New research indicates that light therapy can reset circadian rhythms in long-COVID patients, significantly improving sleep and overall quality of life. Unexpected improvements in depression, anxiety, and brain fog also resulted from the light therapy. The study was published by Willis, G.L., Endo, T. & Sakoda, S. Circadian re-set repairs long-COVID in a prodromal Parkinson’s parallel: a case series, in the Journal of Medical Case Reports.
The therapy consisted of intense polychromatic light at 2000-4000 lux. This therapy has proved to be very effective at treating seasonal affective disorder and prodromal Parkinson’s disease. Many symptoms of long-COVID resemble the prodromal Parkinson’s symptoms. Five long-COVID patients were involved in the study. While this is a small number of subjects, the results were dramatic.
Sleep was restored in all five patients, as well as the unexpected improvements in depression, anxiety, and brain fog. These recoveries began 4–5 days after treatment and were maintained for weeks to months, without relapse. The researchers are hopeful that such light therapy will provide a non-invasive treatment for the worst long-COVID symptoms, without side-effects.
More researchers are now looking at light therapy to treat long-COVID. The Light and Health Research Center at Mount Sinai (LHRC) is currently recruiting people (especially children and young adults) living with long-COVID, for a research project. Eligibility to participate in the LHRC study can be determined here.
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