Dark therapy

{{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 for extended periods of time in an attempt to treat psychological conditions. The human body produces the melatonin hormone, which is responsible for supporting the circadian rhythms. Darkness seems to help keep these circadian rhythms stable.<ref>{{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}}</ref> A related form of dark therapy is to block blue wavelength lights to stop the disintegration of melatonin.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

The practice has a precursor in retreats of Tibetan monks who would descend alone into caves for 49 days, a ceremony known as ''yang-ti''.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Dark therapy was popularised in the West in the 1960s, by German anthropologist Holger Kalweit who called it ''Dunkeltherapie'' ({{lit|dark therapy}}).<ref>{{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}}</ref>

This dark therapy concept was explored in 1998 in research which suggested that systematic exposure to darkness might alter people's mood.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Original studies enforced 14 hours of darkness to bipolar patients for three nights straight. This study showed a decrease of manic episodes in the patients.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> More recently, with the discovery of 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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 }}</ref> Moreover, researchers exploring blue-blocking glasses have so far considered dark therapy only as an add-on treatment to be used together with psychotherapy, rather than a replacement for other therapies.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Contrary to the original claim that decreasing the amount of blue light could help with insomnia, this study suggested improvement with blue light exposure.

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Circadian rhythm Category:Light therapy Category:Treatment of bipolar disorder