How Red Light
Therapy Works
Charge Your Cells With Light
Since the beginning of time, all life on earth has been energized by the power of sunlight. Light is as essential a nutrient as food, water and oxygen and ensuring we get the right type of light regularly can have significant positive impacts on our health, fitness and well-being.
Sunlight can be broken down into three main spectrums: ultraviolet, visible and infrared. Ultraviolet light is high-energy light that absorbs in the top layer of the skin and is converted into many hormones, most notably Vitamin D (not a vitamin!). Visible light, violet through red, penetrates deeper into the skin layers and is primarily responsible for vision and entraining our circadian rhythms. Infrared light is the lowest energy spectrum of light provided by the sun and penetrates the deepest into the body where it stimulates energy metabolism and reduces inflammation. Specifically, red and near infrared light absorb into the skin, muscle and even bone layers where they increase mitochondrial energy metabolism.
Human Cells are Biological Batteries 🔋
Your Batteries are Charged by Red + Near Infrared Light
Initially discovered by NASA, sunlight powers more than just plants through what we know as photosynthesis. Sunlight powers ALL cellular life on earth! The most predominant spectrum of sunlight, near infrared, accounts for 42% of the sun’s energy. Red and near infrared light are absorbed and activate mitochondria in all human and animal cells.
Mitochondria are tiny structures within every cell that produce energy for all metabolic functions that take place within your body. They’re designed to convert oxygen, food, and specific wavelengths of light into ATP (Adenosine TriPhosphate), carbon dioxide (CO2) and structured water (H302). ATP and structured water hold all the chemical and electrical energy our cells require to function.
ATP, stored chemical energy, can be looked at like cellular currency - the more you have, the more your cells can invest into running programs that keep you healthy and happy. Red + Near Infrared Light Therapy helps improve ATP production by flushing out harmful byproducts of stress that hinder energy production.
Structured water, which stores electrical energy, is also created by our mitochondria when exposed to red and near infrared light. Our mitochondria combine the H+ from our food and the O2 from our breath to make H2O, water. The work of Dr. Gerald Pollack shows when infrared energy absorbs into water, it creates “structured water” AKA H302 - a crystalline gel that acts like a battery inside every human and animal cell. Your mitochondria, which make water, also happen to be great generators of infrared energy! You can watch a short Ted Talk with Gerald Pollack on structured water here: Water, Cells, and Life | Dr. Gerald Pollack | TEDxNewYorkSalon
Build up your cellular antioxidant and anti-inflammatory defense systems.
This process is called "Hormesis," where a metabolic stress response stimulates adaptations that actually improve health. Exercise is a common example. This is where temporary stress will signal to the center of our cells (where our DNA is) to signal which genes to turn on or off.
In this scenario, Red + Near Infrared Light stimulates many of the same cellular responses as exercise. In short, it makes your cells more tolerant to stress, combats inflammation, helps prevent the build up of free radicals, and ultimately makes your cells healthier, more energetic, and more resilient.
Light for a Modern World
We all know that cell function declines as we age, which can lead to a host of health problems and chronic disease. Sunlight, with its immense amount of red and infrared light, plays a critical role in energy production and maintaining optimal cellular health but according to the EPA, most people just aren’t getting enough. Americans, on average, spend 93% of their day indoors, inundated by artificial blue flickering light which has been shown to have many deleterious effects on health and well-being (1).
Red Light Therapy is your solution to regaining and maintaining your energy and vitality in a modern, blue-lit world. This non-invasive, drug-free treatment promotes better sleep (2), increased energy levels (3), reduced pain and inflammation (4), performance and recovery (5), optimal hormone balance (6), rejuvenated skin (7,8), improved immune function (9), accelerated wound healing (10), improved eye health (11), increased fertility (12) and can even aid in fat loss (13,14), and so much more. Not only is Red Light Therapy simple and enjoyable but anyone can benefit from this life-changing treatment.
Infrared Sauna
Infrared Sauna uses another portion of the infrared spectrum known as “far infrared’. Far infrared is the lowest energy (longest) wavelength of the infrared spectrum and is what we perceive as heat. Heat stress is another form of hormesis and just like Red + Near Infrared Light Therapy, Far Infrared Sauna delivers a tremendous wealth of anti-aging health benefits.
The Most Efficient Sauna Experience
Unlike traditional dry saunas which operate at extreme high temperatures (e.g. 180-200ºF) to increase your core body temperature, far infrared saunas operate at lower temperatures, typically between 140-150ºF. Dry saunas heat the air around you, heating your body from the outside-in. Far infrared saunas are more efficient, hence the lower operating temperature, because the far infrared energy emitted penetrates deep into the body, heating you from the inside-out. Far Infrared Sauna provides all the same benefits as dry sauna while the cooler temperature is less likely to affect your breathing and makes a prolonged sauna session much more tolerable
The Gold Standard of Detox
Heat stress has been extensively researched over many decades and has been clinically shown to provide a host of profound health benefits. Far Infrared Sauna use mimics physiological and protective mechanisms induced by light cardiovascular exercise. Prolonged heat exposure increases sweating, respiration, circulation, heart rate and mitochondrial energy metabolism making Far Infrared Sauna the gold standard for detoxifying. Heat stress also increases expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) which play a role in protein repair. HSPs have been shown to reduce muscle atrophy and may offer protection against neurodegenerative diseases (1).
Regular sauna use is correlated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality (2). In addition to helping you live longer, clinical research also shows a vast number of health benefits such as improved sleep (3), reduced pain and inflammation (4), healthier skin (5), relieving stress (6), boosting performance and recovery (7), improved immunity (8), weight loss (9), improved heart health (10,11), and improved mental health (12).