Early morning blue light exposure can aid the healing process of people impacted by mild traumatic brain injury, according to research from the University of Arizona published in January of this year.

“Daily exposure to blue wavelength light each morning helps to re-entrain the circadian rhythm so that people get better, more regular sleep. This is likely true for everybody, but we recently demonstrated it in people recovering from mild traumatic brain injury, or mTBI. That improvement in sleep was translated into improvements in cognitive function, reduced daytime sleepiness and actual brain repair,” said William D. Killgore, lead author on a new study published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease.

Headaches, attention problems and mental fogginess are commonly reported after head injuries and can persist for weeks or months for some people.

“About 50% of people with mTBI also complain that they have sleep problems after an injury,” Killgore said.

People get the most restorative sleep when it aligns with their natural circadian rhythm – the body’s sleep-wake cycle associated with night and day.

As a result of the blue light treatment, participants woke up an average of one hour earlier than before the trial and were less sleepy during the daytime.

Blue light from computers, smartphones and TV screens often gives blue light a bad rap. But according to Killgore, “when it comes to light, timing is critical. Light is not necessarily good or bad in-and-of-itself. Like caffeine, it all comes down to when you use it. It can be terrible for your sleep if you’re consuming coffee at 10 o’clock at night, but it may be great for your alertness if you have it in the morning.”

Source:https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/blue-light-can-help-heal-mild-traumatic-brain-injury

Thanks to Diego from Centro Olistico Bluwave for forwarding the research.