# Dark therapy > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dark_therapy > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dark_therapy.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_therapy > Source revision: 1304648569 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Use of darkness to treat psychological conditions}} {{About|the medical uses for the absence of light|the Echobelly song|Dark Therapy (song)}} {{more citations needed|date=September 2018}} '''Dark therapy''' is the practice of keeping people in complete [darkness](/source/darkness) for extended periods of time in an attempt to treat [psychological condition](/source/psychological_condition)s. The human body produces the [melatonin](/source/melatonin) hormone, which is responsible for supporting the [circadian rhythms](/source/circadian_rhythms). Darkness seems to help keep these circadian rhythms stable.{{Cite journal|last=Phelps|first=James|date=2008-01-01|title=Dark therapy for bipolar disorder using amber lenses for blue light blockade|journal=Medical Hypotheses|volume=70|issue=2|pages=224–229|doi=10.1016/j.mehy.2007.05.026|pmid=17637502|issn=0306-9877}} A related form of dark therapy is to block [blue wavelength lights](/source/blue_light_spectrum) to stop the disintegration of melatonin.{{Cite web|url=https://psycheducation.org/treatment/bipolar-disorder-light-and-darkness/dark-therapy/|title=Dark Therapy|website=PsychEducation|date=17 September 2014|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-28|archive-date=2019-04-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428084706/https://psycheducation.org/treatment/bipolar-disorder-light-and-darkness/dark-therapy/|url-status=dead}} The practice has a precursor in retreats of [Tibetan monk](/source/Tibetan_monk)s who would descend alone into caves for 49 days, a ceremony known as ''yang-ti''.{{cite news |last1=Hillier |first1=David |title=Darkness therapy: could seven days in pitch blackness open your eyes to the world? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/darkness-therapy-could-seven-days-pitch-blackness-open-eyes/ |access-date=7 August 2025 |work=The Telegraph |date=29 November 2019}} Dark therapy was popularised in the West in the 1960s, by German anthropologist Holger Kalweit who called it ''Dunkeltherapie'' ({{lit|dark therapy}}).{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/07/darkness-therapy-czech-republic/564365/|title=A Week of Darkness, for Your Health|last=Childs|first=Morgan|date=2018-07-06|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-23}} This dark therapy concept was explored in 1998 in research which suggested that systematic exposure to darkness might alter people's [mood](/source/mood_(psychology)).{{cite journal |vauthors=Phelps J |title=A powerful non-pharmacologic treatment for mania - virtually |journal=Bipolar Disord |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=379–82 |year=2016 |pmid=27218661 |doi=10.1111/bdi.12393 |type=Commentary}} Original studies enforced 14 hours of darkness to [bipolar](/source/bipolar_disorder) patients for three nights straight. This study showed a decrease of manic episodes in the patients.{{Cite journal|last1=Barbini|first1=Barbara|last2=Benedetti|first2=Francesco|last3=Colombo|first3=Cristina|last4=Dotoli|first4=Danilo|last5=Bernasconi|first5=Alessandro|last6=Cigala‐Fulgosi|first6=Mara|last7=Florita|first7=Marcello|last8=Smeraldi|first8=Enrico|date=2005|title=Dark therapy for mania: a pilot study|journal=Bipolar Disorders|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=98–101|doi=10.1111/j.1399-5618.2004.00166.x|pmid=15654938|issn=1399-5618}} Participation in this study became unrealistic, as patients did not want to participate in treatment of total darkness from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.{{Cite journal|last=Phelps|first=James|date=2008-01-01|title=Dark therapy for bipolar disorder using amber lenses for blue light blockade|journal=Medical Hypotheses|volume=70|issue=2|pages=224–229|doi=10.1016/j.mehy.2007.05.026|pmid=17637502|issn=0306-9877}} More recently, with the discovery of [intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells](/source/intrinsically_photosensitive_retinal_ganglion_cells), it has been hypothesized that similar results could be achieved by blocking blue light, as a potential treatment for [bipolar disorder](/source/bipolar_disorder).{{cite journal|last1=Henriksen|first1=Tone|last2=Skrede|first2=Silje|last3=Ole|first3=Fasmer|last4=Schoeyen|first4=Helle|last5=Leskauskaite|first5=Ieva|last6=Bjørke‐Bertheussen|first6=Jeanette|last7=Assmus|first7=Jörg|last8=Hamre|first8=Børge|last9=Grønli|first9=Janne|last10=Lund|first10=Anders|title=Blue‐blocking glasses as additive treatment for mania: a randomized placebo‐controlled trial|journal=Bipolar Disorders|date=26 May 2016|volume=18|issue=3|pages=221–232|doi=10.1111/bdi.12390|pmid=27226262|pmc=5089565}}{{cite journal |last1=Barbini |first1=B |title=Dark Therapy for Mania: a pilot study |journal=Bipolar Disorders |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=98–101 |pmid=15654938 |year=2005 |doi=10.1111/j.1399-5618.2004.00166.x }} Moreover, researchers exploring blue-blocking glasses have so far considered dark therapy only as an add-on treatment to be used together with [psychotherapy](/source/psychotherapy), rather than a replacement for other therapies.{{cite journal|last1=Henriksen|first1=Tone|last2=Skrede|first2=Silje|last3=Ole|first3=Fasmer|last4=Schoeyen|first4=Helle|last5=Leskauskaite|first5=Ieva|last6=Bjørke‐Bertheussen|first6=Jeanette|last7=Assmus|first7=Jörg|last8=Hamre|first8=Børge|last9=Grønli|first9=Janne|last10=Lund|first10=Anders|title=Blue‐blocking glasses as additive treatment for mania: a randomized placebo‐controlled trial|journal=Bipolar Disorders|date=26 May 2016|volume=18|issue=3|pages=221–232|doi=10.1111/bdi.12390|pmid=27226262|pmc=5089565}} Another study consisting of healthy females and males suggested that a single exposure to blue light after being kept in a dim setting could reduce sleepiness.{{Cite journal|last1=Franke|first1=L.|last2=Sülflow|first2=D.|last3=Stark|first3=K.|last4=Piazena|first4=H.|last5=Uebelhack|first5=R.|date=2009-01-01|title=P03-246 Acute effect of blue light exposition on well-being and melatonin secretion in humans|journal=European Psychiatry|series=17th EPA Congress - Lisbon, Portugal, January 2009, Abstract book|volume=24|pages=S1245|doi=10.1016/S0924-9338(09)71478-6|s2cid=144027952|issn=0924-9338|doi-access=free}} Contrary to the original claim that decreasing the amount of blue light could help with insomnia, this study suggested improvement with blue light exposure. ==See also== * [Clinical depression](/source/Clinical_depression) * [Light therapy](/source/Light_therapy) * [Seasonal affective disorder](/source/Seasonal_affective_disorder) * [Sleep hygiene](/source/Sleep_hygiene) ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} Category:Circadian rhythm Category:Light therapy Category:Treatment of bipolar disorder {{treatment-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dark therapy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_therapy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_therapy?action=history)). 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