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Home | Understanding Hyperemesis | Treatments | Complementary & Alternative Medications | Light Therapy

Light Therapy

Full-spectrum light travels from the eye to the brain, where it triggers the hypothalamus to send chemical messengers to regulate the autonomic functions of the body, such as blood pressure, breathing, digestion, and the immune system, as well as the body’s circadian rhythm. In order to maintain health, it may be important to be exposed to light containing the full wavelength spectrum found in natural light. Full-spectrum light therapy, bright light therapy, and ultraviolet light therapy are used by some clinicians for treating conditions that range from seasonal affective disorder to bulimia, and new applications are continually being suggested.

Excerpted from www.healthnotes.com

If a woman is unable to leave her home due to HG, consider full spectrum lighting to ease potential depression. (Available at health food stores, home stores (Lowe's) and at many stores online such as GAIAM.)

Offsite Research:

Light treatment for nonseasonal depression: speed, efficacy, and combined treatment.
Kripke DF.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0667, USA. (e-mail: dkripke@ucsd.edu)
Journal of Affective Disorders 1998 May;49(2):109-17

Light treatment of nonseasonal depression produces net benefits in the range of 12-35%, often within 1 week. Light appears to produce faster antidepressant benefits than psychopharmacologic treatment. Bright light can be combined with standard therapies for treating nonseasonal depressions and appears synergistic.

Updated on: Sep. 15, 2022