69 Red Light Therapy Benefits

I once wrote an article entitled, The only Biohacking device I’d buy, about the Heartmath EmWave2, and I have to update that article because I've found some "biohacking devices" that I like even more than the HRV devices, infrared red light therapy.

Check out my Biohacker reviews of the devices I'm using here as in this article I'm going to break down 69 benefits of Red Light Therapy which are thoroughly documented in a very illuminating book I read.

69 Red Light Therapy Benefits - Limitless Mindset

Photobiomodulation is a gamechanger

Red light therapy saved Theo a herniated disk surgery

The most important question is of course...

Is there real science validating Red Light as medicinal therapy?

A quick search on PubMed of the various terms describing light therapy renders over 50,000 published scientific and clinical studies:
Phototherapy = 37,785 studies
Photobiomodulation = 510 studies
Photostimulation = 1,067 studies
Lllt = 5,139 studies
Low-level laser therapy = 5,910 studies
Near-infrared light = 8,431 studies

There is published scientific evidence that photodynamic therapy has a beneficial effect treating, curing, or managing these diseases and conditions...

Amblyopia

Hair Loss (alopecia)

Glaucoma

Frozen Shoulder

Fibromyalgia

Exercise Performance and Recovery

Elbow Tendinopathy (Tennis Elbow)

Dysmenorrhea

Dry Mouth (xerostomy)

Diabetic Foot Ulcer

Depression

Dentin Hypersensitivity

Dental Implant Stability

COPD

Cold Sores (herpes labialis)

Cognitive Enhancement

Chronic Joint Disorders

Cellulite

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Burning Mouth Syndrome

Burn Scars

Bone Fractures

Bell's Palsy

Aphthous Ulcers

Amblyopia

Alzheimer's Disease

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Addiction

Acne

Achilles Tendinopathy

Achilles Tendinitis

And that's NOT all...

 Links to supporting studies can be found here at EndAllDisease.com

The two red lights I use on almost a daily basis are the FlexBeam and a powerful panel red lamp...

Red Light Therapy

 

5.0 (2)

Category: Mind Hardware

The FlexBeam

 

4.0

Category: Mind Hardware

Why is Red Light medicinal?

It has a Mitochondrial mechanism, empowering the base level of energy generation in the body... 

Red/near-infrared radiation (600nm to 1400nm) is absorbed by an enzyme within the mitochondria of cells called cytochrome c oxidase.  This results in greater energy production by that cell.  Adequate energy production is the hallmark of a healthy cell.  If enough of your cells are producing energy efficiently, you will be healthy. (p. 111)

Red and particularly near-infrared light are already effective at accessing cells deep inside the body but pulsed red and near-infrared light may be even better at reaching deep target tissues. (p. 116)

A cool little experiment to do...

Simply take out your mobile phone and load the flashlight application.  Next, hold the tip of your finger directly against the light and look at your finger.  What do you see? Although your mobile phone flashlight emits blue, green and red light - only the red light penetrates all the way through your finger.  Look at the red glow! (p. 8)

In 2000, Dr. Whelan concluded after many years of research that, “The near-infrared light emitted by these LEDs seems to be perfect for increasing energy inside cells. This means whether you’re on Earth in a hospital, working in a submarine under the sea or on your way to Mars inside a spaceship, the LEDs boost energy to the cells and accelerate healing.” (pp. 26-27)

The span of infrared light most applicable for healing is near-infrared, which ranges from 700nm to about 1400nm... near-infrared light penetrates more deeply into the body than red light, meaning its healing energy can reach cells that red light cannot. (p. 10)

Red light therapeutic range: 620-700nm
Near-Infrared light therapeutic range: 700-1000nm.

The four most efficiently absorbed wavelengths of red and near-infrared light have been found to be 620nm, 670nm, 760nm and 830nm. (pp. 11-12)

These are, by the way, the wavelengths that the devices I use project. Looking at the science it would seem that the near-infrared spectrum offers more therapeutic benefits but we humans can't see infrared light, it's not much of a visual experience, whereas the therapeutic red light spectrum bathes the room in a beautiful, tranquilizing red glow.

A few notable uses of red light therapy...

Testosterone and Libido Enhancement

Red lighting your balls for a few minutes daily will up your masculine essence but, don't fry your balls!

it’s important to keep the light about a foot away when treating testicles with red light therapy. (p. 30) 

Red Light is a Nootropic

The positive effects of red light on brain function are significant and well established scientifically.  In fact, red and near-infrared light could very well be the most powerful nootropic ever discovered. (p. 30)

Researchers from the University of Texas applied near-infrared laser light to the foreheads of healthy volunteers and measured its effects on cognitive parameters, including attention, memory and mood in 2013.  The treated group experienced improvements in reaction time, memory and an increase in positive emotional states for the two-week follow-up period after treatment. (p. 31)

Red light on the forehead has a nootropic effect

Near-infrared light therapy resulted in long-lasting reductions in depression and anxiety from just one treatment. (pp. 33-34)

The author, Mark Sloan reported...

I held the light up against my forehead to see how red light would impact my brain function.  I didn't notice anything until I left home and began interacting with people.  The effects were profound.  My brain cells felt energized and the quality and speed of my thoughts and speech were markedly enhanced.  Today I use red light twice a day – once in the morning and once at night - on my brain and body.  On my brain I use it to ensure my cognition is at peak function throughout the day.  With full-body treatment I ensure the light reaches as many cells as possible, including my thyroid, which enhances metabolism and energy levels throughout the day.  I also ensure the light reaches my testicles, which provides a noticeable enhancement in sexual function. (p. 102)

Although, I've heard anecdotal accounts of people "scrambling" their brains (TEMPORARILY) but shooting lasers at their heads, so if you want to try it, start with just a few minutes and see how you feel. My wife and I have done it hundreds of times with adverse effects.

Vs Obesity

In 2015, a team of researchers from the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil tested the effects of near-infrared light (808nm) on 64 obese women randomly assigned to one of two groups:  Exercise (aerobic & resistance) training + phototherapy or exercise (aerobic & resistance) training + no phototherapy.  The study took place over a 20 week period, during which both groups of obese women underwent exercise training 3-times a week.  At the end of each training session, one group of women received light therapy and the other did not.  The results? Remarkably, the women who received the near-infrared light therapy following exercise doubled the amount of fat loss compared to exercise alone. (p. 25)

Vs Pain

Interestingly, aspirin and red light kill pain in similar ways, by reducing an enzyme called COX-2. (p. 36)

Vs Arthritis

Remarkably, after inducing arthritis in the rats and treating them just one time with the near-infrared laser, inflammation was found to be significantly reduced in just 24 hours.  “A single application of LLLT produced significant reductions in inflammatory cell infiltration and inflammatory cytokines 24 hours later.” (pp. 40-42)

Vs Carpal Tunnel

From a 2016 meta-analysis of seven human scientific trials...

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been applied in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) for an extended period of time without definitive consensus on its effectiveness... Seven randomized clinical trials met the inclusion criteria; there were 270 wrists in the laser group and 261 wrists in the control group... This study revealed that low-level laser improve hand grip, VAS, and SNAP after 3 months of follow-up for mild to moderate [carpal tunnel syndrome].

I'm a bit paranoid about developing carpal tunnel so I use my FlexBeam on my hands and wrists a few times a week. This relieves the niggling strain that I sometimes develop after a few long days of slaving away on my MacBook.

What risks or side effects does Red Light Therapy have?

How safe is red light therapy? Of the 50,000+ studies published on red light therapy to date, no adverse side effects have been reported. One of the reasons for this is that the energy intensity of the red and near-infrared wavelengths is extremely low.  The amount of energy exposure during red light therapy treatments is so low, in fact, that tissue temperatures don't increase more than a few tenths of a degree. (p. 56)

Longtime red light researcher and Harvard scientist Michael Hamblin had this to say about the safety of red light therapy:  "In terms of side effects, there are very few side effects.  I've occasionally heard of people who put light on their head - I think one person had a headache and a few people felt excessively sleepy.” (p. 56) 

I've used it for years on every part of my body and have never experienced anything undesired.

You might be wondering if you get red light therapy from just going to a tanning salon...

Unlike the sun, tanning beds emit only the damaging frequencies with no protective red or near-infrared light.
The fact that tanning beds emit ionizing ultraviolet radiation without red or near-infrared light is why they are considered dangerous and known to cause cancer. (p. 6)

Final words on red light therapy...

The illuminating book Red Light Therapy: Miracle Medicine for Pain, Fatigue, Fat loss, Anti-aging, Muscle Growth and Brain Enhancement concludes

Within this for-profit healthcare system, the more toxic and dangerous drugs or treatments are, the better they are as products.  This is because highly toxic drugs result in any number of side effects, which render patients in need of more drugs to treat those side effects. (pp. 119-120)

No medicine in the world has the track record of red light therapy for safety and efficacy.  If it weren’t for the fact that red light devices are inexpensive and can last for decades, the pharmaceutical industry would be hailing red light therapy the greatest treatment ever discovered.  If you could pack photons of red light into a pill, it would undoubtedly be a billion-dollar blockbuster drug. (p. 123)

Check out my deep-dive interview with the author, we discuss the cancer industry and the potential of red therapy as a transformative, risk-free medicine.