Dark Therapy for Bipolar Disorder – How and Why it Works
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– Hi, I’m Dr. Tracey Marks, and I make mental health education videos. What is something that
you can do for your mania that doesn’t involve medication? I’ve talked in a previous video about using bright light
therapy for bipolar disorder, but this would be for the
depressed phase of the illness. You wouldn’t wanna use a
light box during mania. Typically during a manic
or hypomanic episode, you have a decreased need for sleep. Some people may only sleep a
couple of hours and feel fine, where some people can go a day or two without sleeping at all. But sleep deprivation fuels
mania and makes it ramp up to become out of control,
so increasing your sleep becomes a priority. A treatment that’s gaining some traction as far as recommending
it, is dark therapy. Dark therapy works the opposite
of bright light therapy. You wear glasses with amber-colored lenses that block out the blue
light from the sunlight. Blue light from sunlight blocks melatonin. So when you have no melatonin around, your body thinks that it’s daylight. When the sun goes down,
or you put on the glasses, you get melatonin release,
and your body thinks that it’s nighttime. So here’s why this works. It works because of a photoreceptor in your eye called melanopsin. This receptor detects light,
but it doesn’t help you see because it’s not connected
to the visual cortex, which is the part of your brain
that controls your vision. Instead, the nerve endings
are connected to the part of your brain that controls
your biological clock, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Also, this receptor is
selectively sensitive to short wavelength light. In this case, that’s wavelengths
around 480 nanometers which corresponds to blue light. So blue light activates
the receptor and causes your pineal gland to
stop producing melatonin. As long as you’re exposed to daylight, and in some cases, blue
light from your devices, your melatonin is shut off. Now, here’s how the glasses fit in. The blue light-blocking glasses
have an amber-colored lens that blocks the blue light that you see. So when you put them on,
it’s as if you’re walking around in complete darkness. Visually, you see the light,
but because your brain isn’t seeing the blue
light, your mind thinks that it’s nighttime. Then, you get the release of melatonin. The protocol for dark therapy
is to wear the glasses from six p.m. to eight a.m. If you work late, you should wear them before you leave work if
you can do it discreetly. This becomes even more
important in the spring and in the summer when
we have longer days. If you like wearing the
glasses, more is not better. You really don’t wanna wear them longer than the recommended 14 hours. Wearing them for longer
can actually disrupt your circadian rhythm
and worsen your mood. Because, remember, while
you’re wearing them, it’s like you’re walking
around in the dark, and you don’t want your body to think that you’re in the dark
all day and all night. And by the way, the glasses
don’t make you sleepy, at least not immediately. But they do help restore
your sleep schedule to sleeping more soundly in the evening. Once your mania resolves, you
can still wear the glasses as maintenance, as long
as you’re not depressed and sleeping for a long time. In the maintenance phase,
you can push back the time that you start wearing them from six p.m. to between eight and 10 p.m. These glasses have been studied in people who have trouble falling asleep and do not have bipolar disorder. One study showed improved
sleep in people who wore the glasses about two hours
before their desired bedtime. As with everything, it’s not guaranteed to work for everyone. It’s also not a substitute for
bipolar disorder medication, but it can be a way to regulate your sleep in a preventative way when you’re not in the throes of a manic episode. In the studies, it did help
people sleep deeper as well. You can get really
expensive fancy glasses, or you can get an inexpensive pair online. The Uvex Skyper brand was
actually one that was used in one of the studies, and
you can get it on Amazon for $10 or less. I’ll put a link in the
description for these glasses. Here’s a video on bright light therapy for bipolar depression. It works a little bit differently
from unipolar depression or seasonal affective disorder. See you next time.
Great Video! i will definately try this, thanks a lot.
Edit: here is a link to the glasses if youre in germany: https://www.amazon.de/Blaulicht-UV-Schutzbrille-TERMINATOR-400-ORANGE/dp/B005IPPBNI/ref=sr_1_5?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=uvex+skyper&qid=1573653077&sr=8-5
I really appreciate and enjoy your videos. I've learned so much from you.
BULLSHIT lmao
I enjoy your videos so much. You’re so intelligent.
You are a Godsend! <3
Excellent explanation! I've been using the amber glasses with good results. I still get manic episodes but I'm still able to sleep 6-8 hours a night through them.
Thank you so much for making these videos. I have bipolar 1 and am extremely sensitive to light (especially when in a mixed episode, as I am now). Will definitely be picking up a pair of glasses to try. I'm averaging about 2hrs of sleep at the moment, and lack of sleep makes everything far worse. Thanks again for getting this information out there, your channel has been a huge help to me. 😎🙂
You ARE so awesome! Keep the excellence gushing!
Love this great thank you I’m trying to calm down my mania before it escalates an I end up in trouble. Love your videos 💝💝💝
I'm wondering if my clear blue light blocking lenses work just the same way or does it need to be the orange tinted lenses? Thanks for your videos. I appreciate that you share information that most of the time I can't find anywhere else!
Dr. T do you feel people typically seek out the experience of trauma? You know many otherwise unaffected are looking to roleplay themselves in some grand mission, too much boredom&ennui, they would like the sense of indignation a victim feels, ..they'd probably still rather make an art of faking it, they don't really desire that impact am I right?
Hello Dr. Marks thanks again. I appreciate your videos.
I'm not kidding it helps it doesn't take care of it but it helps and I'm batshit crazy so proof LOL
Again, thanks for your time and advice. Always good food for thought in your videos. May GOD bless you and your loved ones Dr Marks
You are awesome, doctor!
Wow! I have bp2, and before I got on medication, or was even diagnosed, I REALLY liked black and white film photography and i really like being in the dark room! I really felt like that dark room could calm me down/ level me out. In the dark room we just have Amber light! I thought it was art therapy, but now I think I'm realizing- I think I was treating my hypomania with Amber light and white noise.
Great information!!! Thank you!!!
Awesome 👏 thank you 🙏🏼 💜🇺🇸
I don't see the link for the glasses. Thank you for making this video.
Thanks so much
Thanks dr tracey marks
All those names make me think of bands and the glasses remind me than bono is walking around in darkness. Or I wear my sunglasses at night guy.
Here's a link to the glasses on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2VEAMJc – it's an affiliate link where I may earn a commission and any proceeds go to support the channel Thx. Last I checked they were $9.55 for one pair.
Dr Marks
I love stuff on bipolar you know that LOL this is a great video and this could really help a lot of people stihl Brand also makes amber colored glasses if you’re the outdoorsy type person and you want to style up your stihl glasses 🤓. I really like the bipolar videos but unfortunately the light therapy will have to stick for me because hypomania is not my issue I’m more in the depressed side although I have that tanning bed sitting downstairs I need to get down and use it perhaps this will be motivation for me to fire it up and burn those 3500 W bulbs 100 W times 35 bulbs lol 😂. Thank you again Dr. Marks
General repair
I wonder if this could aid in taking control of naps, in order to combat narcolepsy. It’s been really difficult finding a balance between Insomnia & Hypersomnia.
Doctor diagnosed me with BP SPECTRUM WITH OC BUT Psychologist diagnosed me with BPAD with OC spectrum(manic episode) 6 months AGO and that time I was on top of world .my goal was to marry as soon as possible..and then doctor gave me divalproex with lamotrigine and benzo with ssris..and now after 6 months I am suspicious and depressed about my gf and get unwanted thoughts from morning to evening…and sometimes I get cry if something bad happens ..Even I have started drinking alcohol as well Psychologist recommend me with dbt therapy…plz explain with ur knowledge and experience ..what's the matter..
I’ve been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder for about 6 years. I was also diagnosed with ADD and prescribed Adderall… I could go days without eating or sleeping…lost over 30 pounds in less than 2 months. My doctor kept upping my dose and I felt like it was working. I was staying so focused and I was feeling rested even without hardly any sleep. Months went by. I noticed how thin I was getting but still didn’t think much about it. I still felt okay. But over time I thought something was wrong with me. Like I had a personality disorder of some sort or something. One night, I was taking a shower. I noticed clumps of hair coming out. Like handfuls. I panicked and stopped taking the medication. I’ve been eating nonstop, I’ve been able to actually sleep, and my overall mood just seems to be more normal… Does Adderall worsen Bipolar episodes? Can it cause hair loss?
Interesting. I’ll have to try this out
Excellent video Doc! I love your focus on circadian rhythm and consequences of messing with it.
I'd love to hear more about your approach to SAD. Your lightbox recommendation was a game changer for me.
This is so amazing!! I lived in a RV for about a year and it helped my mood so much. I slept under the moonlight ever night. I even lost a lot of weight.
Hi Dr Marks-so-those "Blu Blocker" sunglasses for sale-should they be avoided?
Hi Dr. Marks.. I couldn't wait to get a break to view the video.. It was so needed i never heard of this but I'm going to look into because my sleeping is Horrible.. I sleep good for about two day's than the rest of the week horrible.. I love it dark no light or noise I'm a light sleeper.. ' I have new neighbors & they are so loud & rude ! it's really annoying and I'm already a light sleeper and it's getting under my skin so thank you again. I will be sharing this with my coworker family and friend's because I know this will help Thank you again💓
Is there any research to back this up? I'd be interested in reading the papers about how this works for people with bipolar (as opposed to just helping sleep).
I need this woman as my psychiatrist. Dr. Marks – where u at and what insurances u accept?
I found that Zenni has great discreet blue blocker options for those of us who wear at work. They also offer attachments for sunglasses, 3d etc. and come in nonprescription options
Hi Dr. Marks. I love your videos. Can you do one on eating disorders, especially Anorexia and/or Bulimia?
I wish you were in Canada
Thank you for the video on this! What a great idea. 🕶️😎
Dr Marks isn’t there a PDF on this matter? Love you channel .
Wow, so interesting. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I love to learn new things, so you just made my day!
I wonder if this works for people who are shift workers who suffer disruption in their circadian rhythm?
Hi doctor tracy mark we know that antidepressants could trigger hypomania in bipolar 2 patients but if someone took lamictal along his antidepressants medications does it prevent mixed
states or hypomania from happening?
love this and you
Hi! Not a very video related question, but I know self harm can occur in depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, but does it sometimes occur in mania in bipolar disorder? 🙂
I do not have bipolar disorder, but use the amber glasses for sleeping issues and I do believe I sleep better when I wear them 2 hours before I go to bed.
I wish I could visit you
Great video. I think this could be helpful for those working night shift?
Hey, this is something I can really use! I'm not bipolar, but sleep has always been difficult for me (of course the harder you try the worse it is) It's fascinating to me that there's a level of consciousness that you really don't have access to; you can't just tell your pineal gland to let you go to sleep. Thanks for this!
Again BRILLIANT! Do you have Bipolar disorder? You know So much and how to explain it sooo well I've never heard anyone explain this too the T…..
Dr. Marks ur beautiful!😍😍😍😍
Hello doctor..Im from Malaysia..my name is Intan..I was diagnosed as a major depression a few months ago..I already had treatment with my psy( medication and counselling)..I had already took 75mg of my pills.However, in a few weeks ago I started to feel extra happy and became hyper..but suddenly I feel down and sad and depress again..I started to get insomnia again..paranoid with people and also my emotion is up and down and I cannot control it..Its like, at first I feel sad about nothing then after 20 seconds I become happy without any reason..so, doctor..may I know if I really depressed or suffered from mania or just having a stress? And why didnt my medication works out pn me? Sorry doctor for my terrible english..
Dr. Marks, this is amazing. As a YouTube life coach I love watching your videos because you bring a specialty in understanding the human mind. ♥️