Light Shapes Health
Every Spectrum of Light is Bioactive
Each day, light frequencies either harm or improve the health of your:
Restorative Light
Believe it or not, healthy light frequencies improve all bodily functions.
Why? Because each spectrum of light — both visible and invisible — causes a cascade of biological activity, even at very low intensity.
The body is designed to receive and detect light — and then respond to it with metabolic and hormonal action.
Every minute of the day and night, even! Photoreceptors in eyes and skin receive light and send signals to the brain, telling it what the light in the environment is doing.
And it’s not just the brain, local tissues respond to environmental and therapeutic light as well.
These effects are not minimal — they’re not slight. They are deep and impactful to your health.
Therefore, can light play a role in your health strategy?
Absolutely! As long as we approach these health habits with lightness, freedom, and curiosity, there is no limit to how high they can take you!
Explore the Light section
Hyperlinks
The human eye sees a small slice of the total light spectrum.
The sun produces energy across an extremely broad spectrum. The tiny portion the human eye can see is referred to as visible light.
What about the rest of the spectrum that the human eye cannot detect — the frequencies that are invisible?
Those are still light. The invisible wavelengths are just too small or large to see.
Just smaller than the visible spectrum is the invisible UV spectrum. If UV light were any larger in frequency, it would be blue light, and it would be visible.
Just larger than red light is infrared light — which is also invisible. If infrared waves were any shorter, they’d be red, and we’d be able to see them.
All visible light is perceived as a color by the human brain.
The Visible Spectrum
In physics, every time a frequency doubles, it’s referred to as an octave.
In music, the major scale covers one octave.
A grand piano has 8 octaves.
By comparison, the electromagnetic spectrum has 81 octaves.
Visible light is only one of these 81 octaves — essentially one major scale on an incredibly large piano.
Think of light this way: as three main parts — all affecting health differently.
For general thinking about healthy light, ignore the X-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, and radio waves.
Instead, focus on the most important spectrums of light — those which greatly impact health on a daily basis. They are:
Solar Radiation Peaks in the Visible Spectrum
Most life on earth is highly attuned to the visible spectrum.
It’s a narrow spectrum — only one octave — but it accounts for 42% of the sun’s power output.
* Wireless technology uses long-wavelength spectrums like radio- and microwaves — which is also very important for health. However, concerns about wireless technology can be grouped into their own separate discussion.
3
Healing Infrared
A majority (54%) of sunlight is invisible infrared light.
Infrared is becoming increasingly researched and shown to possess numerous health benefits for the body.
4
INFRARED + RED LIGHT
When the sun’s red and infrared output are added together, they make up a whopping 68% of total sunshine.
This means that more than 2/3 of sunlight is restorative infrared and red light frequencies.
68% of sunlight is infrared & red.
5
Incredible
Health Benefits
…of red and infrared light.
The NASA ‘HEALS’ Light
“The innovation of the NASA HEALS technology provides the equivalent light energy of 12 suns from each of the 288 LED chips.”
— NASA
Sleep
Show Research
improved sleep quality and endurance in female basketball players.
“Our study confirmed the effectiveness of body irradiation with red light in improving the quality of sleep of elite female basketball players and offered a nonpharmacologic and noninvasive therapy to prevent sleep disorders after training.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23182016
Insulin Resistance & Weight Regulation
Show Research
improved glucose metabolism and obesity in mice.
“[Infrared] therapy improved glucose tolerance and phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473)… The results showed that chronic PBM therapy improved parameters related to obesity and insulin resistance in HFD-induced obesity in mice.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29247431
Cardiovascular Health
Show Research
effective as a therapeutic tool for many disease states.
“Furthermore, FIR rays have been applied in treating various chronic diseases, such as hypertension, heart failure, and vascular endothelial dysfunction, which are associated with the depletion of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), a critical cofactor for NO synthases.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5505738/
This research also applies to: Blood Pressure, Congestive Heart Failure, Pain, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Joint Pain & Inflammation
Show Research
relieved pain and lowered the inflammation in joints injected with endotoxin.
“Positron emission tomography (PET) scanning showed that the bioceramic was capable of relieving inflammation in the joints at 7 days after LPS injection.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5505738/
Acne
Show Research
extremely effective at reducing the instance of acne.
“Twenty-eight patients were participated in this study. Ten weeks after treatment acne lesion were significantly decreased…”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3352636/
Chronic Pain Reduction (& Arthritis)
Show Research
Patients were pain-free for longer when receiving red and infrared light therapy.
“We observed significant functional improvement in red- and infrared-treated groups (p less than 0.05), but not in the placebo group. The period from the end of treatment until the patients required treatment was longer for red and infrared groups than for the placebo group.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1727843
Low-power light therapy is effective in relieving pain and disability in degenerative osteoarthritis of the knee.”
Cognition & Mood
Show Research
Red and infrared light appear to enhance normal brain function and improve memory, as well as mood.
“Among the most fascinating experimental applications of LLLT are those related to enhancement of normal brain function and the treatment of memory loss and mood disorders.“
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5436183/
Cancer
Show Research
Researchers attach photoabsorbers (molecules that absorb light) to cancer cells (using targeted antibodies).
Near-infrared light is applied to the area, and the light — in conjunction with the photoabsorber — cause the cancer cell to swell, burst, and die.
“When near-infrared light is applied, the cells swell and then burst, causing the cancer cells to die.”
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/photoimmunotherapy-video
Ocular Health
Show Research
Gentle red light can improve the health of eye tissue in disease and after an injury.
“This evidence suggests that LLLT may induce beneficial effects in retinal and optic nerve pathology in humans.”
(Macular Degeneration & Healing Post-Injury)
Bone Health
Show Research
Infrared light increases bone mineral density.
“The results demonstrated that the increasing rate of bone mineral density was higher in the laser (L) group than in the control (C) group.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19399356
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4707222/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11776448
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24286286
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27752476
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/12/001219195848.htm
For decades, researchers found that therapeutic lasers produced verifiable results for pain, inflammation, healing, smoking cessation and even hair regrowth. They tended to assume the important component was the fact that the light was in the form of a laser, a very intense beam of light.
It turned out, however, it wasn’t the laser aspect that provided the healing. By the mid-90s, it was clear that the wavelengths of light themselves — not the laser aspect — were responsible for the successful findings.
Thus, the study of “low-level laser therapy” became the study of “photobiomodulation” (the study of how light affects changes in the body).
Show Research
“Most of the early work in this field was carried out with various kinds of lasers, and it was thought that laser light had some special characteristics not possessed by light from other light sources such as sunlight, fluorescent or incandescent lamps and now LEDs. However all the studies that have been done comparing lasers to equivalent light sources with similar wavelength and power density of their emission, have found essentially no difference between them.”
https://www.aimspress.com/fileOther/PDF/biophysics/biophys-04-00337.pdf
LEDs became the technology of choice because they can deliver specific wavelengths to bodily tissues.
PICTURED: A cheap 660nm red LED grow light from Amazon.
Virtually All Wavelengths Have Been Studied. Some Excel at Healing.
The most impressive healing results come from the frequencies found in visible red light (around 660nm) and near infrared frequencies (around 880nm).
ALL wavelengths of red & infrared light provide benefits to practically every cell in the body.
8
Compare:
Red -vs- Infrared
Sharing many similar characteristics for our health, these two frequencies do have a few differences.
Red Light is Visible
If an object looks red, red light is coming from it — and entering the eye.
A red LED emitting red light.
Infrared Light is Invisible
The human eye cannot see infrared light. The wavelengths are too long — just longer than red light.
An infrared LED appears to be off — even when turned on.
Infrared Means “Beyond Red”
Infrared wavelengths are too long for our eyes to observe.
(UV rays are too short for our eyes to see).
Special Technology Can See Infrared Light
Night-Vision Goggles
These $1,000 night-vision goggles detect “invisible” infrared light to “see” in the dark.
Security Cameras
Night-vision surveillance cameras “see” infrared light. This camera even has infrared LED’s to shine on potential criminals.
“Heat Signature” = Infrared Light
The “night-vision” camera can see this dog at night.
(More infrared wavelengths are coming out of the dog’s eyes and mouth — fur absorbs infrared light.)
Amazingly, even though infrared light is invisible, we can sense it in another way:
We actually FEEL it.
How? Invisible infrared light is felt as heat.
After all, heat, essentially, is infrared light.
Humans can see light frequencies — and also feel light frequencies.
What cooks the food? Infrared light.
All frequencies of light penetrate into the body — but each wavelength penetrates to a very specific depth.
Some frequencies penetrate very deeply, while others barely enter the body at all.
Tissue Penetration Depends on The Wavelength
The longer the wavelength, the deeper light penetrates into tissues.
Blue light barely penetrates at all, just 2-4 millimeters.
Red light penetrates several inches into the flesh.
Infrared can penetrate deeply into the body, nourishing even the inner organs.
Penetration Depth In Human Tissue
Blue Light
2-3mm
Red Light
5-10mm
Infrared Light
9-27cm
Infrared Rays Penetrate Deepest
All light travels in a straight line, and infrared is no different.
This deep penetration into the body allows infrared therapy to affect all tissues and organs in the body.
90% of incandescent bulbs’ output is infrared light.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but it mostly produced invisible infrared.
THE criticism of INCANDESCENT BULBS: TOO MUCH WASTED INVISIBLE LIGHT (Heat).
“An incandescent bulb is a better heater than light bulb.”
–Industry scientists circa 2010
Throughout the 2010s, countries began banning the sale of incandescents to save energy costs and burn fewer fossil fuels.
Modern lighting provides almost no red & infrared.
Fluorescent Bulbs
LED Bulbs
Fluorescent & LED bulbs do save on energy costs.
——-> By removing the healthy red & infrared light.
The average American spends 93% of their life indoors, with another 6% in automobiles.
— Environmental Protection Agency, 2001
That’s 99% Indoors
15 minutes. That’s how long the average American spends outside — each day.
What are the health implications of spending nearly all time indoors? There’s a serious air quality threat (on average, indoor pollutants are 5 times worse than outdoor air, but are often 100 times worse), for sure. But there’s a lack of healthy spectrums of light.
What are the missing frequencies in modern life? Red and infrared.
For most, artificial lighting is the only lighting.
Most folks get very little sunshine.
As a result…
Infrared & red light are absent in modern life.
Stats for the Average American
93% indoors
+ 6% in automobiles
= 99% of life spent indoors.
On average, 99% of modern life is spent indoors.
Humans Throughout History
Throughout history, humans spent more waking hours in direct or indirect sunlight.
Fire is incredibly rich in red & infrared light.
The contrast couldn’t be more stark: Modern people receive far less nourishing red & infrared light from the environment.
Congratulations! You’ve completed Why Light?
What Has Light Done For Me?
Red and infrared light have tremendously improved my life.
The trend is rising globally! Professional athletes are using red light to improve recovery after both exercise and injuries. Hair is being regrown at (expensive) hair clinics — using simple red light technology available on Amazon.
Light therapy is resulting in better sleep, energy levels, pain perception, workouts, post-exercise and post-surgery recovery, mood, digestion, gut health, and better skin.
I personally utilized red & infrared light as a foundation of my recovery from hypothyroidism and mold illness. I noticed the light spurred my digestion and metabolism, while improving my circadian rhythm and sleep.
My sluggish brain became more active — for hours — after exposure to these healing wavelengths of light.
Working with clients, I’ve seen light improve thyroid & Hashimotos lab numbers, and increase energy levels and brain function in the elderly. Joint and muscle pain has been relieved in folks of all ages.
Best of all, it doesn’t have to require much effort to receive therapeutic light. It usually involves sitting down, resting.
There never should be a feeling of heaviness about any of these ideas. They are simply here to help you — if you feel inspired to use them.
Virtually everyone can benefit from “good” frequencies of light. In chronic illness and aging, these restorative frequencies will be even more important.
My health came back to me — in part — because I understood the profound biological effects of light. Without awareness of light, my improvements in sleep, digestion, and metabolism wouldn’t have had the same momentum.
Everything we do to push our momentum forward — toward progress — can be a good thing! If we know how to use it: With a fresh motivation, not a stale burden. These things are only here to help you. If you don’t feel inspired to take action, you probably shouldn’t!
How might healthy light affect your life?
This completes ‘Why Light?’
To continue, select ‘InfraRED.’
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