Ancient medical
books are filled with explanations of the importance of getting enough light.
For example, the ancient Ayurvedic physician Charaka who lived in the sixth
century B.C., recommended sunlight to treat a variety of diseases. For thousands
of years people the world over have revered the sun as a great healer; some
ancient cultures even worshiped the sun.
In 1980, A.J. Lewy
and coworkers published an article in Science that ushered in the modern era of
phototherapy. Lewy suggested that secretion of the hormone melatonin could be
suppressed by exposing subjects to bright artificial light but not to light of
ordinary indoor intensity. As we shall see later, melatonin is nicknamed "the
chemical expression of darkness" as it is secreted at night and is believed to
tell the body that it is time to sleep. It has been shown that melatonin in
animals is secreted at night by the pineal gland under the influence of a
circadian rhythm. Light rays impinging on the retina are converted into nerve
impulses, which influence the secretion of melatonin by connections between the
retina and the hypothalamus. This demonstration that one physiologic effect of
light in humans, transmitted presumably via the hypothalamus, has a threshold
intensity far higher than that required for vision, suggested that there might
be other effects of light on the brain that require high-intensity light.
There is no doubt
that the sun plays a very important role in our daily lives. During winter, the
well-to-do vacations in Caribbean.
The summer months are synonymous with spending time in the beach, in spite of
all the warning of the potential to get skin cancer. We feel better after
spending time in the sun. Today, most of the doctors and medical researchers
view the sun more as a healer than a hazard.
We know that lack
of sunlight can result in nutritional deficiencies. Without sunlight vitamin D
cannot be metabolized in the human body, which can result in rickets. Most
enzymes, hormones and vitamins need light for proper functioning. Studies have
shown that different lights affect different enzymatic reactions for healing
purposes. For example, one of the first test a pediatrician do to a new-born
baby is to check for jaundice. If found positive, they are placed under a blue
light to cure the disease. So, most of us are given light therapy, without us
being aware of it.
Professor Mester
of Budapest University
conducted experiments to determine the function of light in the cells of animals
and humans. He found that the monochromatic light promotes the DNA to use the
lipoprotein in the area enabling the the cell to function better as well as to
produce collagen and elastin.
In a study
reported in the American Geriatrics Society, researchers wanted to find
out "the effects of low-power light therapy on pain and disability in elderly
patients with degenerative osteoarthritis of the knee." They have divided the
patients into three groups. One group was treated with red light, one was
treated with infrared light and the third group got no light therapy. Prior to
the light therapy, the pain and disability was statistically similar among the
three control groups. They found that pain reduction in the red and infrared
groups after the treatment was more than 50%. Significant functional improvement
was observed in the red and infrared-treated groups, but not in the placebo
group. The experiment showed that low-power light therapy is effective in
relieving pain and disability in degenerative osteoarthritis of the knee.
.In fact,
researchers have determined several benefits from regular, moderate exposure to
sunlight-or to sun-like artificial lights. Such exposure can help relieve winter
blues and treat other forms of depression; minimize jet lag; shorten abnormally
long menstrual cycles and treat psoriasis, eating disorders and some forms of
insomnia. It can possibly even help relieve some symptoms of lupus-a serious
disease involving the immune system.
