Understanding the Mechanisms Behind The Red Light & Infrared Light Therapy

Understanding the Mechanisms Behind The Red Light & Infrared Light Therapy

Dr Eric Wood, ND, MA

In an era when we need to be more health proactive than ever, emerging medical technologies are increasingly a wise area to pay attention for health savvy consumers.  One of these areas is ‘Red light therapy’, also known as low level laser therapy (i.e. LLLT).

In the last two decades, research has begun to mount on the many, evidence-based related associated benefits when used appropriately (1).

In this article, I’m going to take a look at some of this research into how this therapy seems to work, physiologically.  Additionally, I will share some personal observations in trying two red light/infrared light combination therapy devices—the Neurowrap and the Lipowrap—and what I did and didn’t notice, as a small ‘case study’ report.

Redlight Therapy

CONTEXT IS HELPFUL: WHY WE ARGUABLY CAN BENEFIT SUBSTANTIALLY FROM LLLT

In our overly wired and busy lives, we are increasingly far removed from the natural rhythms of the earth and how we, as humans, evolved with it. For the majority of us who work indoors, we typically become deficient in getting full spectrum light throughout the day, as artificial lights seldom produce such. Evidence in recent years has been mounting on just how detrimental this is to our health and healthy aging (2). This, coupled with EMF and blue light from digital screens, indoor toxins from carpets, upholstery, perfumes and more, poor diets, irregular sleep schedules and more are all leading us down a road towards more dysfunction, symptoms and ultimately disease.

Thus, a simple, big step forward towards health is to stay connected to the rhythms of the earth and life and get all the regular things that support health in our lives routinely, such as:

  • Healthy, organic, low-toxin food, that is largely plant-based
  • Regular activity, ideally 20-45 mins daily or minimum 4x weekly
  • 5-9 hours of good quality sleep nightly
  • Eliminate toxins of many types including people, personal care products, household products, minimize plastics in your home environment
  • Stay in sync with the rhythms of night and day of the earth (i.e. keep bedtimes regular, predictable and somewhere around 10pm-6am) AND get full spectrum light daily!

Now while we will get some red and infrared light from sunshine, not everyone has equal access to sunshine, depending on where they live, when they work, etc. 

Thus for this and many other reasons, it is arguably a wise investment to consider getting a high quality red/infrared light device, as the benefits associated with are considerable. While I will go deeper into the multitude of conditions this has been research in in a subsequent article, today I’m going to focus on the many mechanistic ways LLLT works!

MECHANISMS OF ACTION

So, how can a device just with some certain types of light, elicit these improvements (and many others)?  As both a consumer and as a physician, understanding the mechanism of how this works is important to me so I can explain it to others.  This is where I delved into the research and found a number of compelling points about these therapies.  There actually are a number of mechanisms in which this works to improve physiologic performance of our body and more specifically our cells.  These include:

  • ATP production enhancement in cells (3): our cells ‘currency’ for energy production is ATP. When they make more ATP, they are able to work more efficiently and effectively as well as regenerate better.  This is specifically happening in your mitochondria inside all of your cells, your respective ‘power plants’ of your body!
  • Acting as a ‘hormesis’ agent (4): hormesis is a fancy term for physiological enhancement in the body induced from a stressor applied to it. One of the best and most common examples of this is moderate intensity exercise.  Red light therapy works to improve the efficiency of our cellular processes in the body generally wherever it is applied, making its use nearly limitless in what it could help support.
  • Improvements in blood circulation and perfusion by way of Nitric Oxide stimulation (5): some of you may have heard of this little molecule as it pertains to either heart disease or erectile dysfunction issues. The key here is both of those conditions involve blood flow problems, typically.  Red/infrared combo light therapy increases the production of this cellularly, encouraging blood vessel dilation and more effective deliverance of nutrients AND removal of metabolic wastes (such as acids, urea, CO2, and many other toxins).
  • Accelerating Wound Healing and Cellular Repair via increased production of collagen, elastin, and more in a variety of conditions including skin aging and broken bones (6): This mechanism of action holds so much potential as there are SO many conditions where connective tissue has begun to break down.  These range from broken bones to connective tissue disorders, back and disc injuries, skin aging and sagging, and much, much more.
  • Cytokine suppression, helping to diminish inflammation in a number of conditions (7): Inflammation is the common denominator in every degenerative, chronic illness.  And thus when we diminish it, good things tend to happen in the body for many reasons.  Red/infrared light has been shown in the literature to induce suppression of key inflammatory molecules called ‘cytokines’, that can lead to a lot of the pain, swelling, and inflammation associated with many conditions, such as arthritis and more.
  • Increasing our own melatonin production (8): this, at least in part, may explain why I felt some benefit with getting back to sleep after the repeated middle of the night wakings. Melatonin helps to regulate our circadian rhythm, essentially helping us stay aligned with the time of the day and the appropriate biological actions that should be going on.  Additionally, the beneficial effect on sleep is so pronounced in the research that NASA in fact has invested in retrofitting many space ships with red light/infrared light therapy to assist their astronauts in sleeping better (9).
  • Boosting thyroid hormone production and circulation within the thyroid gland (10): this is a pretty exciting point as they could spell new hope for those with hypothyroidism or hashimoto’s thyroiditis, where under functioning of thyroid cells is commonplace.
  • Instigating new mitochondrial growth in your body (11): so not only does LLLT instigate more ATP production, it actually has been shown to help you grow more mitochondria (i.e. more power plants). Very few things have been illustrated to that do that.
  • Improved muscle growth and regeneration when coupled with exercise (12): clinical research has illustrated increased gains in muscle size, strength and recovery from various types of exercise. This explains the recent proliferation of this therapy being used by pro athletes.
  • Enhances lymphatic drainage, which in turns supports better detoxification and nutrient deliverance to cells (13): We covered this indirectly before but in general, better lymphatic drainage and flow helps us function more efficiently, reduce sluggishness and fatigue, and more.
  • Boosts testosterone production (14): research in rats has illustrated significant boosts in male rats’ testosterone production in the testicles. While human trials still need to be conducted, theoretically this may hold promise in helping us combat the low T epidemic that is sweeping especially the western world.  This is more serious than it may sound, as experts are sounding the alarm that in ~25 years, we will hit a fertility crisis if testosterone and accompanying sperm counts keep declining (15)!
  • Stimulates fatty acid release from fat cells, encouraging fat loss (16): for some of you, this may be the most exciting mechanism to learn about—another way to help lose weight! Research has documented fat cells actually draining out their fatty acid stores with repeated LLLT therapy use, encouraging clearance and subsequent weight loss in consistently treated individuals.  This has the potential, if used appropriately, to revolutionize the weight loss industry AND approach of doing so!
Redlight Therapy

A PERSONAL CASE TRIAL TO SHARE

As additional ‘research’ for this article, I decided to use several of the NuShape red/infrared light devices to investigate several aims:

  1. Could it help me fall back asleep faster and more readily after being up with our two year in the middle of the night (which at times, has been a real challenge)?
  2. Would it help with various aches and pains from exertion, too much sitting etc.?

Well, after a week of trying each on any day where either issue was cropping up, I have to say, without fail, subjective improvements were noted each time the device was used.  While the neurowrap didn’t ensure I fell asleep very fast every time my sleep was disturbed, it consistently improved the average amount of time it took me to fall asleep by nearly 50 percent, by my calculations.  I also subjectively noticed it tended to calm down excess mind racing and thoughts, which for many of us, can contribute to sleeplessness.

The results for low back pain were even more consistent.  Each time I used the device when I experienced low back pain and tightness (which is intermittent in my case), I noticed a marked relief by the end of an either 20 or 30 minute session.  I was impressed by its efficiency and notable improvement it caused.

The next trial application we plan on undertaking is for fat loss around the abdomen in our household.  More to be reported on that in a future article!

Considering the epidemic of low back pain and many other kinds of pain many people are dealing with, due to its efficacy and lack of side effects, I think this is an excellent consideration for individuals struggling with such.  Obviously it is an advantageous choice comparative to prescription and OTC pain killers, which all come with side effects and some with potential addiction issues.

CONCLUSION

So, when you add it up, this form of therapy has tremendous potential for helping so many with a wide array of issues and conditions.  And of course, this article is just skimming the surface.  But hopefully now, from a mechanistic perspective, you have a greater understanding of just how versatile and beneficial this therapy can be for many.  And additionally, just how relatively easy and painless it is to use!

Stay tuned for the next trial with the lipowrap as I delve deeper into fat loss next time and more applications of LLLT to various conditions!

 

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