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Near Infrared (IR) Light Emitting Array for Body Detox and Light Therapy
This NIFTY device is good for all kinds of stuff as well as looking COOL! (would go great on the wall above the couch in a hipster loft!)
I decided to post this for winter because we all need a little sun when the sky is gray.
It is well proven that humans and animals respond to certain frequencies of light. S.A.D. is a seasonal type of depression common near the holidays. But Light Therapy is a proven way to counteract this effect by simulating a warm, sunny day. (Makes you smile just thinking about it). And there is much positive research in NEAR INFRA RED.
Its what baby animals are put under when they are born. Its safe, and feels natural. It can't give you a "sun burn" either!
So with that in mind I posed these instructions so anyone can benefit from
Light Therapy which you can use to drive away the "winter blues". And you won't have to spend much money or time figuring out this very simple project.
As soon as you turn it on and bath in the red-orange light you will feel better.
But that's not all!
This project is equally as valid for another reason altogether and can be used all year long as a powerful way of Detoxifying the Body.
This array when placed in a small room like a bathroom or small closet functions as a real SAUNA!
Certain wavelengths of light have "special effects" Near infra red wont heat the air in the room like a traditional sauna, but it will PENETRATE your flesh and provide a calming warming effect.
The light waves go below the suffice of the skin, heating from the inside out.
There are many more benefits of this type of SAUNA over traditional steam saunas, as it is safer and is more effective for detoxing the body!
You may want to add a FIR space heater in the room too raise the air temperature and decrease pre-heating times. The recommended effective temperature range is in the mid 90s to just over 100 degrees F to induce sweating. If you are heating the room that much take care, and remember that SAUNA should not be taken for more then a half hour. And some one else should be at home, who will know to come get you if you are in for too long. You will want to keep a timer and rotate every 5 min. This both keeps the mind and body alert as well as keeps the heat evenly distributed on the body.
Now that you have an idea about how this NILE (Near Infrared Light Emitting) Array works...
Let's Build One!''
Luckily this project is very easy to do. I believe that if you follow the instructions closely and visit all the links in this Instructable, that even some one completely unfamiliar with electrical projects can accomplish this.
And best of all, not expensive either!
This NIFTY device is good for all kinds of stuff as well as looking COOL! (would go great on the wall above the couch in a hipster loft!)
I decided to post this for winter because we all need a little sun when the sky is gray.
It is well proven that humans and animals respond to certain frequencies of light. S.A.D. is a seasonal type of depression common near the holidays. But Light Therapy is a proven way to counteract this effect by simulating a warm, sunny day. (Makes you smile just thinking about it). And there is much positive research in NEAR INFRA RED.
Its what baby animals are put under when they are born. Its safe, and feels natural. It can't give you a "sun burn" either!
So with that in mind I posed these instructions so anyone can benefit from
Light Therapy which you can use to drive away the "winter blues". And you won't have to spend much money or time figuring out this very simple project.
As soon as you turn it on and bath in the red-orange light you will feel better.
But that's not all!
This project is equally as valid for another reason altogether and can be used all year long as a powerful way of Detoxifying the Body.
This array when placed in a small room like a bathroom or small closet functions as a real SAUNA!
Certain wavelengths of light have "special effects" Near infra red wont heat the air in the room like a traditional sauna, but it will PENETRATE your flesh and provide a calming warming effect.
The light waves go below the suffice of the skin, heating from the inside out.
There are many more benefits of this type of SAUNA over traditional steam saunas, as it is safer and is more effective for detoxing the body!
You may want to add a FIR space heater in the room too raise the air temperature and decrease pre-heating times. The recommended effective temperature range is in the mid 90s to just over 100 degrees F to induce sweating. If you are heating the room that much take care, and remember that SAUNA should not be taken for more then a half hour. And some one else should be at home, who will know to come get you if you are in for too long. You will want to keep a timer and rotate every 5 min. This both keeps the mind and body alert as well as keeps the heat evenly distributed on the body.
Now that you have an idea about how this NILE (Near Infrared Light Emitting) Array works...
Let's Build One!''
Luckily this project is very easy to do. I believe that if you follow the instructions closely and visit all the links in this Instructable, that even some one completely unfamiliar with electrical projects can accomplish this.
And best of all, not expensive either!
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Signing UpStep 1Supplies:
This is what I payed. Some stuff you can defiantly get cheaper!
Lamp Cable:15 feet = 5.00
Lamp Sockets @ $1.50: X4 = $6.00
Heat Lamps @ $11.00: X4 = $44.00
Plug-End: 1 = 2.20
Wire-Nuts (marretts): One Bag = 2.00
"Recycled" palette from work (could use plywood) = FREE
I layed out the fixtures in a diamond shape, eye balling it, and drew pencil outlines of the placement.
I figured out the center-points by drawing a cross through them.
I used a 1-inch "Flat wood bit". When I drilled the holes in the wood, with my trusty RYOBI drill (cheap!) from Home Despot. .
Lamp Cable:15 feet = 5.00
Lamp Sockets @ $1.50: X4 = $6.00
Heat Lamps @ $11.00: X4 = $44.00
Plug-End: 1 = 2.20
Wire-Nuts (marretts): One Bag = 2.00
"Recycled" palette from work (could use plywood) = FREE
I layed out the fixtures in a diamond shape, eye balling it, and drew pencil outlines of the placement.
I figured out the center-points by drawing a cross through them.
I used a 1-inch "Flat wood bit". When I drilled the holes in the wood, with my trusty RYOBI drill (cheap!) from Home Despot. .
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Have you ever sat in a sauna, hot-tub or taken a hot bath after moping around on a cold gray day?? Why don't you make one and tell me you don't feel better after laying in front of warm simulated sunlight relaxing, versus being in a cold dark room.
However, in defense of the OP: This is a direct cut and past of the abstract for a 1999 study on this very subject. The pub med ID is at the bottom, for those who are interested in checking it out themselves.
He has done a great service by making this information available here, in my opinion, though it would have been far more effective if this study had been linked to his instructable. In my opinion it is very important to attach research to any claims made in regards to any kind of "for sure" effect caused by any particular idea.
Now, on to the research! You will shortly see that there is, in fact, medical evidence supporting the claim that this instructable device can help with S.A.D. symptoms. It took me 15 minutes on PubMed to find this article. There is no research that I could find that refutes these results.
BACKGROUND: Thirty-eight patients with SAD participated in a light visor study addressing two questions. 1. Can the development of a depressive episode be prevented by daily exposure to bright light started before symptom onset in early fall and continued throughout the winter? 2. Does the light have to be visible in order to have beneficial effects?
METHODS: Three groups participated in the study: I (n = 14) received bright white light (2500 lux); II, (n = 15) received infrared light (0.18 lux); III (n = 9, control group) did not receive any light treatment at all.
RESULTS: Infrared light is just as effective as bright white light. Both are more effective than the control condition.
CONCLUSIONS: Light visors can be effectively used to prevent the development of SAD. The fact that exposure to infrared light was as effective as exposure to bright white light questions the specific role of visible light in the treatment of SAD.
PMID: 10418699 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
This thing can literally be made with spare parts and light-bulbs and will give some one the same benefits as something that costs a lot (a home sauna or hot-tub).
I don't have to be a doctor to justify my statements on the effects because they are personally observed and this is a fun project website. Logic would dictate that a heat and light source would counter the affect of S.A.D. which has only recently been recognized as a disorder anyway.
No, I don't believe you run to a doctor to get pills for every little problem. What problem isn't "medical" these days??
FAR infra red is like heat from an electric space heater, fartheroutside the range of human vision. NEAR infra red is closer to ourvisible spectrum.
"Heat Lamps @ $11.00: X4 = $44.00"
Is it just me or is anyone else seeing a problem?