Color therapy, also known as chromotherapy, is a centuries-old method of treating both physical and mental illnesses. It remains a popular therapy among some proponents of alternative/complementary medicine, and there are even studies that have lent credence to some of the claims made for this method of treatment. At its heart, chromotherapy is based on the belief that certain colors can be used to treat specific illnesses.
Scientific Basis
If your first reaction to the notion that color therapy can cure your ills is one of amused disbelief, rest assured that you are not alone. But take a minute to consider more closely the scientific basis for chromotherapy. In their "critical analysis" of chromotherapy, which was published in the December 2005 issue of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Pakistani physicists Samina T. Yousuf Azeemi and S. Mohsin Raza looked at the science behind chromotherapy. They observe that "colors generate electrical impulses and magnetic currents or fields of energy that are prime activators of the biochemical and hormonal processes in the human body...."
Colors and Their Properties
In its overview of color therapy, the Natures Energies website offers a brief profile of the colors used in chromotherapy and the properties for which each is best known. Red, it's observed, can be used to energize and stimulate your body and its component parts, while yellow increases neuromuscular tone. Turn to white if you're seeking a color to promote regeneration or green to regulate the pituitary gland. Blue is valued, according to the Natures Energies website, for its calming effect. The visible spectrum of light for humans ranges from roughly 380 nanometers to 750 nanometers. While various shades of red fall between 625 and 740 nm at the high end of the visible spectrum, blue falls between 440 and 490 nm, closer to the low end of the spectrum.
Practical Applications for Blue Light
Because of its calmative effect, blue light is said to combat mental and physical tension and induce relaxation. You can practice color therapy in a variety of ways, including exposure of your body--or portions thereof--to lights of varied colors; dressing predominantly in the colors prescribed for your specific ills; and changing the color scheme in rooms where you spend a great deal of time. Although you can tackle some of these forms of color therapy on your own, others, such as light box or colored light therapy, might best be practiced with the guidance of a chromotherapist.
The Color Therapy page of the Spiritual.com.au website says that blue light therapy is among the most potent antiseptics available and is useful in the treatment of more illnesses than any other color. It says that blue light can bring down fever, soothe sore throats, reduce skin and gum inflammations and stop bleeding in the lungs. It's also a good color to use to reduce an infant's teething pains, according to Spiritual.com.au. Other illnesses and injuries that can benefit from blue light therapy include goiter, hypertension, measles, chicken pox, cuts, bruises and burns.
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