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Chromatherapy
And Sleep Quality
Chromatherapy
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 therapy 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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