According to the American Migraine Foundation, Migraines affect more than 1 billion people worldwide. If you’re one of them, you know just how debilitating migraine attacks can be and why research into new treatments is necessary. While there is no cure for migraines, there are a variety of treatments to help reduce the symptoms of migraines and manage the pain caused by this condition. Most Common Migraine Symptoms One of the most promising treatments to reduce the symptom of light sensitivity comes in the form of green light therapy. It may seem counterproductive, but research suggests that colored light therapy may help reduce the intensity of migraine attacks. Chromotherapy (color therapy) and Phototherapy (light therapy) have been practiced from thousands of years dating back to the times of Ancient Egyptians. Only in recent years, have researchers started studying its effectiveness on physical and mental health conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or even psoriasis. Green Color Therapy Glasses are an affordable and convenient tool to try green light therapy for migraine relief. Light Sensitivity & Migraines Photophobia, also known as light sensitivity, affects 60% of people that suffer from migraines. This is way most people who are suffering from a migraine attack prefer to stay inside in a dark room. While light sensitivity may not seem as debilitating as the severe head pain brought on by migraines, it can still cause you to pause life as it can limit your ability to interact with others or even leave your house until the pain is relieved. Bright or flashing lights may even trigger a migraine in some cases. During an attack, you may feel that lights are brighter than normal. Exposure to bright light during a migraine attack can worsen the migraine itself. Researchers believe that receptors on the retina of the eye (called photoreceptors) detect light and transmit signals to the cerebral cortex of the brain, where migraine pain is perceived. Blue light emitted from electronics, such as your computer or phone, may lead to a greater perception of pain and throbbing and even enhanced spreading of headache pain across the brain. It has also been known to trigger migraines which increased the popularity of glasses that can block out blue light have become more popular in recent years. How Does Green Color Therapy Relieve Migraines? During the last decade, several research groups and universities have started to turn their attention to the benefits of green light therapy and have seen promising results. A study published in 2016 by the scientific journal, Brain, had almost 80 percent of the participants report intensified symptoms with every color light except green, which only affected half as many. While 20 percent of participants reported that green light reduced migraine pain. The findings suggested that at low intensities and filtering out all other light that green light less likely to exacerbate migraine attacks and may lessen the intensity of light sensitivity. In 2018 the medical journal, Pain, published a study where researchers analyzed the effects of colored light on 120 people. The results showed that exposure to white, blue, amber, and red light exacerbated pain in about 80 percent of participants experiencing an active migraine attack, while green light only made the pain worse in 40 percent of this group. Researchers have concluded that green light does not activate retinal pathways as much as other light rays, so it is less likely to induce a migraine. In addition, you are less likely to experience light sensitivity to green light during a migraine attack. Green Migraine Glasses vs Green Boxes There are a variety of Green Light Treatments currently available to those who suffer from migraines, one of the more popular being Green Light Boxes. While the boxes can be effective, they aren’t cheap and also can’t be carried with you to assist whenever a migraine strikes. Green Therapy Glasses Green Light Boxes Wearing Green Light Therapy Glasses is a convenient way to receive the benefits of light therapy while not hindering your day. These glasses can easily be worn while at work, playing with your kids, or even traveling. Migraines keep you in a dark room; the treatment should allow you the freedom to keep living your life. Give Them A Try! Green Light Therapy may offer hope to the 1 billion people suffering from migraines worldwide. While the research is still limited, the initial studies have shown promising results on the effect of green light in reducing light sensitivity. As researchers continue to study color light therapy on humans additional mental and physical relief is being found for each color. Currently, Color Therapy Glasses are offered in 10 unique colors that all offer their own benefits.
If you have ever burned Sage before, whether that be in your home or elsewhere, you are probably familiar with some of Sage’s core benefits. As smoke cleansing with Sage becomes more and more mainstream in westernized culture, the same few benefits seem to be popping up all over the internet. Most notably, Sage can cleanse your space of negative energies and help positive energy reenter. Banishing negative energies, no doubt, is extremely important in the use of Sage as a form of cleansing. However, it is also necessary to talk about some of the lesser known benefits of burning Sage. Persuading energies is a metaphysical belief and idea with specific intentions behind it, but there are numerous physical reasons to burn Sage that improve our bodies as well. Whether you are new to burning Sage or a pro, you can always find a new and exciting way to utilize Sage in one of its purest forms. Benefits of Burning Sage Burning sage, or smudging with sage, has roots in cultures all over the world. We’ll go over some of the many benefits of Smudging, and how you can incorporate it into your life! If you have ever burned Sage before, whether that be in your home or elsewhere, you are probably familiar with some of Sage’s core benefits. As smoke cleansing with Sage becomes more and more mainstream in westernized culture, the same few benefits seem to be popping up all over the internet. Benefit 1: Cleanses Homes, Objects, & spaces You can cleanse yourself, another person, home, or space. You can also cleanse objects. But what would you cleanse and why? Some common items to cleanse or smudge are vintage items. When you find or buy something antique, you have no idea what residual energies are clinging to it. The person who owned it before could have been bad or could have even tragically died. Without cleansing those items, those negative energies could still be there. You can also cleanse or smudge items that you frequently use, such as your phone, laptop, or even bed. These items are used almost every day, so they are hot spots to pick up the negativity you may feel. Even if you are negative one night and positive the next, those negative energies could still be lingering. And lastly, you can smudge objects that are close to your heart or that are important to you, such as family heirlooms and beloved gifts. By doing this, you can keep your items cleanse and keep their energies neutralized and stable. Benefit 2: Helps Deepen Meditation One very common way to utilize Sage is with meditation. Because of its calming aroma, Sage is great to burn before or during meditation. Smoke cleansing your meditation space before you meditate ensures that you have a calm, positive atmosphere. If you burn your Sage during your practice, it can help you achieve a deeper mediative state. This is especially useful when you have a day that you feel scattered. Maybe you’re more stressed than usual. Maybe you had a bit too much caffeine and are having trouble sitting still. The smell of Sage can hone in your ability to think, “I am here, and I am in the now.” This mentality is what can get you through a peaceful and successful meditation session. Benefit 3: Disinfects the Air On top of banishing negative energies from your home, burning Sage also cleanses the air of bacteria. And that’s not a “can” or “maybe”! According to a study carried out by the National Botanical Research Institute of India, burning Sage for 60 minutes or more can reduce the air’s bacteria up to 94%. When in enclosed places such as a home, burning sage can maintain cleanliness for up to 24 hours. Some bacterias, such as Corynebacterium urealyticum and Kocuria rosea, can still be absent up to 30 days later. With this knowledge, Sage burning is such a perfect way to cleanse difficult, hard-to-clean spaces. Closets, pantries, cars, and even rooms where someone with a cold has been are all places that could benefit from a smoking cleansing. Benefit 4: Soothes Stress One of the more commonly known facts about Sage is that it is a useful tool in dealing with stress and anxiety. According to McKinley J. Sangwin’s studies at the University of Montana, burning sage has soothing properties. In Sangwin’s experiment with this form of “therapy” and how it affects college students, he discovered that on a scale of 1-10, the overall anxiety of the control group increased by 1.8 by the end of the study. In contrast, those in the treatment group of aromatherapy had an overall anxiety decrease of 1.0. Benefit 5: Helps Ease Depression According to the ADAA (the Anxiety and Depression Association of America), 322 million people worldwide are currently suffering from depression. That number is just shy of how many individuals live in the United States and makes depression the leading disability in the United States. That being said, a study conducted by Vanessa Perez at the Center for Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Computational Biology found that negative air ionization was associated with lower depression levels! This applies so heavily to Sage because when burned, Sage releases negative ions into the atmosphere. Though this study states that other studies on this topic provide inconsistent conclusions, many individuals make time each day for a Sage burning for this reason. Benefit 6: Aids in Focus Sage burning can also aid in focusing your mind. Focus helps you stay in the moment, and the more objectively we can see the moment, the more room we have in our minds to problem solve. This is proven by the same study previously discussed by Olimpia Pino and Francesco La Ragione. When carrying out their testing, they discovered that rats exposed to NAI (reminder: a key component of Sage) finished their maze with decreased errors and in less time when compared to the control group of rats. So next time you want to bust out a chapter of your book or work on your
