The wellness industry never stops shocking us and providing us with innovations every single day. If you mentioned a couple of years ago that sitting under red lights may benefit the wellness of your entire body, people would probably think that you went nuts. But there are some proven benefits to this sort of therapy that cannot be denied. Red light therapy is one of many types of photomedicine, a unique wellness approach that uses lights of different wavelengths to treat various health conditions. Red light exists only at wavelengths between 620 nanometers and 750 nanometers. Some of the wavelengths may trigger certain changes within cells that may affect their better functioning. Here are some potential red light therapy benefits that should be worth exploring.
Hair Concerns and Skin Changes, from Wrinkles to Acne
One of the most popular uses of red light therapy is for certain skin conditions. Because of their great popularity, there are even at-home devices that help you obtain these results. Conditions that red light may help you with include fine lines and wrinkles, acne, redness, and hair growth.
Fine lines and wrinkles
Red light therapy can be used as a treatment for the prevention of fine lines and wrinkles. Some research indicates that red light can have a positive impact on collagen stimulation, which results in smoother skin, smoothed lines, and wrinkles. However, you will be able to see the changes with moderate and fine lines better than with those deeply carved into your skin. For some deeper wrinkles, you will also need some additional treatments with red light therapy. The best results are seen in combination with laser treatments. There are also red light masks you can use for these purposes, but you will need more light therapy guides to understand the possible benefits and risks. Some of these treatments can be used at home, so there is no need for you to visit a cosmetic salon.
Acne
Acne breakouts do not automatically go away with age. A lot of people deal with this problem, along with fine lines and wrinkles. However, with red therapy, you will be able to address both of these problems in a single treatment. According to some research, red light therapy decreased breakouts in more than 36% of cases. In addition, it can help you decrease inflammation and eliminate bacteria that are known to cause acne.
Redness
Even though it is counterintuitive that red light may reduce redness, one of the primary functions of red light is to decrease inflammation. The result of reduced inflammation is less redness in your skin. However, there is not enough information about treating skin conditions such as psoriasis.
Hair Growth
We have all dealt with hair loss at some point in our lives. Since red light helps with inflammation and improves blood flow to the hair and scalp, which allows follicles to have more nutrients and oxygen, it may increase the thickness and density of your hair. These are very safe treatments with minor side effects such as scalp itching.
Red Light May Lessen the Pain
Red light therapy for muscle injury can be super beneficial due to its ability to accelerate tissue repair and reduce inflammation. There are specific proteins on the surface of the neuron that are able to absorb light. These proteins reduce the ability of the cell to perceive and conduct pain. Red lighting showed positive results, especially for patients suffering from nerve pain, which is usually caused by diseases such as diabetes.
Enhances Sports Performance and Promotes Injury Recovery
Red light deeply influences your cells as well as their inner parts, such as mitochondria (the powerhouses of cells), which trigger the enzymes producing ATP (the energy currency), which, in the end, benefits the growth of your muscles and helps them repair. To this end, red light therapy before experiments can help professional athletes enhance muscle performance, reduce post-workout pain and soreness, and heal muscle injuries.
It Can Help You With Brain Health
One of the most important benefits of red light therapy is brain health, and yes, it is applied to the head via the helmet. There are some striking study results showing that photobiomodulation can enhance neurocognition. Additionally, red light therapy can also promote blood flow and oxygen to build new neurons and synapses in the brain, which can also be helpful with traumatic injuries or severe strokes.
Helps With Wound Healing
From skin wounds to oral wounds, red light therapy may be used to improve healing. In cases like these, red lights will be applied to the wound area until it is completely healed and there is no scar left. This sort of therapy showed impeccable results with wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers, severe burns, and wound healing post-oral surgery. In addition, red light therapy can improve your cells’ function, reduce the effects of inflammation and pain, release growth factors, promote tissue regeneration, speed up healing, and provide many other benefits.
Reducing Effects of Cancer Treatment
One possible effect of radiation therapy and chemotherapy is pain, sores, oral mucositis, bleeding inside the mouth, and severe sickness. It is well-established that red light therapy can be used to prevent all of these side effects. In addition, this kind of therapy is successfully used for skin conditions caused by radiation treatments and lymphedema. Some recent studies suggest that red light therapy has great potential to be used as a future cancer treatment as it can stimulate the immune system of your body and enhance other types of anti-cancer therapies. Based on the research results, it is confirmed that red light can kill cancer cells; however, for this to be proven and further used, there should be more research.
Improved Mood and Energy Levels
Red light energy can help you significantly improve your mood. Also, it can help you reduce symptoms of some states, such as seasonal affective disorder, which is a type of depression that occurs during long winter months when there is less sunlight than usual. In this sense, red light therapy can help you increase energy levels and further improve cognitive function.
Red light therapy may have a whole variety of benefits for personal well-being. Because these devices are commercially accessible, red light therapy is now employed for aesthetic objectives. Also, in some medical procedures, there is partial use of these lights that may help people relieve their issues.