The topic of chromotherapy (also known as light therapy) comes up frequently in relation to sauna use. Installing colored chromotherapy lights in your sauna seems like a no brainer, considering claims that it restores energy balance in the body, improves organ function and even treats various diseases.
But what exactly is chromotherapy and does it actually work? Has it been thoroughly researched by scientists and doctors? Should you buy chromotherapy lights for your sauna? The answers to these questions can be found below.
What Is Chromotherapy?
Chromotherapy is a pseudoscientific method of treatment which exposes the patient to various colors of light. It is based upon an almost entirely unproven theory that organs and organ systems are associated with particular colors and that exposure to a particular color of light can be used to treat a specific ailment.
For example, adherents to chromotherapy make bold claims like: “orange light will cause you to lose weight by activating and eliminating fat cells” or “teal light has antiseptic properties and can be used to fight bacterial infections.”
Additionally, it is believed that certain organs and organ systems are associated with and stimulated by certain colors. For example, blue light is thought to be associated with the lungs and respiratory system. Consequently, it is believed by some that exposure to blue light will treat asthma or even lung cancer.
A fundamental premise of chromotherapy is that light can be used to restore balance to the body. Warm colors like red and orange are thought to stimulate the body, while cool colors like blue and green are thought to relax the body.
Chromotherapy treatment, then, is simply a matter of determining the particular imbalance a person is suffering from and then restoring that balance by use of the appropriate color of light.
Does Chromotherapy Really Work?
While exposure to various colored lights may affect a person’s mood, there is not adequate scientific evidence that chromotherapy will cure various diseases or produce the various physiological benefits claimed by its supporters.
What Are Some of the Claims?
Chromotherapy practitioners make a wide variety of claims about the benefits of chromotherapy. Typically, a specific color is thought to be associated with a specific organ or organ system and a specific color light is thought to treat a specific illness or disorder. Some common claims are as follows:
RED – Red light is thought to stimulate the circulatory system and increase metabolism and libido. It is also thought to increase blood pressure. Red light can be used to treat illnesses relating to the blood and cardiovascular health.
ORANGE – Orange light is thought to affect both the male and female genitals. It is thought to treat diseases of the testicles and ovaries, as well as prostate disease. It is also thought to aid the process of menstruation.
YELLOW – Yellow light is thought to improve mental function, including both intellect and attention. It is thought to help with nervous system disorders. Yellow light is thought to treat skin disorders, liver ailments, and digestive disorders.
GREEN – Green light is thought to boost the immune system and treat infections. It is believed to affect the chest including the heart and lungs. Green light therapy is even thought to reduce inflammation and reduce swelling in joints.
BLUE – Blue light is thought to calm the nervous system produce a relaxation response. It is thought to lower blood pressure. It is even believed to have antioxidant effects. Blue light is used to treat things ranging from sleep disorders to sciatica.
VIOLET – Violet light is similarly thought to calm the nervous system. It is also used to treat the lymphatic system and to treat urinary disorders. Some adherents even believe purple light will aide spiritual growth.
In general, the consensus among proponents of chromotherapy is that warm colors like red, orange and yellow, stimulate the body and excite the mind. Cool colors like green, blue and violet, relax the body and calm the mind.
Beyond this dichotomy, various sources make overlapping and inconsistent claims about the specific organs or the specific diseases which are believed to be affected by each specific color. This is to be expected, as claims tend to be unsourced or based upon ancient wisdom rather than scientific study.
What Does the Science Tell Us?
Chromotherapy is almost entirely unsupported by scientific evidence.
Randomized double-blind placebo control studies “are considered the ‘gold standard’…” with respect to testing the effectiveness of treatments and therapies. (Source) To date, there are not any double-blind placebo controlled studies definitively showing that Chromotherapy is effective beyond a psychological placebo-like effect. To really establish whether chromotherapy treatments work, clinical trials must show benefits which exceed that of a placebo control group.
Placebo control means that a group of patients receiving the treatment is compared to a group who is receiving a placebo treatment. In the context of chromotherapy, that would involve setting one trial where subjects are exposed to chromotherapy treatments and another trial where subjects are exposed to a sham device which creates simulates the experience of treatment, without actual exposure to chromotherapy lights. See this helpful explanation here.
Double-blind means that neither the patients, nor the researchers know which patients are getting real treatment and which are getting the sham treatment. This is important because if the control group knows that they are receiving the sham treatment, this knowledge could affect the results. Again see this helpful explanation. Similarly, if the researches who interact with patients know who is receiving the real treatment and who is receiving the sham treatment, they may inadvertently tip off the patients.
The Article commonly cited in support of Chromotherapy does not provide scientific evidence that Chromotherapy is effective.
In recent years and this article, titled A Critical Analysis of Chromotherapy and Its Scientific Evolution, has been cited quite a bit on the internet to provide support for chromotherapy many claims and theories. The Article discusses the history of chromotherapy and speculates as to a possible mechanism by which colored light could affect the body and cure disease.
The Article does not establish by experiment (and does not claim to) any proof that chromotherapy cures specific diseases, nor does it prove the proposed mechanism by which colored light may affect the body. Instead the article summarizes the theories and conclusions of various chromotherapy practitioners over the course of history and contains a call to action, noting various ways in which chromotherapy has yet to be studied.
While the Article claims to be a critical analysis, it does not contain in depth analysis of any chromotherapy studies or experiments. While the Article points to the work of other individuals, it does describe, with any detail, how the work was received by the medical and scientific communities. It doesn’t analyze the methods and results or whether these methods and results were sufficient or repeatable.
The Article is entirely devoid of any negative treatment concerning chromotherapy or its practitioners.
Colored Light and the Treatment of Jaundice
Proponents of Chromotherapy frequently point to the use of light therapy to treat jaundice in infants. It was first determined sunlight and ultraviolet rays effectively treated jaundice. Both sunlight and ultraviolet contain the entire color spectrum of light, thus presenting little support for a primary tenet of chromotherapy–that a specific color of light corresponds to the treatment of a specific illness.
Admittedly, the case for Chromotherapy was bolstered, somewhat, with the development and widespread use of the Bili light. The Bili light, which is now the standard device used to treat jaundice in infants, radiates blue light.
It is important to note that neonatal jaundice is typically caused as associated with either the breakdown of red blood cells or with liver function. (Source) Traditionally, Chromotherapy has held that red light was used to treat blood disorders and promote the creation of red blood cells. Similarly, yellow light was thought to be an effective treatment of liver disorders. Thus, according to the principles of Chromotherapy, it would be expected that red or yellow light would be used to treat jaundice, not blue light.
The western medical community refers to the treatment of neonatal jaundice with blue light as Phototherapy, rather than as Chromotherapy. To this end, it seems likely that the medical community would refer to any form of light therapy, which is scientifically proven as Phototherapy and any form that has not been proven as Chromotherapy.
The bottom line is that the Bili light does show that single color light exposure has been proven to be effective at treating the specific disease of neonatal Jaundice. This does not, however, prove any underlying theories behind Chromotherapy and it does provide evidence that single color light therapy is effective at treating any other disease.
Colors May Affect Your Mood and Behavior
Various studies have been done into the psychological effect of different colors. These studies have shown that colors do have an effect on your mood and behavior, but also that these effects are highly contextual. You can read about the various effects here.
- Things that are the color Red are more likely to attract your attention than other colors.
- The presence of blue light tends to increase your attention and alertness.
- Red jerseys in sports competitions tend to increase confidence in your own performance, increase positive perception of your performance in the eyes of others. Red similarly produces feelings and perceptions of aggression and dominance.
- When worn by women, Red has been shown to increase feelings of attraction in heterosexual men.
- Blue store logos/branding and people wearing blue are perceived to be more trustworthy than other colors.
Chromotherapy May Have a Placebo-Like Effect
Often times, an ill person can be given a sugar pill (a placebo), which has no active ingredients, and the persons symptoms still improve. This is known as the “Placebo Effect” and occurs because the psychological belief that your symptoms will improve is often enough to cause your symptoms to improve.
A similar effect is very likely to occur with respect to chromotherapy. This is especially the case with symptoms that are largely subjective in nature. If you believe that blue light will relieve pain, then this mere expectation alone is likely to reduce the feeling of pain after exposure to blue light.
There is strong evidence that people associate certain colors with certain physiological effects and that these colors can affect their expectations. Scientists and doctors have found that the color of medication can have a significant effect on the effect of pills.
Studies have found that people believe that red pills are more likely than other colored pills to produce a stimulating effect. They have found that blue and green pills are more likely to have a depressant effect. White pills are thought to be more effective at relieving pain.
Should I Use Chromotherapy Lights in My Sauna
Asking whether you should use chromotherapy lights in your sauna is like asking if you should use colored lights on your christmas tree. If your reason for having colored Christmas lights is because it makes you feel happy and fills you with holiday cheer, then by all means, you should buy christmas lights.
Similarly, if you want to buy chromotherapy lights because you find it more enjoyable setting in a colored sauna, then you should absolutely buy chromotherapy lights.
Because chromotherapy lights give you the opportunity to instantly change the lighting in your sauna, they are versatile and a great option for any sauna owner, regardless of whether you believe in chromotherapy.
You should NOT buy chromotherapy lights because you think it will cure your disease or because you believe it is a substitute for treatment from a medical professional.
The bottom line is that the vast majority of benefits that you obtain from the sauna are going to be the result of heat therapy. The claimed benefits of heat exposure are backed up by real scientific studies. The claimed benefits of exposure to colored light are almost entirely unsupported by science.
