[TRNRMOM]

SEE BELOW: i am bp2 (hypomania with no depression) and i just bought a $10 pr. of orange glasses off amazon to see if wearing them while using my computer or phone or watching t.v. helps with my sleep. am wondering if any of you have tried these and what the outcome has been: i copied portions of an article from newsweek:

If you have bipolar disorder, depression or trouble sleeping, it may help to wear amber-tinted glasses at night, new research suggests. These orange shades block blue light, which the body uses to adjust the biological clock to control sleeping and many other functions.

In a small Norwegian study of 23 people hospitalized for bipolar disorder, scientists assigned 12 to wear “blue-blocking” amber glasses for one week, and 11 not to. Meanwhile, no changes were made to the patient’s medications.

The paper found an enormous difference between the two groups. Those wearing the amber-tinted glasses for only one week scored on average 14 points lower on a test used to measure mania known as the Young Mania Rating Scale. That’s more than twice what doctors consider to be a “clinically significant difference” and is a “remarkably high effect size,” according to a commentary accompanying the study, both of which were published in the journal Bipolar Disorders. Improvements were noticeable after only three nights of wearing the sunglasses.

It seems that several mental disorders are exacerbated by too much light, or an irregular cycle of light and dark, and this includes bipolar disorder.

50 percent of 20 bipolar patients experiencing insomnia had significant improvements in sleep after wearing blue-blocking glasses. The majority of those who responded showed not just small but dramatic improvements.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

You can also get a program for free that turns off blue light on your computer at sundown. It's called f.lux.

[BipolaRNurse]

My pdoc wants me to try amber glasses starting in the spring, which is when I tend to go ape****. I'm using a light box to get me through the fall and winter, and then I'll switch to the glasses when the sun goes down later in the evening to prevent mania. I'm supposed to wear them from 6 PM until I go to bed. Should be an interesting experiment.

[TRNRMOM]

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

My pdoc wants me to try amber glasses starting in the spring, which is when I tend to go ape****. I'm using a light box to get me through the fall and winter, and then I'll switch to the glasses when the sun goes down later in the evening to prevent mania. I'm supposed to wear them from 6 PM until I go to bed. Should be an interesting experiment.

as an update to my original post: i live in az. where the sun is non-stop and i don't have depression...my hypomania still causes me to take a small amount of seroquel for sleep every nite and most times, if not stressed or anxious, it works. after reading about the blue block glasses, i ordered a pair from amazon and wear them from 6 pm til i am ready to go sleep. usually around 6 pm i'm watching t.v. in bed but do have phone that i play on. for the past 2 nites i have noticed that while wearing the glasses my eyes become heavy and i even feel tired, something i never feel in spite of keeping a strict sleeping schedule. i still take a small amount of seroquel but my sleep is definitely better since using the glasses. for me, i think they are working...tomorrow we are flying to visit family which is creating stress for me and i am usually more manic after flying and/or being in stressful situations, but the glasses will be worn and it will be interesting to see if i'm able to sleep better with them. will keep you posted.