Color As Medicine
This week’s webinar features Gina Makris. Trained as a chiropractor and having attained a post doctorate degree in environmental law, Gina is an expert in the laws of the built environment and how they impact our health. When the WELL Building Standard was introduced in 2003, she was quick to master the standard. She brings us an insightful webinar on the development of man made light, the advancements in mimicking sunlight and the holistic and therapeutic benefits of light. Click below to watch below to learn about color as medicine:
The WELL Building Standard: The Light Concept
The Light Concept of the WELL Building Standard provides guidelines that enhance productivity, support good sleep quality and provide appropriate visual acuity. The Light Concept is comprised of 13 features that were designed to minimize disruption of the body’s circadian rhythm. Among these features is Feature 59 that focuses on improving the overall room brightness through maximizing the Light Reflectance Values (LRV) of ceilings, vertical surfaces, and furniture, which reduces eye strain due to minimal surface glare. Another interesting feature is Feature 58 focuses on how color differentiation through man made lighting effects visual appeal that can either increase or decrease an occupant’s comfort. Gina expands upon this feature, and gives us insights to the healing powers that color and how we view color possess.
View the WELL Light Concept at wellcertified.org
Click here to explore more Light Features.
Light as Medicine
Heliotherapy is the therapeutic use of sunlight. Sunlight has been used to treat psoriasis, jaundice, fungal infections and sleep disorders. However, sunlight can also cause diseases such as skin cancer, and severe burns. It is important to dosage, duration, and intensity when using heliotherapy. According to the EPA, the average American spends 90% of their life indoors. In last weeks webinar, we learned that nutrition labels are changing to reflect the American deficiency of Vitamin D. Vitamins are not enough, and sunlight must be incorporated into your daily activity. Even on a cloudy day, an outdoor walk will increase your serotonin levels and put you in a lighter mood, and help build strong bones.
Organs have a Color, a Season and a Time of Day
Chromotherapy is a centuries-old concept. In fact, the Chinese have been using the organ chart (pictured below) since 980 A.D. Chromotherapy is a method of treatment that uses colors to treat illnesses. According to chromotherapy practitioners, physical and mental illnesses can be a result of an imbalance of exposure to the color spectrum. Chromotherapy works towards adjusting body vibrations to frequencies that result in better health and harmony.
All organs, cells and atoms possess their own vibrational energy.
Our organs vibrational energy harmonizes with specific colors. When various parts of the body deviate from these expected normal vibrations, one can infer that part of the body is diseased or not functioning properly.
Because of chromotherapy, practitioners know what colors reduce anxiety and exacerbate disease. For example, blue promotes relaxation and tranquility and is often used to relieve headaches and muscle cramps. Red applies to the circulatory and nervous system functions.
Jane Barthelemy/Five Seasons Medicine
Colorpuncture is a new type of holistic medical treatment. Colorpuncture, like acupuncture, doses color through skin by using infrared frequencies and colored light therapies. Clients have reported not only changes in their physical body, but in their mental well-being too.
Click here to read A Critical Analysis of Chromotherapy and Its Scientific Evolution.
Is Light at Night a Carcinogen?
Technically, no. However, studies have shown that disruption of your circadian clock has “discrete effects on aging and carcinogenesis.” The link between the circadian clock and carcinogenesis was first discovered in a studies that found high tumor incidences in shift workers and flight attendants. For a more in depth look, click here to read this scientific article by Antoch et al. To minimize disruption to your circadian rhythm, make sure to use f.lux on your PCs and Night Shift on your phones! Check out how looking at blue light affects you:
