Optimizing Health with Red Light Therapy, Sunlight, and Blue Light Devices

Harnessing the power of sunlight, blue light, and red light through red light therapy devices can significantly elevate our health by impacting various aspects like circadian rhythm, sleep cycles, hormone functionality, energy levels, skin vitality, mood, and the repair and recovery processes in our body.

In a recent podcast, Dr. Andrew Huberman delved into the science behind the varied wavelengths of light and their interaction with the human body’s cells, tissues, and organs. He elaborated on how timed exposure to specific wavelengths could optimize sleep, heighten alertness, regulate hormone levels, and uplift mood.

Through the discussions on the Huberman Lab Podcast, light therapy, particularly red light therapy, emerged as a scientifically backed tool that encompasses the utilization of red light therapy devices, infrared saunas, pulsed light, LED devices, and natural sunlight exposure to alleviate pain, boost testosterone and estrogen levels, enhance skin health, and address issues like acne and wound healing. The potential benefits of red light therapy extend to aiding age-related vision loss and offering neuroprotective attributes.

In this piece, we’ll distill the crucial insights on light-based therapies that are becoming increasingly popular on social platforms like Instagram and TikTok, showcased through red light masks, LED masks, pulsed light devices, red light wands, red light panels, infrared saunas, and infrared sauna blankets among other phototherapies. As we delve deeper, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of red light therapy benefits, the importance of daily natural sunlight exposure, the top red light therapy devices and panels in 2022, and how leveraging the physics of light can foster healing, recovery, and mood enhancement.

Research points out that “the variation of light is by far the most important factor in setting and maintaining our natural daily rhythm, the so-called circadian rhythm,” as explained by Jens Christpherson in his paper titled The importance of light to health and wellbeing.

Light travels with different wavelengths and each spectrum penetrates to varying depths. Studies show that low light exposure can lead to lesser health and well-being, affecting our sleep quality, mood, energy, and social interactions negatively.

Natural light, red light, and infrared light can impact us at a cellular level. So, getting enough sun during the day and reducing light exposure at night is crucial for our health and vitality.

We, along with most living organisms, need light to thrive. The average human circadian cycle slightly exceeds 24 hours, ranging from 23.9 to 24.5 hours. In this cycle, a specific neural pathway from the eye, responding to light levels, influences our biological clock. This pathway drives key physiological and behavioral circadian rhythms like sleep/wake cycle, temperature, and hormone secretion. These rhythms, in turn, significantly affect our energy, mood, sleep, aging process, skin health, executive function, and many other body functions.

Hence, by adopting mindful light exposure practices, we can enhance our health, fitness, and strength, creating a conducive environment for recovery.

Experts say light’s impact on our visual system or circadian rhythm can be categorized into five aspects; intensity, spectrum, timing, duration, and spatial distribution. In simple terms, when, what kind, how much, and where you get your light matters.

Light can be converted into electrical signals, altering gene expression. There’s over a century’s worth of history in using light to trigger healing in cells of our brain and body, tracing back to the Noble Prize-winning treatment for Lupus.

In a recent episode, Dr. Andrew Huberman talks about utilizing light exposure for better health. Essentially, shorter days extend melatonin release while longer days shorten it. Light helps us grasp our location and time in the world. So, in summer, soak up more outdoor light, while in winter, it’s sensible to stay indoors with less sun.

Our interaction with light ties back to our biological clock, even influencing mating desires. Summer usually sees a spike in mate-seeking and mating behaviors, which taper off in winter.

Drawing from Huberman’s podcast and the science he cites, a simple tip is to bask in at least 30 minutes of direct morning sunlight on your skin and eyes daily to kickstart your natural cycle and stimulate beneficial hormones. It’s ideal to do this without sunglasses and on uncovered skin for maximum benefit. Conversely, as night falls, minimize light exposure, especially blue light, to dodge its sleep-disrupting effects.

Red light and infrared light are known for promoting skin health, tackling hair loss, enhancing sleep cycles, boosting energy, aiding wound healing, managing acne, and relieving pain.

Red light therapy is recognized for treating various health issues and continues to be explored for more potential benefits.

So, how does red light therapy do its magic? It sends visible red light and infrared rays deep beyond skin layers, reaching our body’s “power plant”, the mitochondria. With improved mitochondrial function, cells work better and dead cells are cleared out more efficiently. This means quicker recovery, faster healing of skin and wounds, new cell growth, accelerated hair growth, and a helpful release of sleep-promoting hormones. Getting red light exposure earlier in the day helps cells restore ATP.

For your skin, red light therapy is believed to ramp up collagen and fibroblast production, enhance blood flow, and cut down inflammatory cells, leading to healthier and better-looking skin.

Studies also show red light therapy could help manage vision loss for those 40 and above, with short 1-3 minute sessions a few times weekly.

Red light therapy devices, once only found in medical settings, are now available for home use. They come in various forms like panels, wands, masks, torches, helmets, and even full beds.

Typically, a red light therapy device emits both visible red light and infrared light within the 600-750nm range.

These devices can be designed for whole body treatment, like red light therapy beds or panels, or targeted areas, such as helmets for hair loss, face masks for skin treatment, or wands for tackling pigmentation and scarring.

Below, we delve into some common red light therapy devices for at-home use, helping you reap the benefits of red light therapy in the comfort of your home.

Red Light Masks

Lately, ads for red light therapy masks or LED masks might have caught your eye on Instagram or TikTok, especially if you often look up health and wellness topics or search for terms like ‘best red light mask’ or ‘red light face mask’. These masks are crafted for delivering red light and infrared light therapy specifically to your face.

The main allure of red light masks lies in their ability to tackle acne, lessen acne scars, reduce skin lesions and facial pigmentation, alleviate dermatitis, diminish wrinkles, and boost overall skin cell repair. All these perks are indeed backed by science, thanks to the red and infrared light emitted from such masks. Regular use of red light is deemed safe with minimal risks.

Typically, red light masks are priced between $90-350. They usually come as adjustable masks shaped to fit most faces, ensuring an even light distribution across your face. One major plus is that they keep the light source at a steady distance from your face, which is crucial for the therapy, allowing the light waves to dive beneath the dermis to mend damaged cells.

However, a red light mask isn’t your go-to for body treatments. Unlike red light panels, which can cover larger areas like your lower back or chest, these masks are strictly face-focused. Whether you opt for a red light mask, panel, or wand boils down to your budget and the body parts you aim to treat with red light therapy.

Red Light Wands

Red light wands offer a focused burst of red light and infrared light on a small skin area. These wands have gained traction recently as handy, lightweight red light therapy gadgets that easily slide into a bag, purse, or travel case. They’re perfect on-the-go companions for a red light therapy fix.

With a red light wand, you can target small, isolated skin areas, making them ideal for tackling minor acne outbreaks, lesions, scars, and pigmentation. However, most red light wands aren’t cut out to beam light into your eyes, so you might miss out on some benefits associated with eye exposure to red light.

Prices for red light wands hover between $30-250. Some come with a rechargeable feature, boasting up to 6 hours of continuous red light on a single charge. Their compact design, sometimes as small as 10cm in length and as light as 200 grams, showcases their travel-friendly nature or as a space-saving red light device at home.

Red Light Panel

Red light therapy panels bring the benefits of red light and infrared light to your entire body. These panels come in a variety of sizes, from small, portable ones to medium half-body panels, and even large full-body panels that can be joined together for a wall of red light goodness.

We’ve put a few red light panels to the test and found that the effects on skin, mood, sleep, and wound healing are legit. Most commercially available red light panels are crafted for skin illumination, typically shining in the 660-790nm range, covering both red and infrared light.

Here’s a hot tip: if the light from your red light therapy device is too intense for your eyes, causing you to squint, it’s time to don some eye protection. Many top-notch red light panels come with eye-protecting goggles, ensuring a safe therapy session. Yet, letting some red and infrared light reach your naked eye can also be beneficial.

Red Light Beds

A red light therapy bed resembles a solarium-style bed, crafted as a capsule that encases your body, bathing it in red and infrared light.

While this therapy bed tends to be on the pricier side, it’s a top-notch choice for full-body light exposure. Expect to shell out anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 for one. It’s the kind of luxe item you’d typically find in upscale wellness centers, but if your pockets are deep enough, snagging one for home use is totally doable, with several excellent models on the market.

I’ve dabbled with numerous light therapy and sunlight exposure methods, many of them mentioned by Andrew Huberman in his podcast, along with other straightforward photobiomodulation techniques over the past year. There are a handful of simple practices I’d happily recommend. By folding them into your daily routine, you can potentially enhance exercise recovery, sleep quality, morning energy, and reduce acne as well as skin conditions like Perioral Dermatitis and Vitiligo. They might also help in easing pain and boosting testosterone levels. Here are five top tips revolving around light therapy and leveraging light for health to weave into your day and night routine:

Get 30 Minutes of Natural Sunlight Right After Waking Up

Natural sunlight exposure tops the chart when it comes to light therapy. Ever find yourself feeling a tad more down or gloomy during winter? It’s not just you; the shorter days with less sunlight can lead to what’s known as seasonal affective disorder for some. The lack of sunny rays on our skin and eyes plays a big part in this.

Soaking up the sun does wonders for your body – think better sleep, quicker wound healing, higher testosterone levels, and even a boost in how attractive you feel. A bit of UVB light, akin to catching about 30 minutes of sunlight for three to four days a week, can ramp up testosterone and estrogen levels, brighten mood, energize you, and even spark up romantic and sexual passion. It’s also noted for increasing pain tolerance.

Now, about sunscreen: while it’s smart to be sun-safe, be aware that high SPF sunscreens can block many UVB benefits. Plus, a good number of sunscreens are loaded with nasty chemicals you’d rather avoid.

Aiming for at least 30 minutes of light exposure early in the day can kickstart your body’s timing mechanisms, especially when paired with some exercise. This sunny start helps produce cortisol, setting a wakeful tone for the day, and later on, cues melatonin production for sound sleep.

Here’s a tip for the coffee lovers: instead of reaching for your caffeine fix first thing in the morning, delay it by 30 minutes. Research suggests this allows for the “burn off” of adenosine, which caffeine tends to blunt, leading to that dreaded afternoon slump. So, enjoy your coffee a bit later in the morning to dodge the post-lunch crash. Or maybe, give some coffee alternatives a whirl and explore a caffeine-free stretch.

Utilize Blue Light Blocking Glasses

The eyes play a crucial role in picking up light signals, helping to regulate our sleep-wake cycle through hormone adjustments. If your evenings involve scrolling through TikTok or Instagram, watching TV, or working on your laptop, blue light blocking glasses could be your sleep savior.

While cutting down on screen time post-sunset is ideal (since constant connectivity can mess with your brain activity and spike cortisol levels, wrecking your sleep), we get that it’s easier said than done. That’s where blue light blocking glasses come in handy. Slipping on a pair post-sunset, especially when working under bright lights or staring at screens, can combat the sleep-disrupting effects of blue light.

Now, not all blue light blocking glasses are created equal. To truly fend off harmful blue light rays, opt for glasses with an orange or red lens or tint. While clear-lensed versions might look sleek, they’re more for daytime use and won’t cut it when it comes to preserving your melatonin levels at night. So, when you’re shopping online for a pair, make sure to do a little digging to ensure they’re up to the task of guarding your sleep against the blue light beast.

Use a Red Light Therapy Device for 10-20 Minutes a Day

Red light therapy devices, such as red light panels for home use, are a solid choice for those looking to improve sleep hygiene and kickstart a healthy circadian rhythm as the day unfolds.

Studies have indicated that spending 10 to 20 minutes with red light and infrared light therapy, also known as low level light therapy (LLLT), in the morning sends the right signals to your body, helping to set a steady circadian rhythm. This practice can be a game changer in shaking off sleep inertia, making the process of waking up and getting moving much smoother.

Switch to a Red Light for Nighttime Reading

Utilizing bright lights post sunset isn’t the best move if you’re aiming for quality sleep. However, a red light for night-time reading is a clever workaround. It eliminates the exposure to UVB light from standard bulbs, which can hinder melatonin release.

You’ll find red lights for reading at a variety of price points, from $10 to $100, catering to all budgets. There are versatile options – some can be clipped onto your bedhead or the book itself, while others come as red light reading lamps. You can also find specially designed red light bulbs to swap out with your existing ones.

Opting for red lights for reading is a straightforward strategy to cut down exposure to UVB or blue light before hitting the hay, which is known to significantly affect how fast you drift off to sleep. Unlike other lighting, red light doesn’t mess with your melatonin release while still providing ample light for reading.

A red light for bed also comes handy for couples with different bedtime routines. If you’re up reading or working in bed while your partner is trying to snooze, a red light is a softer, less intrusive option, minimizing light pollution and ensuring your night-time activities don’t keep your partner awake.

Light exposure plays a crucial role in maintaining our health. Dodging sunlight entirely or over-shielding our bodies from the sun can actually work against our wellbeing, capping our health potential. A daily dose of natural sunlight for at least 30 minutes, along with the use of red light therapy gadgets like red light panels or red light beds, can be a stellar way to soak up beneficial light wavelengths. These wavelengths help boost cellular function, which in turn, can enhance sleep, skin condition, mood, energy levels, hair growth, and the aging process.

Blue light isn’t the villain during daylight hours; it’s part of the sun’s natural spectrum of light. However, when the sun sets, it’s wise to curb our blue light exposure to pave the way for the natural release of sleep-inducing hormones. Getting the right light at the appropriate times, dimming the lights as night falls, or donning blue light blockers can help keep our circadian rhythm in check. This way, falling asleep becomes a breeze, and waking up isn’t a struggle. Adopting good light therapy habits is a simple yet effective strategy to chase the pinnacle of health and wellbeing, and to rev up our recovery gears.