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Light therapy for sleep problems?


CHfather
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My daughter has awful sleep problems, which we are attributing to her dysfunctional hypothalamus (though there might be other factors).  I've been reading about "bright light" and "blue light" sleep therapies that are used to re-set a person's circadian rhythms.  Apparently this is a legitimate therapy, since it's mentioned at sites like the Mayo Clinic's and the Chronobiology Lab at a big New York Hospital.  Our fear about trying it is that messing with her brain's already-screwed-up (or maybe already CH-causing) relationship to daily and seasonal light patterns might trigger something bad for her.  She's been PF for quite a while now (thank you!), but the sleep thing is really messing up her life.

Any experiences or general cautions related to this type of therapy?  (Yes, I saw that interesting recent study posted by Kyle, suggesting the hypothalamus might not  be involved in CH after all, but that's not enough to make me throw caution to the winds in this regard.)

Thanks!

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Gosh, I now see from some further research that there was a time, back in the 1990s, when Dr. Kudrow (CH sufferer, HA specialist, father (grandfather??) of Lisa) actually was thinking about light therapy/resetting circadian rhythms as a treatment for CH.  Apparently it didn't go anywhere . . . so now I'm very curious to know whether that's because it just didn't really work to treat CH, or maybe (consistent with my fears) that it somehow made some CH worse, or maybe it was just supplanted by more effective things.  I'm remembering that someone here knows Dr. Kudrow -- Do you think we could ask him?

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Soooo....what are the odds that I was also looking into light therapy lamps today??? 

Although researchers may some day determine the hypothalamus is not the cause of CH, I know my sleep pattern definitely fluctuates as a CH cycle progresses.

Hopefully, someone here has tried the lamps, but if not,  I figure I'll go ahead and give it a try. It can't screw up my head too much more than it is  already, right?   ;)

Here are a couple I was looking at:

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-briteLITE-6-BriteLITE/dp/B0018804AY/ref=sr_1_5?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1312082442&sr=1-5

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B001I45XL8/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1312082442&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/NatureBright-SunTouch-Plus-Light-Therapy/dp/B000W8Y7FY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312083489&sr=8-1

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I could imagine your worries CHfather about triggering a new CH. Glad your daughter is PF, you would keep that for sure.

I'm wondering if you/she tried Passiflora ?

My wife has often sleep problems, she keeps awake for hours till she felt in sleep. During the nights she is often awake.

When she does use Passiflora before sleep she sleeps perfect without being awake constantly. She does use this for a couple of days till she sleeps again without Passiflora.

After a while she will dose for some nights till everything turns to normal.

It does not harm anything and it's rather cheap.

English passiflora:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passiflora

Dutch brand of Passiflora for sleep problems and unrest in the body:

http://www.avogel.nl/webwinkel/producten/passiflora-forte-rustgevend-bij-stress-situaties.php

Hope this is helpful.

Oscar

Update:

I asked my wife and she told me she had better supplies these days.

Avena sativa complex, english: http://www.revital.co.uk/Weleda_Avena_Sativa_Complex

Dutch brand: http://www.avogel.nl/webwinkel/producten/avena_sativa_complex.php

Also a good one: Dormeasan, http://www.avogel.co.uk/dormeasan/index.php

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I use light therapy almost everyday. It seems my body prefer to not funtion well at daytime and very well at night time. I turne it around by using this light and a energy drink or Taurin capsules early in the morning and melatonin and Benadryl at night time. To me this works wonder.

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Somewhere I have several very old articles on light therapy.   

The thought was it ties into the hypothalamus-pineal-melatonin axis. 

Seems to have worked for some, not for others/most.  (several threads on ch.com)

Does that sound way to familiar with most anything in CH treatment??  :-(

There are also several people that claim moving closer to the equator (more hours of sun) help with their CH. 

FG

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Thanks, everyone!  (Interesting, kaboom!  The phrase "great minds" pops into my head, but I can only say that for your sake I sure hope yours is a lot greater than mine.)

I use light therapy almost everyday.
  Ting, would you mind saying a little more about what you do with the light therapy (how you use it; what you use)?  I could ask you this in a PM, but maybe others will be interested, too.

Thanks,

Jerry

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There are also several people that claim moving closer to the equator (more hours of sun) help with their CH.

But it's much hotter there, and if heat is a trigger for you, then...

Nevermind. There's just no winning with this silly affliction.

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It`s a daylight lamp, i think it`s 10 000 lux.

http://www.day-lights.com/us/bright-light-therapy/index.html

I use it in the morning, as the Melatonin "turn" into Serotonin when exposed to light. That is why i do take Melatonin in periods. Some periods i do not take Melatonin and just use the light. It take some time for some to get a noticeable effect, but for me it work pretty fast. It takes around two three days and i can feel the effect starting to wear off. This light together with the right type of food and exercise, i imagine myself that i can help my brain to produce a more balanced and right chemistry. I truly believe in "you are what you eat and do", cause everything we eat and do will give us a chemical reaction. Not saying this light will fix it all, but everything all together will help me keep the chemistry settled right  after busting have made it balanced again.

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