Red Light Therapy: What You Need To Know

Consumer-grade red light therapy is completely safe and in no way dangerous when used correctly. Red light therapy is basically nothing other than light that hits your skin and enters your body. In your body, that light affects the functioning of your cells.

Moreover, our therapy equipment does not contain any potentially harmful ultraviolet (UV) light component, such as those contained in sun rays.

You therefore never run the risk of sunburn or heat stroke. As a consequence of the absence of UV, our products don’t boost vitamin D production either.

If you still have any concerns or specific questions about near-infrared and red light therapy, do not hesitate to contact us - we look forward to it!

Red light therapy has a number of positive effects on your health. Here we summarize the most important benefits according to the latest science:

1. Pain Relief
2. Reductions of inflammation in the body
3. Skin rejuvenation (increases in collagen and elastin production)
4. Faster muscle recovery
5. Improved thyroid health
6. Testosterone increase (especially in men)
7. Enhanced mental health (such as countering winter depression)
8. Improved sleep quality and building a more orderly sleep pattern

In Europe, the traditional red light lamps are very popular, which are mainly used for sinus infections or muscular tension. While red light lamps also produce red light and infrared radiation, they don’t have nearly the same effect and intensity as AURORA’s near-infrared red light therapy.

To be more precise, AURORA near-infrared therapy emits light high-intensity light at very specific red and infrared wavelengths that traditional red light lamps don’t do.

The name “red and near-infrared light therapy” also suggests that this form of treatment deals with the effects of infrared rays and red light on the human body. This therapy has been extensively researched in thousands of studies in recent years, for both its physiological mechanisms as well as proven health benefits.

Of course, there are already a large number of scientific studies examining the effects of red light therapy on the human body.

You can find a summary of various studies here.

Initial clinical research suggests that red light therapy can improve the length and quality of your sleep and help produce more of your own melatonin (sleep hormone).

Light, moreover, also plays an important role in the sleep cycle. The body’s internal clock (also called the circadian rhythm) interprets light as a sign of waking and sleeping times. Sunlight, especially in the morning and evening, tells the body what time it is. When the sun goes down in the evening we are already moving very strongly in the red color spectrum.

Research has shown that red light supports the sleep cycle and does not disrupt it like bright blue light. Red light can therefore be used in the evening, but also in the morning to improve your circadian rhythm functioning.

Red light therapy can help improve mental health.

In 2018, for example, leading researchers in the field of mental health carried out the pilot study “Elated-2”. The goal of this study was to test transcranial near-infrared red light therapy for people with symptoms of severe depression. “Transcranial” means shining red light on your skull - some of that light penetrates into your brain.

The positive results of this groundbreaking study have fueled optimism about the wider use of natural light treatments for people with depression.

If you use a red light therapy panel, some of the light will also end up in your brain, having a positive effect there. Panels can thus give similar results as the participants in the study got.

Another similar study was carried out in 2017. This study involved around 39 people with traumatic brain injuries and mild to severe symptoms of depression. An antidepressant effect of light therapy treatments resulted as an outcome here.

In the beauty industry, LLLT or LED (red light) therapy has been regarded as an effective skin treatment modality for a long time and is used regularly, especially by stars or celebrities. The main reason is, above all, the reduction of signs of inflammation in your skin. Due to increased blood and oxygen circulation, broken skin tissue can be repaired more quickly and this leads to increased regeneration.

In one study, researchers measured that the use of near-infrared and red light therapy resulted in an increase in the body’s own collagen levels. In a nutshell, collagen is an endogenous protein that, among other things, provides structure and stability, e.g. in bones or in the structure of the skin.

The difference between red light therapy and blue light therapy lies in the different color spectrum - and therefore light wavelengths - that shine on the skin.

It’s incorrect to regard one form of light therapy as better than the other. Both forms of therapy can help against acne, for example, and can be used in combination.

In the evening, however, the red light, which mimics the light at sunset, and is preferable for supporting a healthy sleep pattern.

Of course, we’re a bit biased at AURORA towards our own product. Nevertheless, the therapy devices from AURORA are much more space-efficient and also a lot more affordable than a “red light therapy bed”. In such a bed you have to lie down like in a solarium, which takes up lots of space in any room.

With a red light therapy bed, however, you do get complete, full irradiation of the whole body. With an AURORA therapy device, you’ll have to turn your body a few times to hit all your bodily spots.

It doesn’t really matter when you use red light therapy. The treatment with red light promotes muscle regeneration and your resting phases are a little shorter. In this respect, the effect can be a bit more positive immediately after a strenuous workout.

Using red light therapy before a workout, however, emphasizes an increase in workout performance, whether endurance or a strength workout. Both options are viable, depending on which result you prefer.