2023-10-03 18:15:58
Certain colors are known to be relaxing or exciting. And it is also evident that lighting greatly influences creating a certain emotional environment. From the dimness of candles at a romantic dinner to the dynamic lights of a nightclub, the intensity of the light, its color and other characteristics can influence how we feel. But can adequate light even have analgesic effects? The United States Army has funded a line of research aimed at determining the efficiency of green light in mitigating the typical pain and inflammation after a surgical operation.
Opioids, capable of creating addiction, are increasingly consumed in many countries, and are typical to combat postoperative pain. Reducing its consumption, complementing lower doses with other analgesics, preferably non-chemical, is a goal pursued by the health authorities of numerous nations.
In the line of research followed by the team of Mohab Ibrahim and Laurent Martin, both from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Arizona in the United States, it was previously proven that a therapy based on green light reduced chronic pain. , anxiety and depression and improved sleep in people with migraine and fibromyalgia.
Other previous findings suggested that green light may promote the brain’s natural ability to reduce inflammation and pain. Preclinical studies on chronic and post-surgical pain demonstrated that green light acts through a pain center in the brain stem. That center is the rostral ventromedial medulla.
Various experiments have led to the striking hypothesis that green light has indirectly analgesic effects. (Photo: UArizona Health Sciences)
“We have already shown that green light can reduce pain and anxiety in animal models by increasing the production of natural substances in the brain that combat pain and anxiety, while reducing the production of inflammatory substances,” explains Martín.
The next step in this line of research will be to examine whether green light therapy can increase the body’s production of natural analgesic and anti-inflammatory substances to mitigate pain and inflammation. (Source: NCYT from Amazings)
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