“Red and near-infrared light are not some weird technology that benefits us for some random reason. These wavelengths of light come from the sun, and it turns out that our body has evolved over millions of years to be capable of utilizing red and near-infrared light from the sun to help power up our cells . . . literally enhancing the function of our mitochondria, our cellular energy generators.”
—Ari Whitten, The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy
If you are going to be outdoors this summer—golfing, hiking, bicycling, or even just relaxing poolside—you probably won’t need regular treatments with red light. The light of the sun will provide the red light you need. In one study, data showed that people who golf every day, outside in the full-color spectrum of sunlight, live an average of five years longer!
It turns out that daylight, even on cloudy days, is a crucial nutrient for all life on the planet, as necessary as food and water. We aren’t taught to think of light as a nutrient. Yet just as you eat food for its many nutrients, your body eats light to support its daily cellular processes.
Science today calls light therapy photobiomodulation (PBM) and photomedicine. In the 1960s, after photomedicine discovered that the red light of lasers heals the body, laser treatments came into use. Then, clever thinkers realized it wasn’t the lasers that healed, but the red light they emitted. And red light therapy was born.
Red light therapy is an astonishingly effective, noninvasive treatment for pretty much all health issues. Among other benefits, it leads to faster tissue healing, reduced inflammation, and improved muscle recovery.
Unfortunately, our modern lifestyles have planted us indoors almost 24-7. We’re suffering from a deficiency of daylight, a deficiency that actually may do more damage to our health than the lack of any food nutrient. The body needs red light, the longest wavelength on the light spectrum, and the deficiency can be corrected with red light therapy.
Red light therapy devices apply two kinds of light to our bodies. Visible red light, around 670 nanometers, heals the surface—the skin (wrinkles, acne, rashes, eczema, even scars), scalp, and hair. And invisible near-infrared light (NIR), somewhere around 800 nanometers, reaches deeper inside into muscles, bones, lungs, colon, glands, and the brain. It even helps sleep and memory.
The red light devices are made with two sets of LEDs, which emit different kinds of light. The set of red LEDs emits visible, bright red light for a more surface effect. Its red light is so bright that the devices come with glasses for eye protection. The visible red light penetrates the first layers of your skin. The other set of LEDs emits invisible near-infrared light, which penetrates deeper into your tissues. If you use NIR, you won’t see any light, but you can feel its warmth. Most devices give you the choice to use red light, NIR, or both together.
No matter which panel or device you have, always use it on bare skin so the light hits your skin and penetrates into your tissues. Hold the device at least six inches from the area you’re treating. The built-in power density of your device, also called irradiance, decreases as it gets further away from your body. And you should wear the dark glasses that come with all devices to protect your eyes. Studies show that treating with red light in the early morning is most effective.
In the six years since Ari Whitten came out with The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy, red light has been recognized as a viable treatment, with thousands of research studies in every area of health. In my layperson’s understanding, it works by stimulating the mitochondria in our cells to produce amazing energy and healing chemistry.
And this really surprised me: Red light changes the water in our cells. The cells in our bodies are 70 to 90 percent water, and research has found that when the red wavelength of light penetrates the skin, it actually lowers the viscosity of the water in and around the cells. The beam of red light makes the water thinner so it can then flow more quickly through the cells and into the mitochondria that reside there. This allows the mitochondria, the soul of our energy production, to make faster and bigger chemical adjustments to accelerate healing. Red light swells the production of ATP, the energizing juice produced by your body’s hundreds of trillions of mitochondria. (An important takeaway here is that we need to stay hydrated!)
Today, many spas, clinics, and even dentists and doctors offer very reasonably priced red light sessions, including full body treatments.
Look for devices with the most power density or irradiance that include both red light and NIR. A larger panel will cost more but cover a greater body area per session.
Here are some excellent companies that I recommend based on my research.
RLT Home Red Light Therapy (RedLightTherapyHome.com) offers a panel with zero EMF, seven wavelengths of light, and great customer service.
Hooga Health (HoogaHealth.com) has various high-power therapy panels, red light bulbs, hair stimulation caps, and excellent information.
Block Blue Light USA (BlockBlueLight.com) is my source for no-blue light bulbs, and they now carry red light products, backed by a good response team and information.
Lumebox (TheLumeBox.com) offers a very high-powered 4×7-inch device that is portable and comes with a rechargeable battery.
Red Light Man (RedLightMan.com), sells a small device that Whitten recommends: the Red-Infrared Combo Mini. It comes with a long cord and is great for treating small areas.
Red Therapy Company LLC (RedTherapy.co) sells the RedRush 400 PULSE, which is the high-powered panel that Ari Whitten recommends. You can pulse it to makes treatment more effective.