Now researchers are finding that too much or too little sleep could lead to unhealthy weight gain. Researchers at Laval University in Quebec looked at 276 people for six years who were part of a larger Canadian study. Sleep duration was determined from a questionaire and the participants were classified into three groups: short sleepers slept five to six hours a night, the average got seven to eight hours, and the long sleepers put in… Continue

Posted by AnnMarie on April 8, 2008 at 4:30pm — 1 Comment

The Benefits of Sunlight

After years of adverse publicity, new research suggests that sunshine actually does bathe us in a favorable light after all. Scientists believe sunlight may reduce the risk of several types of cancer. Recent studies have found that sunlight can help protect you from cancer of the breast, colon, ovary, bladder, womb, stomach and prostate gland. Vitamin D The sun also provides us with our main source of vitamin D. Scientists have long been aware that this nutrient strengthen… Continue

Posted by Douglas Arrison on March 15, 2008 at 2:30pm — 1 Comment

Light Therapy and Bulimia

That light box some people use to beat the "winter blues" may do more good for our minds than we thought: They may be useful in treating other mental disorders, including eating disorders.

Phototherapy -- or the regular use of concentrated bright light -- is a widely recognized treatment for the cyclical bouts of depression experienced by many who have seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. New evidence now shows that light therapy may benefit women who have both SAD and an… Continue

Posted by Douglas Arrison on January 16, 2008 at 4:54pm — 1 Comment

Built to Nap

Seventy-six percent of Americans are lacking something right now. No, it's not the latest fad fashion, electronic device or even money in the bank. It's sleep. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb so that people could work at night, and there are now 25 million night shift workers in U.S.-occupied territory. Thanks to the light bulb and the later invention of television, sleep quantity (per person) has decreased by about 20 percent since 1900. Furthermore, 76 percent of Americans… Continue

Posted by Douglas Arrison on January 13, 2008 at 7:50pm — 1 Comment

Alzheimer's Light Therapy Helmet

Trial participants will wear the helmet for 10 minutes a day

An experimental helmet is being tested by scientists as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. It delivers low levels of infra-red light, which researchers at the University of Sunderland, believe may stimulate the growth of brain cells. Tests in mice showed it improved learning ability and a study in humans is due to begin in the summer. Current treatments for Alzheimer's delay progression of the disease but cann… Continue

Posted by Douglas Arrison on January 12, 2008 at 11:30pm — 1 Comment

Treating Alzheimer's Patients with Light

Special lighting and window glass can help calm Alzheimer's patients, improving their quality of life and making life easier for their caregivers, according to a recent yearlong SIUC study.
Melinda LaGarce, an associate professor of interior design, conducted the research, a follow-up to a preliminary study she did with two other SIUC researchers. (Perspectives reported on that pilot work in spring 1997.)
The research was designed to see if the effects of so-called "sundow… Continue

Posted by Douglas Arrison on January 1, 2008 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Winter Blues - Treating SAD with Light Therapy

When the dark days of winter approach, do you feel slowed down and have difficulty waking up in the morning? Are you tempted to snack more on those holiday foods, and do you find the pounds begin to creep on even as you valiantly try to diet? Maybe you find it hard to focus at work or in your relationships or feel down in the dumps or, worse still, really depressed. If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may be one of the millions of people who have problems wi… Continue

Posted by Douglas Arrison on December 31, 2007 at 4:30pm — No Comments

The End of the Light Bulb as We Know It

From: U.S.News & World Report

By Marianne Lavelle

The incandescent light bulb, one of the most venerable inventions of its era but deemed too inefficient for our own, will be phased off the U.S. market beginning in 2012 under the new energy law just approved by Congress. Although this will reduce electricity costs and minimize new bulb purchases in every household in America, you may be feeli… Continue

Posted by Douglas Arrison on December 21, 2007 at 8:00pm — 4 Comments

Treating Sleep Disturbances in the Elderly

In a recent pilot study, scientists at the Lighting Research Center of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute demonstrated how exposure to blue light can reduce sleep disturbances and increase the likelihood of stable, consolidated sleep in seniors. The study included subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an illness often accompanied by severely irregular sleep/wake patterns, as well as those without dementia who simply have trouble sleeping. The occurrence… Continue

Posted by Douglas Arrison on December 6, 2007 at 7:30pm — No Comments

The Eyes - Windows of the Soul

From Light: Medicine of the Future
by Dr. Jacob Liberman with permission

The eyes, which are actual extensions of the brain, are more intricate and complex than any humanly conceived system to date. In fact, each eye contains approximately 137 million photoreceptors and more than 1 billion t… Continue

Posted by Douglas Arrison on November 28, 2007 at 12:30pm — 2 Comments