Narrow-band green light during migraine (Lipton 2023)
Many said so: headache was rated improved in 55% of 3,232 attacks. But this was an uncontrolled study of people who had bought the lamp, and only 5% of buyers supplied complete data.
The question: Do people with migraine report feeling better after sitting in narrow-band green light?
| Type of study | Open-label observational study |
|---|---|
| Who took part | 181 people who bought a green-light lamp and completed a six-week diary (of 3,875 purchasers) |
| What was done | Buyers of a narrow-band green lamp recorded, for each migraine attack, whether headache, light sensitivity, anxiety and sleep improved after using it. No comparison group. |
| How much weight it carries | Preliminary |
What it found
- Headache was reported improved in 55% of all attacks; light sensitivity in 53%; anxiety in 34%.
- 61% of participants were classed as responders.
- A 2026 systematic review of green light for pain found 13 studies (9 randomized, 668 participants) across several conditions (Bain 2026).
Limits
- No control group or blinding; participants had paid for the device.
- Complete data from 181 of 3,875 purchasers.
- The lamp's inventor is an author.
Where this sits
More in the library on light, flicker and 40 hz. For the wider picture, read 40 Hz, gamma and the brain.
This is our plain-language reading of the paper. It is not medical advice, and one study rarely settles a question.
Sources
- Lipton, R. B., Melo-Carrillo, A., Severs, M., Reed, M., Ashina, S., Houle, T., & Burstein, R. (2023). Narrow band green light effects on headache, photophobia, sleep, and anxiety among migraine patients: an open-label study conducted online using daily headache diary. Frontiers in Neurology, 14, 1282236. doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1282236