Red Light Therapy

BOOK AT HAPPY WHOLE YOU'S WELLNESS CENTER

Everyone Needs Healthy Light, But Most People Don’t Get Enough

Light is essential for our health and cellular function, just like water, sleep, and the nutrients from food. The human body is designed to function with an abundance of natural sunlight, but with our modern lifestyles, most people don’t get nearly enough light every day. The average American spends over 90% of their time indoors. That’s not nearly enough natural light for optimal health and balance! Worse yet, much of the time we spend indoors is filled with bright blue light from screens and overhead lighting, which can have a negative effect on sleep and circadian rhythms.

Bottom line: everyone needs healthy light, but most people don’t get enough. Instead, they get way too much blue light, resulting in worse sleep and overall health.

How Does Red Light Therapy Work?

These specific wavelengths of red light create a biochemical affect in our cells that serves to increase mitochondrial function. This improves ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production in the body.

Why is this important?

ATP is the source of energy for every cell in the body. Without it, we don’t function at all. Without enough of it, we don’t function well.

Its wavelengths range between 630-880nm and are used to treat the skin’s surface. Red therapy light penetrates about 8-10 millimeters into the skin. Depending on which area of the body the red light is used, this can easily affect all skin layers, reaching into blood vessels, lymph pathways, nerves, and hair follicles.

The History of Red Therapy Light Use

Red light therapy has been around the block. In 1903 physician Niels Ryberg Finsen won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his successful treatment of smallpox and lupus with red light. Russia uses low-level laser therapy in their standard medical care (and they have since the 1970s). The Russians also published hundreds of studies over the decades on the benefits of red therapy light. Unfortunately, very few of these studies have been translated into English.

Red light therapy has largely been ignored by the US and western Europe until recently. However, it’s been used in a clinical setting since the 1980s in Japan, China, Canada, Northern Ireland, Vietnam, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

The Benefits of Red Therapy Light

Even though the western world is behind the times with red therapy light, strong evidence supports its health benefits. It is FDA approved for chronic joint pain, slow to heal wounds, wrinkles, hair loss and acne. Many others have used it successfully for other issues, like psoriasis, improved circulation, and better immune function.

Here’s a partial list of the evidence-based uses of red therapy light:

It helps rejuvenate facial skin and smooths skin tone.
Red light builds collagen in the skin to reduce wrinkles.
It helps to repair sun damage.
Red light activates the lymphatic system for potentially improved detoxification.
Decreases inflammation in the skin.
Helps fade scars and stretch marks.
Improves hair growth to reverse balding.
Stimulates slow-healing wounds.
Can prevent recurring cold sores, or herpes simplex.
Helpful in the short term for carpal tunnel syndrome.
Beneficial for skin to reduce eczema, rosacea, and acne.