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SolveYourProblem
eLearning Series: Natural Sleep Remedies
Please Help Me Sleep Better At Night!
Chromatherapy
& Sleep Disorders
Color
therapy or Chromatherapy is the use of color to
promote general health and also to treat particular maladies
(including but not limited to sleep-oriented problems).
Chromatherapy
can be used to treat both emotional and physical sleep disturbances,
and may involve exposure to colored lights, massages using
color-saturated oils and salves, meditation and visualization
of certain colors, or wearing certain colors of clothing.
Color has been
used for centuries in the treatment of a wide variety of
disorders.
In India, practitioners
of Ayurvedic medicine believed that specific colors corresponded
with each of the seven chakras, vortices of energy in the
body that represent organs, emotions, and aspects of the
soul or life force.
In the days of
ancient Egypt, practitioners built solariums with specifically
designed glasses and lenses that served to break up the sun's
rays into the colors of the spectrum.
In the late 17th
century modern-day color theory was born when English mathematician
and philosopher Sir Isaac Newton conducted his prism experiments
and showed that light is truly a mixture of colors from the
visible spectrum.
But it was not
until the late 1800s, when Dr. Edwin D. Babbitt published
his book Principles of Light and Color, that Chromatherapy
as we know it was outlined.
It is in this
work that Dr. Babbitt suggests the use of color as a treatment
for a variety of ailments, including sleep and anxiety disorders.
In the late 1940s,
Russian researcher S.V. Krakov conducted a series of experiments
in which he separated the different wavelengths in the light
spectrum to show how color affects the nervous system. In
his experiments, he observed that red light stimulated
the adrenal glands, raising blood pressure and pulse rate,
and
that blue and white light had a calming, relaxing effect.
The fruits of
Krakov's studies are still used today by many practitioners,
and his brand of color therapy is commonly recommended for
stress and for stress-related pain.
In recent years,
studies have demonstrated the positive effects of full-spectrum
light on seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and other forms
of depression, which has resulted in increased public awareness
of color therapy. It is becoming more and more common to
find mainstream researchers turning to chromatherapy for
a variety of ailments as well, particularly sleep disorders.
Color is a property
of light, which is made up of many different waves of energy.
When light falls upon the photoreceptor cells of the retina,
it is converted into electrical impulses.
These impulses
travel to the brain and trigger the release of hormones.
The release of these hormones in controlled bursts can be
used to treat the body and mind for many of the medical conditions
that hinder sleep as well as promote conditions that are
conducive to sleep and rest.
While many forms
of chromatherapy can and should only be practiced by licensed
practitioners and/or medical doctors, some forms
of color therapies are simple and safe enough to be practiced
in the
comfort of your own home. These include wearing clothing
of particular hues, surrounding yourself with a recommended
color, eating certain colorful foods, and concentration on
visualizing a particular color.
Some Cautions: Never use color
therapy instead of conventional care for serious sleep problems.
- If you suffer
from epilepsy, use caution when looking at flashing lights.
- If you are
receiving colored light therapy, avoid looking directly
into the light source. Look at an object illuminated by
the colored lights instead.
- When taking
prescription drugs, read the warning label to make sure
that no side effects are induced if your skin is exposed
to bright light.
 
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