There are a few case studies/papers arguing it might help. It seemed to help one guy trying an RCT but the temporal patterns were weird. It didn’t do me any harm; on the other hand, I didn’t notice any benefit and the initial benefit seems to have been a selection/confounding effect since it disappeared after randomization.
I guess it depends on how much of your time/energy you think 10 minutes usage will cost you and if you think it’s worth a shot.
I work with infrared lasers, and the main safety advice I will give you is that 850nm light will look very dim, even if it is very bright. So be careful about shining it in your eyes, because how bright it looks is misleading. That said, it does take a very bright source of visible or IR light to actually damage your eyes.
After trying to imagine a way this would fail badly, I think you should make sure that whatever you do, you can remove it quickly. It’s common for homemade electronics to get hot or catch fire, and you don’t want to have any trouble getting if off your head if that does happen.
If it has a physiological effect that can reduce inflammation to some unknown process, that process also might have disadvantages and not be all positive.
My Bayesian prior is that since my ancestors spent a lot more time in the sun than I do my body is most likely better adapted to the amount of sun that they got than what I receive.
Biohacking self-improvement light therapy supposedly to reduce inflammation. It has an immediate and noticeable effect on me, strong enough that I doubt it’s just placebo. It started when I suffered long-term low-level pain in my ankle several months after twisting it (I hate aging!), and read how light exposure at the right wavelengths could help. My ankle did improve, although of course this might have been just natural healing. Then I started to consider other possible benefits of light therapy such as reducing inflammation in the brain. See this video.
I have very high prior against light therapy on forehead or scalp reducing inflammation in brain. There is thick bone between skin and brain! Blood supply to skin on head is separate system to blood supply to brain. Maybe beneficial effect on skin, creates healing particles in blood, blood carry them to brain. But have to go long way round. Also cross blood-brain barrier.
Phototherapy for SAD is different, more plausible, because proposed mechanism is direct via photonic stimulation of retina to influence biorhythm-generating processes. Signal passes in to brain by nerves, not blood.
But rigorous self-experimentation is good idea with low-risk treatment. So I wish you good luck even though I count low chance of success, except for placebo effect.
Biohacking self-improvement light therapy supposedly to reduce inflammation. It has an immediate and noticeable effect on me, strong enough that I doubt it’s just placebo. It started when I suffered long-term low-level pain in my ankle several months after twisting it (I hate aging!), and read how light exposure at the right wavelengths could help. My ankle did improve, although of course this might have been just natural healing. Then I started to consider other possible benefits of light therapy such as reducing inflammation in the brain. See this video.
Could putting an 850 nm wavelength LED light array on my forehead for ten minutes or so a day do me any harm? It generates a small amount of heat.
Edit: See this video for a motivation: http://selfhacked.com/2015/07/18/interview-with-dr-michael-hamblin-harvard-professor-and-infrared-therapy-expert/
There are a few case studies/papers arguing it might help. It seemed to help one guy trying an RCT but the temporal patterns were weird. It didn’t do me any harm; on the other hand, I didn’t notice any benefit and the initial benefit seems to have been a selection/confounding effect since it disappeared after randomization.
I guess it depends on how much of your time/energy you think 10 minutes usage will cost you and if you think it’s worth a shot.
I work with infrared lasers, and the main safety advice I will give you is that 850nm light will look very dim, even if it is very bright. So be careful about shining it in your eyes, because how bright it looks is misleading. That said, it does take a very bright source of visible or IR light to actually damage your eyes.
After trying to imagine a way this would fail badly, I think you should make sure that whatever you do, you can remove it quickly. It’s common for homemade electronics to get hot or catch fire, and you don’t want to have any trouble getting if off your head if that does happen.
If it has a physiological effect that can reduce inflammation to some unknown process, that process also might have disadvantages and not be all positive.
My Bayesian prior is that since my ancestors spent a lot more time in the sun than I do my body is most likely better adapted to the amount of sun that they got than what I receive.
No way to know unless you measure its output spectrum, but as long as it’s mostly IR, it shouldn’t.
Question though, why would you do that? I don’t see the difference between using this or applying any other heat source.
I’m interested to know if the LEDs will be pointed inwards or outwards...
Inward. Outwards would be just weird
Biohacking self-improvement light therapy supposedly to reduce inflammation. It has an immediate and noticeable effect on me, strong enough that I doubt it’s just placebo. It started when I suffered long-term low-level pain in my ankle several months after twisting it (I hate aging!), and read how light exposure at the right wavelengths could help. My ankle did improve, although of course this might have been just natural healing. Then I started to consider other possible benefits of light therapy such as reducing inflammation in the brain. See this video.
I have very high prior against light therapy on forehead or scalp reducing inflammation in brain. There is thick bone between skin and brain! Blood supply to skin on head is separate system to blood supply to brain. Maybe beneficial effect on skin, creates healing particles in blood, blood carry them to brain. But have to go long way round. Also cross blood-brain barrier.
Phototherapy for SAD is different, more plausible, because proposed mechanism is direct via photonic stimulation of retina to influence biorhythm-generating processes. Signal passes in to brain by nerves, not blood.
But rigorous self-experimentation is good idea with low-risk treatment. So I wish you good luck even though I count low chance of success, except for placebo effect.
May we know the purpose of this?
Biohacking self-improvement light therapy supposedly to reduce inflammation. It has an immediate and noticeable effect on me, strong enough that I doubt it’s just placebo. It started when I suffered long-term low-level pain in my ankle several months after twisting it (I hate aging!), and read how light exposure at the right wavelengths could help. My ankle did improve, although of course this might have been just natural healing. Then I started to consider other possible benefits of light therapy such as reducing inflammation in the brain. See this video.