Blue‐blocking glasses as additive treatment for mania: a randomized placebo‐controlled trial
Open accessAbstract
Objectives: The discovery of the blue lightsensitive retinal photoreceptor responsible for signaling daytime to the brain suggested that light to the circadian system could be inhibited by using blue‐blocking orange tinted glasses. Blue‐blocking (BB) glasses are a potential treatment option for bipolar mania. We examined the effectiveness of BB glasses in hospitalized patients with bipolar disorder in a manic state. Methods: In a single‐blinded, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial (RCT), eligible patients (with bipolar mania; age 18–70 years) were recruited from five clinics in Norway. Patients were assigned to BB glasses or placebo (clear glasses) from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. for 7 days, in addition to treatment as usual. Symptoms were assessed daily by use of the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Motor activity was assessed by actigraphy, and compared to data from a healthy control group. Wearing glasses for one evening/night qualified for inclusion in the intention‐to‐treat analysis. Results: From February 2012 to February 2015, 32 patients were enrolled. Eight patients dropped out and one was excluded, resulting in 12 patients in the BB group and 11 patients in the placebo group. The mean decline in YMRS score was 14.1 [95% confidence interval (CI): 9.7–18.5] in the BB group, and 1.7 (95% CI: −4.0 to 7.4) in the placebo group, yielding an effect size of 1.86 (Cohen's d). In the BB group, one patient reported headache and two patients experienced easily reversible depressive symptoms. Conclusions: This RCT shows that BB glasses are effective and feasible as add‐on treatment for bipolar mania.
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Light directly affects mood by having an antidepressant effect, as seen in light therapy.
“Light directly affects the mood by having an antidepressant effect such as that seen in light therapy”
From Adjunctive bright light therapy for treating bipolar depression: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (2020) · cites this paper as Henriksen et al., 2016
The passage on ipRGC pathways (page not provided) says light conditions can affect mood through direct pathways. The paper does not report an antidepressant effect of light or identify light therapy as an example; its Discussion instead concerns blue-light blocking as a treatment for mania. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredOther clinical trials reported that episodes of bipolar mania can be treated effectively by normalizing disrupted circadian rhythms with enforced darkness, either through blue light blocking glasses or controlled environmental darkness.
“Other clinical trials have reported that episodes of bipolar mania can also be treated effectively by normalizing disrupted circadian rhythms with enforced darkness; either through blue light blocking glasses128 or controlled environmental darkness129.”
From Circadian rhythm disruption and mental health (2020) · cites this paper as [128]
The Results (page unavailable) report substantially greater improvement in mania scores with blue-blocking glasses than with placebo, supporting their effectiveness as an add-on treatment. The Discussion (page unavailable) says that a contribution from circadian rhythmicity is plausible but cannot be confirmed by the trial; it instead hypothesizes a direct effect of reduced blue-light signaling. Controlled environmental darkness has a separate citation in the citing sentence and is not attributed to this trial. (LLM, conf=0.89)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredLight deprivation has an anti-manic effect, as seen in dark therapy and virtual darkness therapy (blue light-blocking treatment by means of orange-tinted glasses).
“has an anti‐manic effect on deprivation such as that seen in dark therapy and virtual darkness therapy (blue light‐blocking treatment by means of orange‐tinted glasses; Barbini et al., 2005; Henriksen et al., 2016).”
From Adjunctive bright light therapy for treating bipolar depression: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (2020) · cites this paper as Henriksen et al., 2016
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- Authors
- Henriksen, T. E., Skrede, S., Fasmer, O. B., Schoeyen, H., Leskauskaite, I., Bjørke‐Bertheussen, J., Assmus, J., Hamre, B., Grønli, J., & Lund, A.
- Affiliations
- Haukeland University Hospital (NO)
- Stavanger University Hospital (NO)
- Fonna Hospital Trust (NO)
- Division of Psychiatry Stavanger University Hospital Stavanger Norway
- University of Bergen (NO)
- Washington State University Spokane (US)
- Corresponding author
- Henriksen, Tone EG
- Venue
- Bipolar Disorders
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-05
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 221-232
- ISSN
- 1398-5647 (ISSN-L)
- 1399-5618
- PMC
- PMC5089565
- OpenAlex
- W2404887186
- Cited by
- 139
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 5
- FWCI
- 12.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Bipolar Disorders (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Funders
- Helse Vest
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Keywords
- bipolar mania, bipolar disorder, circadian rhythm, light exposure, retinal photoreceptors, adjunctive therapy, Young Mania Rating Scale, actigraphy, hospitalized patients
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Bipolar Disorder, Brain, Circadian Rhythm, Color Perception, Combined Modality Therapy, Eyeglasses, Feasibility Studies, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychometrics, Signal Transduction, Single-Blind Method, Antimanic Agents, Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate, Young Adult
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