Donovan
12-28-2004, 12:09 PM
I use a
light therapy unit, and it has been my experience that light does increase the libido quite a lot.
Light
Therapy May Boost Hormone Levels
By Randy Dotinga
HealthScoutNews Reporter
WEDNESDAY, April 23
(HealthScoutNews) -- Researchers who have been exploring the effects of light therapy on mood are reporting that
exposure to ultra-bright lamps appears to boost the body's ability to produce hormones.
The importance of the
finding isn't yet clear. But it's possible that light therapy could one day be used to control ovulation in women
or treat people who take antidepressants and find themselves with low sex drives, the researchers say.
"It's
a very promising lead," says study co-author Dr. Daniel Kripke, a professor of psychiatry at the University of
California at San Diego. Light therapy is natural and could be a safe and effective way to "accomplish some
important health goals," he says.
Researchers have known for decades that exposure to light affects the way
animals live. Changes in the light from the sun, for example, automatically set off hibernation in some mammals.
Seasonal changes in light also control reproduction in rats and mice so they only mate during warmer months, Kripke
says.
Researchers are still working to understand how exposure to light affects humans. Kripke and colleagues
discovered two decades ago that light therapy -- shining powerful lamps at people's eyes -- affects mood. Light
therapy has become a common treatment for seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression that strikes when days
grow shorter.
In his new study, Kripke enlisted 11 healthy male volunteers, aged 19 to 30, to test whether
light affects the body levels of luteinizing hormone, which is produced by the pituitary gland and assists in the
production of other hormones, such as testosterone, in men. The men woke at 5 a.m. for five days and spent an hour
in front of a light box giving off 1,000 lux, or much more brightness than typical indoor lighting. Later, they
spent five days in front of a light box that only gave out 10 lux.
The findings of the study, supported by
the National Institutes of Health, appear in the April 24 issue of the journal Neuroscience
Letters.
Researchers found the body levels of luteinizing hormone grew by 69.5 percent in the men while they
were exposed to the high levels of light.
The researchers didn't look at women because the rapidly cycling
hormones in their bodies would make it difficult to study the effect of light, Kripke says. However, luteinizing
hormone does affect ovulation, he adds, and "we think light is potentially a very promising treatment for women who
have ovulatory problems or long and irregular menstrual cycles."
Light therapy could also boost testosterone
in men, potentially increasing sexual potency and muscle mass, he says. Researchers, however, didn't monitor
testosterone levels in the men.
The researchers hope to test light therapy on people with low sex drives and
on postmenopausal women.
A hormone expert cautioned that plenty of research is still needed. The newly
released study was relatively small, and it's not clear the changes in the level of the hormone are significant
enough to actually cause changes in the body, says Dr. Ronald Swerdloff, chief of the division of endocrinology at
Harbor UCLA Medical Center, part of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine.
light therapy unit, and it has been my experience that light does increase the libido quite a lot.
Light
Therapy May Boost Hormone Levels
By Randy Dotinga
HealthScoutNews Reporter
WEDNESDAY, April 23
(HealthScoutNews) -- Researchers who have been exploring the effects of light therapy on mood are reporting that
exposure to ultra-bright lamps appears to boost the body's ability to produce hormones.
The importance of the
finding isn't yet clear. But it's possible that light therapy could one day be used to control ovulation in women
or treat people who take antidepressants and find themselves with low sex drives, the researchers say.
"It's
a very promising lead," says study co-author Dr. Daniel Kripke, a professor of psychiatry at the University of
California at San Diego. Light therapy is natural and could be a safe and effective way to "accomplish some
important health goals," he says.
Researchers have known for decades that exposure to light affects the way
animals live. Changes in the light from the sun, for example, automatically set off hibernation in some mammals.
Seasonal changes in light also control reproduction in rats and mice so they only mate during warmer months, Kripke
says.
Researchers are still working to understand how exposure to light affects humans. Kripke and colleagues
discovered two decades ago that light therapy -- shining powerful lamps at people's eyes -- affects mood. Light
therapy has become a common treatment for seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression that strikes when days
grow shorter.
In his new study, Kripke enlisted 11 healthy male volunteers, aged 19 to 30, to test whether
light affects the body levels of luteinizing hormone, which is produced by the pituitary gland and assists in the
production of other hormones, such as testosterone, in men. The men woke at 5 a.m. for five days and spent an hour
in front of a light box giving off 1,000 lux, or much more brightness than typical indoor lighting. Later, they
spent five days in front of a light box that only gave out 10 lux.
The findings of the study, supported by
the National Institutes of Health, appear in the April 24 issue of the journal Neuroscience
Letters.
Researchers found the body levels of luteinizing hormone grew by 69.5 percent in the men while they
were exposed to the high levels of light.
The researchers didn't look at women because the rapidly cycling
hormones in their bodies would make it difficult to study the effect of light, Kripke says. However, luteinizing
hormone does affect ovulation, he adds, and "we think light is potentially a very promising treatment for women who
have ovulatory problems or long and irregular menstrual cycles."
Light therapy could also boost testosterone
in men, potentially increasing sexual potency and muscle mass, he says. Researchers, however, didn't monitor
testosterone levels in the men.
The researchers hope to test light therapy on people with low sex drives and
on postmenopausal women.
A hormone expert cautioned that plenty of research is still needed. The newly
released study was relatively small, and it's not clear the changes in the level of the hormone are significant
enough to actually cause changes in the body, says Dr. Ronald Swerdloff, chief of the division of endocrinology at
Harbor UCLA Medical Center, part of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine.