Valkee HumanCharger won’t cure seasonal depression

If there is a tendency, feel sad during the dark months of the yearIt is well known that exposure to sunlight is beneficial. If you don’t have enough sunlight, a light therapy box (which illuminates your general direction while you eat breakfast) is the next best thing. But there are also gadgets that some people rely on. It’s an earpiece that acts as a small flashlight that shines light into your ear canal. Are they legal?

Skincare TikToker @emmahoareau1 posted a quick review of LED headphones for people who “suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder like me,” concluding that they are “absolutely life-changing.”a follow up video This information spread quickly, and commenters began debating whether it was possible for light to effectively reach the brain from this device.

In fact, your brain may be able to detect light

The most obvious question is: Does light actually reach the brain, and even if it does, does the brain know it’s there? Surprisingly, the answer to these questions is “Yes, probably.”

Scientists have been studying the original question for decades: whether light can pass through brain tissue.in 1963 studyThey attached a light detector (like a mini-solar panel) to the tip of a needle and stuck the needle into the brains of sheep, dogs, rabbits, and rats. Sometimes they were dead, sometimes they were alive, but they were anesthetized. The researchers shined a bright light on different parts of each animal’s head. They did some tests indoors, some in sunlight, covering different parts of the head with aluminum foil to see where the light was coming in from. Their conclusion is: do It reaches the brain very easily, especially through the temples, where the bones are particularly thin.

We also know that there is. light-detecting proteins found in various parts of the body, including the brain.they may be Telling birds what season it isFor example, however, so far there is no clear explanation as to why humans have these proteins or whether they play a role in seasonal mood disorder.

In 2016, another group of researchers We found evidence that light inside the ear canal has an effect. something detectable in the brainBut it’s not clear whether it’s good or bad, or whether it accomplishes anything meaningful.

Researchers took photos of cadaver skulls with Valkee devices (similar to TikTok’s) attached to their ears. That light is bright enough to shine through the bones and into the brain.It means that the device the workHowever, “whether chronic bright light transmission through the ear canal confers clinically applicable benefits is beyond the scope of this study.”

There is little evidence to suggest what these headphones say.

It’s a huge leap from “light reaches the brain” to “this cures seasonal affective disorder” and that’s where this product stalls.

The light therapy headset used on TikTok (to my knowledge, the only major brand on TikTok) is made by Valkee. Their current products are human chargerretail price is $200.

The company commissioned several studies about its products and appears to have placed considerable emphasis on these studies in the early days of marketing. His 2012 TV show in Finland, Valkee’s homeland, Conflicted with the company over marketing claims And they reminded viewers that their research doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Many did not have suitable placebos, all had conflicts of interest (including company founders and board members as authors), and most were not published in peer-reviewed journals. At that time, the only peer-reviewed paper was medical hypothesisa journal dedicated to exploring “radical hypotheses that would be rejected in most traditional journals.”

At the time, the company’s website listed migraines and jet lag as conditions its products could treat. Notably, his current HumanCharger website avoids any such claims. A marketing video shows a woman walking into a hotel room with her suitcase rolling behind her, with the caption that the device “boosts your energy.” Another shot says the device is fighting “the blues.”

I won’t buy it

Subsequent studies have not yielded any more promising results. One 2014 survey Its authors, who included Valkee employees and shareholders, claimed that the device lowered people’s scores on depression surveys. However, there was no control group. The researchers were simply looking for evidence that people exposed to the highest doses of light lived better lives than those who received the lowest doses. they didn’t.

An unrelated group of researchers, experts in chronobiology, We tested people’s melatonin levels, subjective sleepiness, and performance on alertness tasks. After using the Valkee device. They found no difference between people who used the device and those who used a “fake” version that did not emit light. (As you might expect, visible light produced a strong response.) They titled their paper, “Extraocular light transmitted through the ear canal has profound effects on human circadian physiology, attention, and psychomotor arousal abilities. “I will not give you any.”

Other studies on circadian rhythms have found no hard evidence that our internal clocks can be entrained by light from places other than our ears, behind our knees, or eyes. Interestingly, the ability of our eyes to detect sunlight It seems like something different from our vision.. Many people who are blind find their circadian rhythms out of sync with sunlight, but some people have light detection systems that function normally even without vision.

So there’s no strong evidence. for The idea is that light-up earphones can do anything. And there’s a fair amount of evidence to suggest they’re probably bullshit. I’m happy for all of you who bought this device and found your life better as a result (Lord knows I have a psychological support placebo), but dear reader, We recommend that you save money.