Learn how green light therapy can significantly reduce migraine frequency and intensity—without drugs. Discover clinical study results, usage guidelines, and how to choose an effective device.
“Migraine is one of the most common neurological conditions in the world, and it’s debilitating,” said Dr. Ibrahim.
The non-invasive nature of green-light exposure makes it a promising candidate for other neurological conditions, such as fibromyalgia or HIV-related pain. Dr. Ibrahim and his team recently completed a clinical study in which people with fibromyalgia tried green-light therapy. As with the migraine study, the results were encouraging.
Pharmacological management of migraine can be ineffective for some patients. Earlier rodent studies showed that green-light exposure produced antinociception and reversed thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity. Given the safety of green-light-emitting diodes (LEDs), the investigators tested green light as a potential therapy for people with episodic or chronic migraine.
Twenty-nine patients were enrolled: seven with episodic migraine and 22 with chronic migraine. A one-way crossover design was used: 1–2 hours daily of white LEDs for 10 weeks, a 2-week wash-out, then 1–2 hours daily of green LEDs for 10 weeks. Participants could continue existing therapies and start new treatments at their physician’s discretion. The primary outcome was the number of headache days per month; secondary outcomes included headache intensity and frequency over two weeks, sleep quality, work ability, and changes in analgesic use.
White LEDs produced no significant change in headache days in either subgroup. Pooling both groups showed a small but statistically significant reduction (18.2 ± 1.8 to 16.5 ± 2.0 days). Green LEDs decreased headache days from 7.9 ± 1.6 to 2.4 ± 1.1 in episodic migraine and from 22.3 ± 1.2 to 9.4 ± 1.6 in chronic migraine. Secondary outcomes, including the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire, Headache Impact Test-6, and EuroQol-5D, improved more with green LEDs than with white LEDs, and no side effects were reported. No conclusions could be drawn about medication reduction, and no participant started new therapies during the study.
PubMed search for green light migraine
Green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) reduced the number of headache days in people with episodic or chronic migraines and improved several secondary outcomes, including quality of life, pain intensity, and attack duration. No adverse events were reported, so green-LED exposure may offer a non-pharmacological option or complement other strategies. The main limitation is the small sample size; larger trials are needed to confirm these findings.
This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov under NCT03677206.
