Red Light Therapy: What is it and how can it help me?
Red Light Therapy & Near-Infrared Light
Red Light Therapy is beginning to gain popularity around the wellness world these days. When I first heard of it, I was quite skeptical. How could a certain light color really do anything for my health? Why wouldn’t I simply go outside and absorb the sun’s rays?
As the grayness of New England’s fall season rolled in, I was quickly reminded that the sunshine will be increasingly difficult to come by. It was time to look into Red Light Therapy.
In this article, I will be referencing much of the work by Dr. Michael Belkowski in Red Light Therapy Treatment Protocols, Second Edition.
What Red Light Therapy (RLT) and Near-infrared light (NIR) are:
“Red and near-infrared (NIR) light are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Red light (~600 – 700nm) is part of the visible spectrum (~400 – 700nm), which actually makes up an unfathomably small portion of the entire light spectrum – notice the image below. On the other hand, NIR (~700 – 1100nm) is not part of the visible spectrum and, thus, appears invisible to the human eye.
Both red and NIR act upon the mitochondria inside our cells to stimulate increased energy production and improve our overall health, wellness, and longevity. The fact that they impact the mitochondria in such a positive way explains why red light therapy (RLT) can help normalize and optimize an impressive amount of health conditions. Red and NIR are both able to induce amazing healing effects on the cells they irradiate, leading to modulated inflammation, reduced pain, boosted resiliency, enhanced regeneration and much more!”
It is important to note that most things man-made are not as powerful as nature’s creations. If given a choice between sunlight and RLT / NIR, I will choose the sunlight any day. That being said, for those of us who are unable to access the sun on a daily basis, I have found great benefit from using a red light therapy by BioLight. It has made my transition into the colder months much easier.
As Dr. Mike shares: “RLT will NOT have a direct effect on vitamin D production like you would get from full-spectrum sunlight because UV-B is required for the synthesis of vitamin D.”
It is important to note the differences between RLT and NIR as RLT has a shorter wavelength which cannot penetrate beyond the skin whereas NIR penetrates 1.5-2 inches which can stimulate a healing effect in the deeper tissues such as the bone, joints, organs, brain, and more.
Mitochondria Activation
Mitochondria are often referred to the powerhouse of our cells which generates ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for energy. New research shows that the mitochondria are responsible for much more than simply energy production, and may be a great indicator of overall health vitality.
As Dr. Mike shares: “There is even a theory called the Mitochondrial Theory of Aging, which postulates that the mitochondria are the body's main source of free radicals that are linked to aging. Free radicals are linked to aging because they specifically damage the mitochondria (and the mitochondria's vulnerable DNA). When damage occurs to the mitochondria faster than it can repair itself, the mitochondria becomes dysfunctional, which is the first step in aging.
The domino effect of dysfunctional mitochondria looks something like this:
Too many dysfunctional mitochondria leads to a dysfunction cell >> too many dysfunctional cells lead to a dysfunctional tissue >> too many dysfunctional tissues lead to a dysfunction organ >> too many dysfunctional organs lead to death
Mitochondria are literally in all of our cells except for red blood cells. Red and NIR light specifically targets the mitochondria and helps boost their overall health and vitality, which is phenomenal news for us. In a nutshell, that explains why RLT has a seemingly endless list of health conditions that can be reduced, relieved, mitigated, prevented and/or even completely reversed in some cases.”
When I first read all this about RLT and NIR, it made me recognize how I simply feel better when exposing my skin to the sun daily. Upon experimenting with the RLT and NIR device myself, I experience very similar effects.
So many aspects of our health can be improved with more sun exposure / RLT & NIR usage; our brain, nerves, muscles, skin, and organs to name a few.
I am incredibly excited to continue to experience the many benefits of Red Light Therapy and Near-Infrared Light as we enter the winter months which I will continue to share my findings.
I was fortunate enough to interview Dr. Mike on my Podcast which you can watch on YouTube or listen to on Spotify.
Source: Red Light Therapy Treatment Protocols by Dr. Michael Belkowski