Some may be interested in how glymphatic flow (brain debris flush) occurs during deep sleep, and its importance in helping prevent neurodegenerative diseases like AD. In a recent session red light therapy was suggested to enhance this flow. So after a little research I thought to share three articles. The two on red light therapy are not clinically accepted for “standard of care” to my knowledge since most research has been done on mice. But there is growing suggestive evidence. The first article is a tutorial on glymphatic flow:
Thank you for these fantastic resources
Been using this device to help my sleep and late night reading. Heard about it at an “Ask the Sleep Doctor” webinar and both he and Andrew Holececk endorsed it.
Red Light Night Light Lamp for Sleep, Red Nightlight Desk Lamp with 670nm Wavelength Multi-Color and Brightness Options Remote Control USB Charging Elegant Design
Thank you for this.
Cant vouch for this lamp but looks about $70 cheaper, very tempted to pull the trigger…
(not many reviews on it though)
There is a discount for NC members for the Helight but I forgot what it is. If you email Dr. Ed he’ll let you know.
thank you so much for this.
brilliant!
even more brilliant!
I don’t feel the call to going for it now, but if i ever try it, i will share my results here.
this article blew my mind and is SUPER useful.
Here is a link to the cited Glymphatic System Guide as full PDF from the NIH’s website:
My wife has a red light helmet that she wears that’s supposed to stimulate hair growth. I wonder if that also helps the glymphatic system?
I think it also helps with that. There 's a mystery in the color RED… it seems to be beneficial almost to anything.
great video. somehow in the last years I have been aligning with all these details he shares. I do them all at the moment.
For clarity, this is not a joke:
This weekend I did this meditation:
https://www.shambhala.com/peacefuldeathjoyfulrebirth/
Amitabha’s color is red and I could truly feel it. I had the thought “Perhaps this is as good as a red lamp”…
From a scientific perspective, however, I question how red light could penetrate the skull and get into the brain. It’s pretty dark in there! Infrared (aka radiant heat) might penetrate, but red light?
Lots of space in there too . . . .
From a physics perspective, sound is waves of vibration moving through matter, whether through air, water or a solid. The “dreaming mind” may exist at higher vibrational levels, such as in the etheric body or “astral bodies.” There are undoubtedly higher frequency subtle vibrations that move through those levels.
“Pink noise”, however, may effect the brain at the physical level and the brainwaves of sleep. Lots of “subtle” distinctions here.
Yes, could even affect all 3 bodies; gross, subtle, and very subtle.
About that NIH paper on Glymphatic Flow - Another very good resource with lots of valuable references. Thanks!
I think there is supposed to be a path to the brain through (maybe) special photoreceptors in the eyes, and that wavelength is supposed to more easily pass through the closed eyelids. Not sure, but it might have been mentioned in one of the papers referenced.
FYI: I know there are people who are also working on use of precisely timed auditory stimulation guided by in-ear EEG detection to enhance slow wave sleep. There is more information available under the search terms ‘closed loop auditory stimulation.’ These devices to my knowledge are presently in a research stage, and not to be found on amazon or the drugstore shelf for a while until proven to do no harm. The devices could end up as expensive or as cheap as hearing aids someday.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9163611/#:~:text=Auditory%20stimulation%20devices%20(white%20and,intervention%20is%20not%20well%20established.