IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i4p1670-d496585.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Shedding Light on Light”: A Review on the Effects on Mental Health of Exposure to Optical Radiation

Author

Listed:
  • Davide Elia Bertani

    (Department of Biomedical & Metabolic Sciences and Neuroscience, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy)

  • Antonella Maria Pia De Novellis

    (Department of Biomedical & Metabolic Sciences and Neuroscience, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy)

  • Riccardo Farina

    (Department of Biomedical & Metabolic Sciences and Neuroscience, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy)

  • Emanuela Latella

    (Department of Biomedical & Metabolic Sciences and Neuroscience, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy)

  • Matteo Meloni

    (Department of Biomedical & Metabolic Sciences and Neuroscience, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy)

  • Carmela Scala

    (Department of Biomedical & Metabolic Sciences and Neuroscience, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy)

  • Laura Valeo

    (Department of Biomedical & Metabolic Sciences and Neuroscience, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy)

  • Gian Maria Galeazzi

    (Department of Biomedical & Metabolic Sciences and Neuroscience, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy)

  • Silvia Ferrari

    (Department of Biomedical & Metabolic Sciences and Neuroscience, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy)

Abstract

In relation to human health and functioning, light, or more specifically optical radiation, plays many roles, beyond allowing vision. These may be summarized as: regulation of circadian rhythms; consequences of direct exposure to the skin; and more indirect effects on well-being and functioning, also related to lifestyle and contact with natural and urban environments. Impact on mental health is relevant for any of these specifications and supports a clinical use of this knowledge for the treatment of psychiatric conditions, such as depression or anxiety, somatic symptom disorder, and others, with reference to light therapy in particular. The scope of this narrative review is to provide a summary of recent findings and evidence on the regulating functions of light on human beings’ biology, with a specific focus on mental health, its prevention and care.

Suggested Citation

  • Davide Elia Bertani & Antonella Maria Pia De Novellis & Riccardo Farina & Emanuela Latella & Matteo Meloni & Carmela Scala & Laura Valeo & Gian Maria Galeazzi & Silvia Ferrari, 2021. "“Shedding Light on Light”: A Review on the Effects on Mental Health of Exposure to Optical Radiation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1670-:d:496585
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1670/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1670/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mihyang An & Stephen M Colarelli & Kimberly O'Brien & Melanie E Boyajian, 2016. "Why We Need More Nature at Work: Effects of Natural Elements and Sunlight on Employee Mental Health and Work Attitudes," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Florian Lederbogen & Peter Kirsch & Leila Haddad & Fabian Streit & Heike Tost & Philipp Schuch & Stefan Wüst & Jens C. Pruessner & Marcella Rietschel & Michael Deuschle & Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, 2011. "City living and urban upbringing affect neural social stress processing in humans," Nature, Nature, vol. 474(7352), pages 498-501, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Charlotte Wendelboe-Nelson & Sarah Kelly & Marion Kennedy & John W. Cherrie, 2019. "A Scoping Review Mapping Research on Green Space and Associated Mental Health Benefits," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-49, June.
    2. Larissa Samaan & Leonie Klock & Sandra Weber & Mirjam Reidick & Leonie Ascone & Simone Kühn, 2024. "Low-Level Visual Features of Window Views Contribute to Perceived Naturalness and Mental Health Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(5), pages 1-35, May.
    3. Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Bum-Jin Park & Juyoung Lee & Takahide Kagawa & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2018. "Psychological Benefits of Walking through Forest Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Migle Baceviciene & Rasa Jankauskiene, 2022. "The Mediating Effect of Nature Restorativeness, Stress Level, and Nature Connectedness in the Association between Nature Exposure and Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Jake M. Robinson & Martin F. Breed, 2019. "Green Prescriptions and Their Co-Benefits: Integrative Strategies for Public and Environmental Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
    6. Ben Senkler & Julius Freymueller & Susanne Lopez Lumbi & Claudia Hornberg & Hannah-Lea Schmid & Kristina Hennig-Fast & Gernot Horstmann & Timothy Mc Call, 2022. "Urbanicity—Perspectives from Neuroscience and Public Health: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-16, December.
    7. Hiromi Suenaga & Kanako Murakami & Nozomi Murata & Syoriki Nishikawa & Masae Tsutsumi & Hiroshi Nogaki, 2020. "The Effects of an Artificial Garden on Heart Rate Variability among Healthy Young Japanese Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-10, December.
    8. Anna Oudin & Lennart Bråbäck & Daniel Oudin Åström & Bertil Forsberg, 2017. "Air Pollution and Dispensed Medications for Asthma, and Possible Effect Modifiers Related to Mental Health and Socio-Economy: A Longitudinal Cohort Study of Swedish Children and Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-12, November.
    9. Kyunghun Min & Baysok Jun & Jaehyuck Lee & Hong Kim & Katsunori Furuya, 2019. "Analysis of Environmental Issues with an Application of Civil Complaints: The Case of Shiheung City, Republic of Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-21, March.
    10. Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Miho Igarashi & Michiko Takagaki & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2015. "Physiological and Psychological Effects of a Walk in Urban Parks in Fall," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-13, November.
    11. Brittany E Evans & Kirstin Greaves-Lord & Anja S Euser & Joke H M Tulen & Ingmar H A Franken & Anja C Huizink, 2013. "Determinants of Physiological and Perceived Physiological Stress Reactivity in Children and Adolescents," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(4), pages 1-13, April.
    12. Pykett, Jessica & Campbell, Niyah & Fenton, Sarah-Jane & Gagen, Elizabeth & Lavis, Anna & Newbigging, Karen & Parkin, Verity & Williams, Jessy, 2023. "Urban precarity and youth mental health: An interpretive scoping review of emerging approaches," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    13. Brittany E Evans & Anja C Huizink & Kirstin Greaves-Lord & Joke H M Tulen & Karin Roelofs & Jan van der Ende, 2020. "Urbanicity, biological stress system functioning and mental health in adolescents," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-24, March.
    14. Charalambous, Efrosini, 2023. "Neurourbanism and Neuroarchitecture: How can Cognitive Sciences Inform Design?," OSF Preprints 6f4uc, Center for Open Science.
    15. Na Lu & Chorong Song & Takanori Kuronuma & Harumi Ikei & Yoshifumi Miyazaki & Michiko Takagaki, 2020. "The Possibility of Sustainable Urban Horticulture Based on Nature Therapy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-11, June.
    16. Johan Colding & Karl Samuelsson & Lars Marcus & Åsa Gren & Ann Legeby & Meta Berghauser Pont & Stephan Barthel, 2022. "Frontiers in Social–Ecological Urbanism," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, June.
    17. Ulrich Dettweiler & Christoph Becker & Bjørn H. Auestad & Perikles Simon & Peter Kirsch, 2017. "Stress in School. Some Empirical Hints on the Circadian Cortisol Rhythm of Children in Outdoor and Indoor Classes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-14, April.
    18. Bessa, Eduardo & Gonçalves-de-Freitas, Eliane, 2014. "How does tourist monitoring alter fish behavior in underwater trails?," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 253-259.
    19. Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Bum-Jin Park & Juyoung Lee & Takahide Kagawa & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2020. "Association between the Psychological Effects of Viewing Forest Landscapes and Trait Anxiety Level," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-9, July.
    20. Zhao, Yabo & Wang, Shaojian & Ge, Yuejing & Liu, Qianqian & Liu, Xiaofeng, 2017. "The spatial differentiation of the coupling relationship between urbanization and the eco-environment in countries globally: A comprehensive assessment," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 360(C), pages 313-327.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1670-:d:496585. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.