Blue Light Reduces Melatonin Production

I was scanning over my Google Reader this morning and found this very cool Digg.com article. A small study, sponsored by National Space Biomedical Research Institute, suggest that subjects exposed to short-wavelenght light (aka blue light), are immediately perked up.

Very interesting. Back in a former part of my life, I was very into chromotherapy and Ayurvedic medicine in general. I am Pitta for the record. ;)

Anyways, lets get into the details of this blue idea.

1) In chromotherapy, Red is said to increase the pulse rate, to raise the blood pressure, and the rate of breathing. Perhaps this is why we always see red lights on planes in military movies, who knows.

2) Back in 2001, neuroscientists at Jefferson Medical College clarified how the human eyes uses light to regulate melatonion production. George Brainard, Ph.D. was a professor of neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Remember that name ;)

Melatonin is a hormone produced in the pineal gland and also by the retina. It is commonly used against insomnia, jet lag and other types of sleep misalignments. In simple terms, melatonin makes you sleepy.

In the study, they looked at the effects of different wavelengths of light on 72 healthy volunteers, exposing them to nine different wavelengths, from indigo to orange. Subjects were brought into the laboratory at midnight, when melatonin is highest. The subjects’ pupils were dilated and then they were blindfolded for two hours. Blood samples were drawn.

Next, each person was exposed to a specific dose of photons of one light for 90 minutes, and then another blood sample was drawn. Wavelengths of blue light had the highest potency in causing changes in melatonin levels, he explains.

So bascially, certain light colors effects the production of melatonin in different ways. Very cool.

Now, if they can find the light color that inhibits serontonin reuptake in the synaptic terminls of neurons. That would be cool. Colored light should be much better on the body than ecstasy (MDMA), cocaine, and man-made TCAs.