Red Light Therapy: How It Can Boost Your Energy, Sleep and Skin Health
If you paid attention in biology classes at school, you'll already know that light is vital for the health and growth of every living species on this planet. In humans, natural light is necessary for everything from vitamin D production to balancing the circadian rhythm.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, time spent outdoors soaking up these much-needed rays is highly insufficient. We spend so much time indoors under artificial light looking at bright screens, which is why our circadian rhythm, sleep, and energy levels are often compromised.
Red Light Therapy: What Is It and How Does It Work?
Red Light Therapy, also known as photobiomodulation (PBM) or low-level light therapy (LLLT), is a completely natural and non-invasive treatment that heals the body on a cellular level.
Red Light devices, such as those stocked by Red Lab, deliver low-energy red and near-infrared (NIR) light waves to the body through LED diodes. Red light waves penetrate the superficial layers of the skin, while the longer wavelength NIR light targets deeper tissues such as nerves, muscles, tendons, and bone.
Red light strengthens the mitochondria, which are the part of the cell that create energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The brain, heart, and ovaries contain the highest concentrations of mitochondria, with 5-10 times the mitochondria per cell than you have anywhere else. By doing so, Red Light Therapy increases energy levels.
Three Benefits of Red Light Therapy:
- Energy levels: Feeling drained and depleted throughout the day can affect your mood, social life, productivity, and health. Red Light Therapy has been shown to improve energy levels in several studies.
For example, a 2019 study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine [1] found that using a combination of red and ambient white light in the afternoon improved circadian rhythm and increased alertness in the period after lunch, when many people have a dip in their energy level.
Red Light Therapy is also an exciting treatment for those dealing with general fatigue, as well as people with more serious chronic conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Multiple Sclerosis.
One study [2] treated fibromyalgia sufferers with Red Light Therapy three times a week. Not only did they have reduced pain at the end of the study, but fatigue had substantially decreased too.
- Sleep: Sleep relies on many things, but it's clear that it's habit and rhythm-based. If we can use methods to set our perfect circadian rhythm, we will reap some incredible health benefits that will give us the energy to enjoy every waking and sleeping hour.
In the morning, you want to tell your body that it's time to wake up. Brighter lights are best, and blue light, in particular, can help shut down melatonin production and raise your energy for the day. Sunlight is always best because of its full spectrum of light and color, but for those of us who don't live where it's always sunny, a normal white light is fine. Halogen lights are the most like natural sunlight, although they're not full-spectrum.
You can also expose yourself to some brighter red lights for a few minutes in the morning for a mitochondrial boost. We recommend using our Red Lab handheld device on either of the first two settings, which include blue light into a quick therapy session.
At night, you want to block all the blue light and use red or orange light instead. This will help you produce more melatonin, a hormone that makes you feel sleepy.
Red light therapy can be beneficial if you struggle to fall or remain asleep. Red light therapy before bedtime enhanced the quality of sleep for those with insomnia, according to one study [3]. Using Red Light Therapy in the morning and evening enhanced sleep quality in adults with advanced sleep phase disorder, according to a different study [4].
3. Skin health: Red light therapy can enhance skin health by boosting the generation of collagen and decreasing inflammation.
Conclusion
Energy levels, sleep quality, and skin health can all be improved with the help of red light therapy, a safe and natural treatment. It functions by supplying the body with low-energy red and near-infrared light waves via LED diodes, which stimulate the mitochondria and boost cellular energy production.
Red light therapy is unquestionably something to think about whether you're trying to increase your stamina, sleep quality, or skin health.
[1] Lee, J. et al. (2019). The effects of different spectra of light on alertness and fatigue in an office setting: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 61(3), pp.195-202.
[2] Whelan, H.T. et al. (2011). Low-level laser therapy as a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, 29(4), pp.183-189.
[3] Whelan, H.T. et al. (2007). Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) for the treatment of insomnia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, 25(2), pp.94-98.
[4] Whelan, H.T. et al. (2008). Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) for the treatment of advanced sleep phase disorder (ASPD): a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, 26(1), pp.25-29.
[5] Laubach, H.J. et al. (2007). The use of low-level laser therapy for facial skin rejuvenation: a review. Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, 25(1), pp.9-15.
[6] Lanigan, S.W. et al. (2006). Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in the management of acne: an evidence-based review. Lasers in Medical Science, 21(2), pp.61-67.
