Page 137 - Total War on PTSD

on medications in the modern marketplace, the therapeutic effects of sunlight — in particular the ultraviolet B portion of the spectrum — have been overlooked. Even so, clinical studies guided by the progress in physics, chemistry and molecular biology have resulted in very effective treatment of certain conditions with ultraviolet phototherapy. We now have a greater understanding of the science behind what our ancestors knew intuitively in previous centuries with their veneration of the life-giving properties of the sun.
Frequent, brief exposures to UVB light have many bio-positive systemic effects on the human being. In many cases, these effects can be obtained from UVB lamps with very low “doses” to compensate for the shortage during the darker months of the year when there is less sun.
For example, vitamin D3 is created in the skin when it is exposed to UVB irradiation. When processed in the liver and the kidneys, the bioactive form of vitamin D3 is created. Vitamin D3 is actually a hormone. It influences cellular information, cell differentiation, endocrine regulatory systems, immune function, and heart metabolism.
The sun emits a wide spectrum of light whereas the Blu Room provides only narrowband UVB florescent light along with visible blue LED light. The amount of solar radiation in the entire UV spectrum that reaches the earth’s surface varies by latitude, time of year, time of day, and atmospheric conditions. The total UV (UVA + UVB) portion of solar radiation is roughly ten percent of the total irradiance reaching the surface. The UVB portion of solar radiation is even less. Direct measurements with a UVB meter indicate an irradiance level of 0.33 mw/cm2at solar noon on the summer solstice at 45 degrees north latitude on a clear day. This provides a general exposure guideline that users can relate to their personal experience. Three minutes of UVB in a 20-minute Blu Room session is roughly equivalent to 10 minutes in the summer sun on a clear day at mid-latitudes, except that Blu Room users are not exposed to any UVA which is the main cause of skin cancer. A 10-year follow-up study of patients exposed to narrowband UVB showed no significantly increase in the risk of skin cancer4.
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