Darkness & Light & Madness

[Rinse & rePeat]

“The use of bright light (which suppresses melatonin) to treat depression probably helps to inhibit the production of aldosterone, which is strongly associated with depression.” -Ray Peat

 

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“Melatonin and prolactin are induced by stress, and darkness is a stress because it impairs mitochondrial energy production.” Ray Peat

 

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“Chemically, the meaning of “a pigment” is that it’s a chemical which selectively absorbs radiation. Old observations such as Warburg’s, that visible light can restore the activity of the “respiratory pigments,” showed without doubt that visible light is biochemically active. By the 1960s, several studies had been published showing the inhibition of respiratory enzymes by blue light, and their activation by red light. The problem to be explained is why the science culture simply couldn’t accept crucial facts of that sort.)” -Ray Peat

 

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“When I moved from Mexico, first to Montana and then to Oregon in 1966, I became very conscious of how light affects the hormones and the health. (For example, in Montana I experienced an interesting springtime shedding of body hair.) Many people who came to cloudy Eugene to study, and who often lived in cheap basement apartments, would develop chronic health problems within a few months. Women who had been healthy when they arrived would often develop premenstrual syndrome or arthritis or colitis during their first winter in Eugene.” -Ray Peat

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“In the retina, melatonin increases the sensitivity of the cells to dim light. It, along with prolactin, another nocturnal hormone, helps to produce dark adaptation of the eyes.

Melatonin increases the concentration of free fatty acids during the night (John, et al., 1983; John and George, 1976)), so it’s interesting that one of the long-chain highly unsaturated fatty acids, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), also increases the light sensitivity of the retina.

Melatonin lowers body temperature, causes vasoconstriction in the brain, heart, and other organs, and slows reactions. An antagonist to melatonin acts as an antidepressant, reducing “behavioral despair” resulting from stress. (Dubocovich, et al., 1990.) So, in the behavioral sense, melatonin reduces sensitivity, yet it increases the eyes’ sensitivity to light, causing them to be injured by light that would otherwise be harmless.” -Ray Peat

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“All of the stress-related hormones increase during the night. One of the ways these hormones of darkness act is to increase the sensitivity to light, in a process that is an important adaptation for organisms in dim light. In the night, our ability to see (and respond to) dim light is increased. But dark-adapted eyes are very sensitive to injury by bright light. Light that ordinarily wouldn’t harm the eyes, will do serious damage when the eyes are dark adapted.” -Ray Peat​

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“Light and stress, especially with excess iron, damage the retina when the cells contain too much PUFA, since these fats react with light and free radicals. The nocturnal/stress hormones, especially prolactin and melatonin, make the retina more sensitive to light, and more easily damaged. (It's too much darkness that sets up the problem, since the eyes will adapt to excess light, but darkness increases their sensitivity.)” -Ray Peat​

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“The polyunsaturated fats make the lungs more sensitive to excess oxygen or hyperventilation, they make the eyes more sensitive to light, and they make the brain more sensitive to fatigue.” —Ray Peat

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“The pituitary hormones, especially prolactin and TSH, are pro-inflammatory, and darkness increases TSH along with prolactin, so to compensate for a light deficiency, the pituitary should be well-suppressed by adequate thyroid. Armour thyroid or Thyrolar or Cynoplus, Cytomel, would probably be helpful. (Eye-drops containing T3 might be a way to restore metabolic activity more quickly.) Limiting water intake (or using salt generously) helps to inhibit prolactin secretion. The saturated fats protect against the body's stored PUFA, and keeping the blood sugar up keeps the stored fats from being mobilized. “ -Ray Peat

 

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“Red light is protective, blue light (or u.v.) is harmful, so wearing orange lenses would be helpful.” -Ray Peat

 

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“Red light is protective, blue light (or u.v.) is harmful, so wearing orange lenses would be helpful.” -Ray Peat

Does anybody have a recommendation for which orange lenses are best?

 

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“Darkness, like irradiation, excess lactate, and unsaturated fats, has the diabetes-like effect of greatly reducing the ability of muscle to absorb sugar, while light stimulates respiration.” —Ray Peat

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

View: https://youtu.be/x86aCDtvbT0

Akathisia I - My Story

Each drop is .5 mg. So I would start with 10-15 drops. That's what I take every evening before bed... Alright. I did try MB before, but because how hard it was to dose I gave up lol. Also, it was a low dose of 1mg, so perhaps this time there will be more effect.

raypeatforum.com

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“Regular good light exposure is probably important for preventing the displacement of copper by iron.” - Ray Peat

 

[koky]

“Regular good light exposure is probably important for preventing the displacement of copper by iron.” - Ray Peat

years ago deepak chopra suggested staring at the sun with eyes closed
i checked with ray and opthamologist, both said fine a s long as eyes closed
been doing it for years

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

years ago deepak chopra suggested staring at the sun with eyes closed
i checked with ray and opthamologist, both said fine a s long as eyes closed
been doing it for years

That is good to know cause I have been doing that since I was kid, because it feels like it relaxes my eyes. I really never gave it any thought that it wouldn’t be.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“These effects have been backed by research that shows that watching an open flame can decrease blood pressure. The longer you sit by the fire, the more relaxed you’ll feel.
Brain scans of people show that even when the crackling noise of the burning wood and the roaring flames is stimulated in a lab experiment, a person can experience reduced blood pressure. These findings are backed by an experiment carried out in Norway when a television program broadcasted a virtual fireplace for 12 hours straight. The program became popular because it relaxed people.
From fireplaces to campfires, fire has played a crucial role in our evolution, with crackling logs and flickering fire being directly linked with our psychology.
A psychological and medical anthropologist, Dr. Christopher Lynn carried out several tests to explore the reaction of hundreds of volunteers after seeing virtual fire. This three-year-long study was carried out at the University of Alabama which discovered that even a recorded video of a fireplace can prompt primeval instincts, helping people to calm down.”

A Fireplace is Good For Your Mental Health - Stone Solutions Maine

Are you looking for better mental health? Sit by the fireplace! There are some great psychological benefits of it.

stonesolutionsmaine.com

 

[SonOfEurope]

3 cloudy days in a row - or having to stay indoors for the same time takes a big dump on my mental health and mood... same as being downtown away from green/forested areas.

Days are growing longer now... yay...

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

3 cloudy days in a row - or having to stay indoors for the same time takes a big dump on my mental health and mood... same as being downtown away from green/forested areas.

Days are growing longer now... yay...

I was feeling a bit of that too Europe, but I turned on the incandescent lights in the room I was in and opened the door and let the clean air and good energy in yesterday while I was reading. The day before that I just put a beanie on, grabbed my umbrella and went out in in the pouring rain, spontaneously, to meet a friend for coffee and visit an an elderly lady after that. It felt like a healthier day than staying in.

 

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