Can green light therapy help relieve migraines? Discover how exposure to narrow-band green light may reduce migraine frequency and intensity.
Migraine is a neurological condition that can cause multiple symptoms. It is often characterized by intense, debilitating headaches. Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, difficulty speaking, numbness or tingling, and sensitivity to light and sound. Migraines often run in families and can affect all ages.
People describe migraine pain as:
Symptoms may begin one to two days before the headache itself. This is known as the prodrome stage. Symptoms during this stage can include:
The effects of green light on the brain have been studied for years. Green light may influence circadian rhythm through melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. A special photoreceptor system in the human eye detects light and can trigger non-visual responses, sending signals to the brain that may alter melatonin production.
Long-time sufferers of migraines and other chronic pain conditions might benefit from exposure to LED green light. A study led by pharmacologist Mohab M. Ibrahim, M.D., Ph.D., explored whether the color green could help ease pain.
Ibrahim’s interest was inspired by his brother, who has experienced severe headaches for years. Instead of taking ibuprofen, his brother would sit in the garden and enjoy the greenery to relieve his pain.
“I wanted to see what is in his garden—or in a garden in general—that would make headaches better,” said Ibrahim, director of the Chronic Pain Management Clinic at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson.
In his practice, Ibrahim observed that patients with migraines and fibromyalgia had limited treatment options and hoped to find a simple, non-invasive, non-pharmacological therapy.
In an unpublished study, Ibrahim exposed 25 volunteers with migraine first to white lights for two hours as a control, then to green LED lights. He recorded pain reduction, headache frequency, fibromyalgia flare-ups, pain intensity and duration, and quality of life.
On a 0–10 pain scale, volunteers reported an average baseline score of 8. After green-light sessions, the average score fell to 2.8. Headache frequency dropped from 19 to 6.5 per month, and self-reported quality of life rose from 48 % to 78 %.
“The best part about it … is the simplicity, the affordability and, most importantly, the lack of side effects,” Ibrahim noted. “It’s a normal light. We’re not using a high-energy laser or anything like that.”
Yet if pain is processed through the nervous system, how might green light—detected by the visual system—help people feel better?
This information is educational and not a substitute for professional medical advice.
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New studies show neuronal connections that run from the retina to the spinal cord, passing through brain regions that modulate pain. Green light appears to shift serotonin levels and influence the endogenous opioid system, the body’s built-in pain-relief network present in the central and peripheral nervous systems, gastrointestinal tract, and immune system, explained Bing Liao, M.D., a neurologist at Houston Methodist Hospital.
“The endogenous opioid system … lets the body produce its own opioid-like compounds, creating a sense of pain relief and well-being,” Liao said. “Research suggests that green light can increase the production of receptors and hormones within this system in the brain and body, which may help explain why people often feel better in green surroundings.”
Although larger trials are still needed, researchers hope green-light therapy can complement existing treatments. “What this offers is a non-invasive, drug-free option that might reduce the need for opioids,” one investigator noted. “It is unlikely to replace opioids, but it could lower the required dose or provide extra relief.”
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