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The Ultimate Guide to Red

Light Therapy

Ari Whitten

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Copyright © 2018 by Ari Whitten. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be
reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written
permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.
Publishing services, including interior and cover design provided by:

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 DISCLAIMER
The materials and content contained in this book are for general
information and education only and are not intended to be a substitute for
professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. None of the
information in this book should ever be interpreted as a claim of treatment
or cure of any medical condition. Readers of this book should not rely
exclusively on information provided in this book for their own health
needs. All specific medical questions should be presented to your own
health care provider. Diagnosis and treatment of any medical conditions
are strictly for you to discuss with your doctor.
The intention of this book is to provide information about the scientific
research as it relates to red and near-infrared light therapy. We also have
attempted to provide guidelines for using red and near-infrared light
therapy devices safely. None of the information in this book, and none of
the guidelines for safe usage of devices should ever be interpreted as
claims of diagnosis, treatment, or cure of any medical condition.
The Energy Blueprint and Ari Whitten Inc. do not assume any risk for your
use of this book. In consideration for your use of this book, you agree that
in no event will Ari Whitten Inc. be liable to you in any manner whatsoever
for any decision made or action or non-action taken by you in reliance
upon the information provided through this book.
All the information in this book is published in good faith and for general
information purpose only. We do not make any warranties about the
completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Nor is anything
in this book to be considered a guarantee of benefit or a claim of
improvement for any medical condition. Any action you take upon the
information on our website is strictly at your own risk. And we will not be
liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of the
information in this book.

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 Contents
Introduction
The Five “Bioactive” Types of Light: Why Humans Need Sunlight to Be
Healthy
How Does Red and Near-Infrared (NIR) Light Therapy Work?
Benefits of Red and Near-Infrared Light Therapy
Guide to Red Light Therapy Dosing
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Red/NIR Light Therapy Device
My Recommended Lights for Red/NIR Light Therapy
Frequently Asked Questions
About the Author

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 Introduction

If there were a pill that was proven to have powerful anti-aging effects on
our skin, combat neurological disease, fight depression and anxiety,
increase fat loss, speed recovery from exercise, increase strength and
endurance, combat certain autoimmune conditions, fight hair loss, and
speed healing from injury—all with little to no side effects—it would be a
billion-dollar blockbuster drug. Hundreds of millions of people would be
told to start taking it by their doctors every day. And doctors all over the
world would call it a “miracle drug.”
Here’s the crazy part: That drug exists.
But it’s not a pill. It’s red and near-infrared light.
Red and near-infrared light therapy are one of the biggest breakthrough
discoveries in health in the last half century. Scientists have quietly
accumulated thousands of studies on the power of red and near-infrared
light to enhance human health for the last several decades. And yet, most
people have never even heard of it.
Most people think of light simply as the opposite of darkness. Darkness is
the absence of light, and light is what illuminates and allows us to see
things. That’s the typical way most of us think about light. Thus, the idea
that light is getting into our cells and affecting human cell function is often
met with blank stares or even people laughing at such a “crazy” thought.

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Indeed, most of us are completely unaware that light (very specific types of
light) have a profound impact on our health, and are actually necessary
nutrients, similar to nutrients from food. Unbeknownst to most people,
there are literally over ten thousand studies that have been done on the
relationship of different kinds of light to human health. Of these, it is red
and near-infrared light that are perhaps the most interesting and powerful
in their effects on human health.
But let’s back up for a moment: What exactly are red and near-infrared
light?
Red and near-infrared light are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and
more specifically, part of the spectrum of light emitted by the sun (and fire
light). These wavelengths of light are “bioactive” in humans. That means
that these types of light literally affect the function of our cells.
So what’s all this talk of “electromagnetic spectrum” and “spectrum of
light”? Let’s take a look at the electromagnetic spectrum so I can show you
more clearly what I’m talking about…

Electromagnetic waves range from 0.0001 nanometer (gamma rays and x-

rays are very small waves) all the way to over centimeters and meters
(radar and radio waves).

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If you pass white light (like sunlight) through a prism, it will separate out
the different colors based on their wavelengths. This is how we get
rainbows as well, and you might remember this from school with the
acronym ROY. G. BIV, which stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, violet.

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Only a tiny part of this spectrum—from roughly 400nm to 700nm—is
visible to the human eye.
At the highest end of the visible light spectrum is red light, which goes
from a little over 600nm to approximately 700nm. Above the visible light
spectrum is near-infrared, from about 700nm to a little over 1,100nm.
It is the red and near-infrared wavelengths specifically that have these
amazing effects on our bodies. (Interestingly, even within that range, not
all the red and near-infrared wavelengths seem to be created equal.
Specifically, most research showing benefits of red and near-infrared light
have used wavelengths in the narrow ranges of 630-680nm and 800-
880nm. More on this later.)
As you’re about to discover in this book, light in these red and near-
infrared wavelengths have absolutely incredible effects on human health.
In this book, you’ll discover the incredible power of red and near-infrared
light therapy and how it can help:

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 Increase your energy
Combat aging and make your skin healthier, reduce wrinkles, and
help get rid of cellulite
Speed up fat loss
Improve muscle recovery and athletic performance
Improve mood and cognitive function
Speed healing from injury
Improve metabolism and hormonal healt h

Sound too good to be true? Think again!

Red and near-infrared light have already been proven in over 3,000
scientific studies to do all that and more!

The Discovery of How Red and Near-

Infrared Light Affect Human Cells
Within documented human history, it is now known that humans have
been aware of the power of light to heal for literally thousands of years.
Many ancient tribes worshipped the sun or given massive importance to it
as a giver of life, for likely tens of thousands of years. But as far as the use
of light for therapeutic purposes (“photomedicine” or
“photobiomodulation”), one could say that it goes back over three
thousand years to India. It has even been documented in the Hindu text
Atharva Veda, written in 1400 BCE.
In the 18th century, reports started to appear in medical literature about
the power of sunlight to treat an array of different diseases. In the 2018
textbook “Low-Level Light Therapy: Photobiomodulation,” Hamblin et al.
gives a detailed account of the history of how it came to be recognized that
light influences human health. If you’re interested in all the nuances of the
history of the use of light therapy, I highly recommend getting Hamblin’s
textbook, but let me give some highlights from their book of this amazingly
detailed accounting of the history of photomedicine:
“In 1735, Fiennius described a case in which he cured a cancerous
growth on the lip using a sunbath. In 1774, Faure reported that he
successfully treated skin ulcers with sunlight, and in 1776, LePeyre and
LeConte found that sunlight concentrated through a lens accelerated
wound healing and destroyed tumors. There were also reports that
sunlight had beneficial effects on internal maladies. In 1782, Harris
used sunlight-exposed mollusk shells to improve a case of rickets
(fragile bones due to vitamin D deficiency), In 1845, Bonnet first
reported that sunlight could be used to treat tuberculous arthritis (a

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 bacterial infection of the joints).
In the second half of the 19th century, the therapeutic application of
sunlight, known as heliotherapy, gradually became popular. In 1855,
Rikli from Switzerland opened a clinic in Veldes (now called Bled),
Slovenia for the provision of heliotherapy. …
Theobald Adrian Palm (1848–1928) discovered the role of sunlight in
the prevention of rickets. … Many years later, the role of sunlight
exposure to the skin, in mediating the biosynthesis of vitamin D,
eventually explained these observations.
Nils Ryberg Finsen (1860–1904)… suffered from an illness that would
later be known as Niemann—Pick’s disease, which is characterized by
progressive thickening of the connective tissue of the liver, heart, and
spleen. His discovery that sun exposure improved his own symptoms
encouraged him to treat his patients with light. He had particular
success in 1893 when treating smallpox with red light and in 1895 when
treating lupus vulgaris (also known as scrofula or cutaneous
tuberculosis) with what he thought was ultraviolet light from an arc
lamp (but was in fact probably blue light). …
Two pioneering Swiss physicians, Oskar Bernhard (1861–1939) at St.
Moritz and Auguste Rollier (1874–1954) at Leysin, were responsible for
extending the use of heliotherapy. Solar therapy as practiced by these
practitioners included increasing graduated exposures of parts of the
body to sunlight, and the beneficial effects were considered to be
enhanced by the fresh and cold mountain air in the Alps.
Bernhard obtained an impressive initial success treating a large
nonhealing abdominal wound (from a knife attack) that had resisted all
other accepted healing approaches and which he decided to expose to
the sun as a last desperate measure. Thereafter, he treated all
nonhealing and infected wounds with sunlight. … In 1905, Bernhard
had established his own small private clinic for sunlight therapy at St.
Moritz that could accommodate some 33 patients and had south-facing
balconies on two of the upper floors for convenient sun exposure.
Rollier … became disillusioned with the poor results obtained by
surgery for the treatment of skeletal tuberculosis and went into a rural
general practice … where he began to treat non-pulmonary tuberculosis
with sunshine and fresh air. Over the next forty years, the technique
Rollier devised for exposing the body to sunlight (Rollier’s Sunlight
Therapy or Heliotherapy) came to be broadly accepted in Europe. His
clinic, called “Les Frênes,” was the first large, purpose-built sunlight-
therapy facility to be constructed in the world.” 1
Thus, the general concept that sunlight was a powerful form of medicine

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(and even necessary for human health and the prevention of diseases like
rickets) became general knowledge.
Then in the 1900s, the discovery of quantum physics and the shifting focus
of many physicists during the World Wars led to the development of laser
technology. In the 1960s, the theme of photomedicine (which prior to that,
was purely focused on using natural sunlight as therapy) began to merge
with laser technology, which ultimately led to people experimenting with
laser technology on the human body.
So where do red and near-infrared light come into all this? The story of the
discovery of the effect of red and near-infrared (NIR) light on human
health is a fascinating one.
In the 1960s, a Hungarian researcher named Endre Mester was using red
light lasers to cure tumors that were implanted into hamsters. (Note: This
is often how researchers study models of cancer in animals—they implant
a tumor and then attempt to treat it). He was trying to repeat the earlier
research of Paul McGuff in Boston, who had successfully been using the
laser light to kill tumor cells. Interestingly, Mester’s laser only had a small
fraction of the power output of McGuff’s light, and thus was insufficient to
kill the tumor cells.
But Mester did observe a fascinating phenomenon: He noticed that the
skin wounds made during the implantation of the tumors healed
dramatically faster in the animals being treated with the red light
compared to the animals not being treated with light. The light actually
caused damaged cells to heal faster!
Indeed, this discovery of the power of red light to speed up healing and
regeneration of human cells has now been confirmed by hundreds of
studies. In the 1990s, even NASA starting using it. They were initially
using red light LED technology for the purposes of growing plants during
shuttle missions. But once it was discovered that these lights also affected
human cells, NASA started testing and refining the technology with the
idea to use it to help astronauts maintain muscle and bone mass, as well as
to treat chronic wounds. 2
It turns out these effects are just scratching the surface of the power of red
light and near-infrared light to improve human health.
Since these early days, photobiomodulation (PBM) and low-level
laser/light therapy (LLLT) have grown into entire fields of research, the
body of scientific evidence has grown to several thousand studies over the
last few decades, and these light treatment technologies have begun to
work their way into the offices of doctors and health practitioners, and into
the homes of thousands of people.
There have now been literally thousands of studies conducted upon both

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animals and humans. Overall, red light has been repeatedly shown to have
positive effects on cell function in animal and human studies and aid in
improving a wide range of conditions, improving health in numerous
ways. Red and near-infrared (NIR) light therapy devices have been FDA-
approved for several purposes so far, including anti-aging, hair-loss
reversal, acne treatment, pain relief, slow to heal wounds, fat loss, among
other purposes. (This is worth noting as it proves the abundance of
research showing benefits—the therapy has to be proven safe and effective
in numerous trials to gain FDA approval.)
That said, there have been a few of big barriers to the widespread adoption
(or even just the awareness) of red and near-infrared light technologies
among some physicians:

1. Some of the cellular mechanisms of how red/NIR light therapy

works in human cells are still being elucidated, and some physicians
have difficulty adopting something without fully understanding the
cellular mechanisms by which it works.
2. There is a wide variety of light dosing parameters and devices used
in the many thousands of studies done, so some physicians and
medical practitioners feel confused about what the correct dosing
actually is.
3. Insurance reimbursements are higher with many other types of
therapy, so many practitioners choose other forms of treatment that
give them higher payouts.

Two big barriers specifically have hindered the widespread adoption of

this technology by the general public:

1. Until recently, it was thought that you needed an expensive laser

device to obtain these benefits. This technology has been in use in
doctor’s offices for many years now and goes by the name of either
“low-level laser therapy” (LLLT) or “cold laser.” These red/NIR light
laser devices often cost $5,000-$30,000. This is precisely why this
technology hasn’t gone mainstream and why most people still
haven’t heard of it—because most people are under the impression
that you can only get red and near-infrared light therapy from these
incredibly expensive laser devices.
2. Red and near-infrared LED panels are also being used in anti-aging
clinics, where people are being charged $75-$300 per single session
to use these lights. This is one of the other barriers—most people
believe not only that these lights cost many thousands of dollars, but
also that they can only use them by paying hundreds of dollars for a
single treatment in a fancy clinic .

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Shockingly, new research has shown that it is not necessary to use these
expensive laser devices, and most experts now agree that it’s possible to
get the same benefits from red and near-infrared light therapy LED panels
at a fraction of the cost.
Here’s what Harvard researcher Michael Hamblin, PhD (widely regarded
as the world’s top authority on red and near-infrared light therapy) has to
say on this subject:
“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. ” 3
So you don’t need a $5,000-$30,000 medical laser device to get these
amazing health benefits. You can get these effects with a device that costs
just a few hundred dollars.
You don’t have to go to a clinic and pay $75-$300 per treatment . Once
you buy one of these devices, you can do unlimited treatments at home for
free (or for just the cost of a few minutes of electricity)! You can do light
sessions at home with your own light and get all the same
benefits, while saving yourself the thousands of dollars you
would spend at an anti-aging or medical clinic.
I’ll give you my recommendations for the best devices at the end of this
book but for now, please be aware that there are a lot of cheap,
underpowered and ineffective devices on the market that are being sold for
hundreds or even thousands of dollars. It’s very important that you get a
superior quality, high-powered device. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to
evaluate which devices work and which don’t, so you don’t get
hoodwinked.
Right now, this technology is on the cusp of exploding in popularity.
As people come to realize that you can get all the amazing benefits of red
and near-infrared light therapy without spending $5,000-$30,000 on a
laser device or $75-$300 for a single treatment session in an anti-aging
clinic, I believe this therapy will go mainstream and nearly everyone will
have a red/NIR light therapy device in their home.
After all, who wouldn’t want to have a simple-to-use device in their home
that can dramatically speed healing, improve hormonal health, improve
cognitive and physical performance, accelerate fat loss, increase energy,
and combat skin aging?

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1 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
2 Whelan, et al. (2002). The Use of NASA Light-Emitting Diode Near-Infrared Technology for
Biostimulation .
3 Freitas de Freitas et al. (2016). Proposed Mechanisms of Photobiomodulation or Low-Level
Light Therapy .

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 The Five “Bioactive” Types of Light: Why
Humans Need Sunlight to Be Healthy
“LLLT/PBM (photobiomodulation) is more than an alternative kind of
medical treatment; it is a whole new method to control cellular
processes and modulate living organisms by precise alterations in the
chemistry of biomolecules. PBM enables the contemporary clinician or
therapist who holds a modern and multidisciplinary outlook to fight
against diseases and other disorders in both humans and other
animals. Moreover, it is a possible way to stimulate or inhibit many
different biological processes that occur in most (if not all) different
living creatures. It could even be suggested that the
photobiomodulation phenomenon is as old as life itself!” 4
—Michael Hamblin
Just as human cells need nutrients from food, light is also a necessary
nutrient for our cells to function well. Certain wavelengths of light can help
power up our cells, affect hormones and neurotransmitters, balance our
mood, enhance physical performance, hasten recovery from stress,
increase alertness, improve sleep, and positively affect the expression of
our genes.
Most importantly, you need to grasp that the human body needs light
to be healthy .
This may seem like a strange idea at first, as we’re generally not used to
thinking of light as playing an important role in our health. We’re used to
thinking of light as what we turn on in our house so we can see, or the
headlights of our car that allow us to drive at night.
Most of us are deeply unaware of the fact that many different types of light
are “bioactive” in humans (which means they affect the functioning of
human cells), and that our health is largely influenced by the dosage of
these different types of light that we get each day.
These are the five types of bioactive light in humans:

1. Blue light— sets the circadian rhythm in our brain, which in turn
regulates numerous different neurotransmitters and hormones
2. UV light— allows us to synthesize vitamin D from the sun
3. Far-infrared— acts to heat up our cells (this is the part of the sun’s
spectrum that you feel as heat) which stimulates changes in cell
function, as well as circulation changes
4. Red light— acts on the mitochondria in our cells to stimulate

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 increased cellular energy (ATP) production (among other
mechanisms discussed in this book)
5. Near-infrared (NIR)— acts on the same pathways as red light—
particularly in the mitochondria in our cells to stimulate increased
cellular energy (ATP) production (among other mechanisms
discussed in this book)

It turns out that light is in fact an essential nutrient for humans and our
health depends on getting the right dose of these five types of light.
Our ancestors didn’t have to worry about all this living outdoors in the sun,
they were able to get exactly what the body needed at the right dose.
But in the last few generations, modern humans have made the switch to
living indoor lives with electricity, man-made artificial lighting systems
and limited sun exposure. Therefore, we have developed light deficiencies
and toxicities that are having a massive impact on our health and well-
being.
Some people have made calculations on the difference between living
outside vs inside houses, and have suggested that the difference in light
exposure is roughly a 1000-fold difference, and in many cases even more!
And that is just one point about light intensity—it says nothing of the huge
deficiencies in exposure to specific wavelengths of light, like red/NIR, far-
infrared, and UV light .
The point is that modern humans are deficient in the benefits of
all of these five wavelengths of light, and there are health
consequences when we don’t get enough.
What kind of health consequences?

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The most common light-related health problems that most people are
already familiar with are vitamin D deficiency (from too little UV light)
and circadian rhythm disruption (from too little blue light in the morning,
and too much artificial light at night). Just these two light-related health
issues alone are responsible for a massive burden of disease in the modern
world. These two issues caused by inadequate and improper light exposure
are linked with dozens of types of cancer, as well as heart disease, obesity,
diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, and multiple other conditions.
Just as the modern world of processed food leads to chronic malnutrition,
our modern light environment (of too much of the wrong kinds of light
and too little of the right kinds, and with poor timing) is called mal-
illumination. The vast majority of people living in the modern world are
suffering from chronic mal-illumination and don’t even realize it. And it
has widespread effects on our brain and organ function, immune system,
energy levels, mood, neurotransmitter balance, and hormone levels.
Sunlight deficiency has been linked with numerous diseases, such as:

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia, Multiple

Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s 5 , 6 , 7 , 8
Dozens of types of cancer 9 , 10 , 11 , 12
Obesity 13 , 14
Diabetes 15
Metabolic syndrome 16
Heart disease 17

There is even research that suggests that low levels of sun exposure are a
risk factor for human health equivalent to that of being a cigarette smoker!
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A Swedish study looked at nearly 30,000 women for 20 years (note:
studies with this many people that are this long-term are exceedingly rare)
and found that women with the lowest sun exposure had a twofold
higher rate of death compared to the women with the most sun
exposure! 19
As another example of mal-illumination, artificial light exposure at night
(from electronic devices like phones, TVs, computers, indoor lighting, etc.)
have been linked with numerous diseases, like:

Numerous types of cancer 20 , 21

Depression 22
Fat gain, obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome 23 , 24 , 25
Insomnia and poor sleep 26
Mood disorders 27

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And this is just a few of the dozens of health problems linked to mal-
illumination.
But what if I told you that there is another kind of light deficiency that
most people are totally unaware of, and that is likely even more
problematic?
Red and near-infrared (NIR) light deficiency .
With respect to human health, I believe the most interesting and powerful
of all the different wavelengths of light are the red and near-infrared parts
of the spectrum. When you learn what these forms of light can do inside
our bodies—and specifically how our cells use them to produce more
energy—you’ll be blown away, as it revolutionizes the way we think about
how our cells produce energy, and has the potential to massively improve
our health.
We need the sun to be healthy. And red and near-infrared light are a big
part of the reason why. Just as our body requires the intake of certain
vitamins and minerals (e.g. vitamin C, magnesium, zinc, etc.) from the diet
to function normally, our cells also require certain “light nutrients”
(adequate amounts of certain wavelengths of light) to be healthy. In short,
the human body needs red and near-infrared light to function
optimally.
Just as we can have malnutrition from a poor diet, we can have
mal-illumination from poor light exposure.
Put bluntly, most peoples’ light exposure habits are the equivalent of
eating an all-McDonald’s diet all day, every day. Like I said, mal-
illumination.
We used to be exposed to far more light and of the right wavelengths
because our ancestors spent hours each day working under the sun and
spent evenings around the fire, both of which emit ample red and near-
infrared light. Thus, humans never had to think about this subject for
hundreds of thousands of years—our outdoor lives in the sun took care of
our daily red and near-infrared light needs.
In fact, this book really wouldn’t even be necessary if we still spent hours
in the sun each day. There would be no need to have a book on red and
near-infrared light therapy or to create red and near-infrared light therapy
devices, because if we all spent several hours a day with sunlight on our
bodies, we’d be getting all the red and near-infrared light that our bodies
need to thrive.
Red and near-infrared light have profound effects on our cellular and
hormonal health. And we’re designed to need ample amounts of those
types of light to have optimal health.

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Given that virtually all modern humans now spend almost all their time
indoors, we are massively deficient in sun exposure. Thus, we are
massively deficient in red and near-infrared light exposure. And, as you’re
about to read in this book, this causes big problems for our health. I
personally believe that much of the positive literature around the benefits
of red and near-infrared light devices is largely due to how it corrects the
deficiency in red and near-infrared light. In other words, if you took a
group of hunter gatherers (who spend hours in the sun each day) and
another group of Westerners spending most of the day indoors and gave
them both a red/near-infrared light treatment, you’d probably find that it’s
much more beneficial to the Westerners. Why? Because they are deficient
in red/near-infrared exposure from the sun. (Of course, this hasn’t actually
been tested and is just my speculation of what I think they’d find if it were
tested.)
The fundamental reason that red and near-infrared light have so many
incredible benefits on our health is because they are correcting a
deficiency. We should be getting plenty of red and near-infrared light from
the sun, but since we’re not, we can apply a device in a targeted way to give
us that light “nutrient,” and get profound benefits from it. (We’ll go over
what those benefits are in detail later. )
While most other wavelengths of light (such as UV, blue, green, and yellow
light, etc.) are mostly unable to penetrate into the body and stay in the
layers of the skin, near-infrared light and red light are able to reach deep
into the human body (several centimeters, and close to 2 inches, in some
cases) and are able to directly penetrate into the cells, tissues, blood,
nerves, rods and cones of the eyes, the brain, and into the bones.

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Once in those deeper tissues, red light and near-infrared (NIR) light have
incredible healing effects on the cells where they can increase energy
production, modulate inflammation, relieve pain, help cells regenerate
faster, and much more.
The key point is this: Red/NIR light are not some weird technology that
benefits us for some random reason. These wavelengths of light come from
the sun, and it turns out that our body has evolved over millions of years to
be capable of utilizing red and near-infrared light from the sun to help
power up our cells—literally enhancing the function of our mitochondria,
our cellular energy generators—among many other beneficial effects.

4 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-

Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29565713
6 http://sunlightinstitute.org/new-research-sheds-more-light-on-parkinsons-disease/
7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4808871/
8 http://n.neurology.org/content/early/2018/03/07/WNL.0000000000005257
9 https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/97/3/161/2544132
10 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23094923
11 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214623714000386
12 https://www.ejcancer.com/article/S0959-8049(06)00482-5/abstract
13 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5086738/
14 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28009891
15 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5086738/
16 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28009891
17 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5086738/

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18 https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/860805
19 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24697969
20 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5739143/
21 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5454613/
22 https://hub.jhu.edu/2012/11/14/light-exposure-depression/
23 https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo2015255
24 https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/180/3/245/2739112
25 https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/35/4/648/2354673
26 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170728121414.htm
27 https://hub.jhu.edu/2012/11/14/light-exposure-depression/

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 How Does Red and Near-Infrared (NIR)
Light Therapy Work?
The next important question to answer is “how the heck does red and
near-infrared light actually cause these effects?”
We know how UV light affects us, for example—it works primarily by
interacting with our skin and stimulating the production of vitamin D. We
also know how blue light enters our eyes and feeds back into the circadian
clock in our brain (in the suprachiasmatic nucleus) to regulate our 24-hour
biological rhythm, including the complex array of hormones and
neurotransmitters that are regulated by this circadian clock in our brain.
These mechanisms are well understood by science. But what about
red/NIR light?
There are numerous different physiological and biochemical mechanisms
that researchers have identified as being affected by red and near-infrared
light, but for our purposes here (since this is not a book meant for
academics, but for regular people wanting to benefit from red and near-
infrared light), I don’t want to get too bogged down in the details of dozens
of different molecular signaling pathways at the cellular level. Instead, I
want to keep things as simple and easily understandable as possible .
First, it’s important to understand that there isn’t just one mechanism. For
example, this isn’t a drug that acts on one particular enzyme, compound or
receptor (e.g. serotonin, cholesterol, etc.). There are literally dozens of
mechanisms at the biochemical and cellular level.
It also can affect different cells differently—for example, affecting damaged
and dysfunctional cells differently than healthy cells. It even has the
capacity to irradiate the blood (and affect things like inflammatory
mediators and immune cells), thus affecting the entire body through the
changes in blood cells/compounds, not just the area the light was shined
on. Here’s Hamblin et al. summarizing this in their 2018 textbook:
“Light irradiation using a low power density has been reported as a
noninvasive, noncarcinogenic, nontraumatic procedure that can
provide a therapeutic benefit to many diseases and medical conditions,
and that has been reported to have few (if any) side effects. In addition,
PBM (photobiomodulation—the changing of biology with light) is used
to improve human wellness with aesthetic and cosmetic applications,
improvements in sports performance, and has diverse veterinary
applications. The biomodulation achieved by PBM allows it to be
applied in situations that can be apparently paradoxical because it can
sometimes be used to stimulate cells and tissues, and in other

24
 situations it can inhibit the same biological effect. For this reason, PBM
is referred to by many researchers as a regulator or modulator because
it restores the organism to homeostasis. Moreover, there is
considerable evidence of the systemic effects of PBM, which means that
application to one site of the body can produce an improvement of a
condition in another distant body part that did not receive light.
Systemic effects can be explained by local effects of light that can be
transferred to other sites through the circulating blood, via the
lymphatic system, or via the nervous system.” 28
To go into the details and nuances of all the mechanisms and pathways
known to be affected by red and near-infrared light could easily fill a
textbook. Again, that’s not the goal of this book. I’d like to simplify the
mechanisms here as much as possible and not turn this into a
biochemistry textbook, so let me first give a very brief overview of many of
the molecular, cellular, and tissue mechanisms of action of how red/NIR
light works, according to what is currently confirmed by research.
Please note that even here, I am only going to list them out and give brief
descriptions of the more notable factors. If you’d like to see a complete
medical textbook-level in-depth discussion of all of the factors, I suggest
getting Hamblin et al.’s new 2018 textbook Low-Level Light Therapy:
Photobiomodulation . If you’re wondering why I am simplifying here, I’ll
give you a brief example of the type of writing you’ll find in that textbook,
and after reading it, hopefully you’ll have a greater appreciation for my
attempts to make things easily understandable for even those without any
science background:
“ ERK/FOXM1: Fork-head box protein M1 (FOXM1) is a protein
involved in the regulation of the transition from the G1 to the S phase
of the cell cycle and the progression to mitotic division. Ling et al.
investigated the protective effect of LLLT using red light at 632.8 nm
against senescence caused by UV light, and reported an activation of
the ERK/FOXM1 pathway that caused a reduction in the expression of
the p21 protein and G1 phase arrest. Senescence was attenuated by
over-expression of FOXM1c with or without LLLT, and if FOXM1 was
inhibited by shRNA, the effect of LLLT in reducing cell senescence was
abrogated. LLLT promoted the nuclear translocation of extracellular
signal-regulated kinase (ERK), increasing FOXM1 accumulation in
the nucleus, and the transactivation of c-Myc and p21 expression.” 29
Now, how many people without a strong background in physiology and
biochemistry do you think can understand just that single paragraph, let
alone hundreds of pages of that kind of writing?
Hopefully you now have more of a sense of appreciation for how much I’ve
simplified things. If you thought my explanation is unnecessarily complex,
perhaps now you have a new reference for comparison! So hopefully you

25
love me a little bit more now for making things relatively easy to
understand.
Again, my goal here is not to make this into a textbook for researchers, but
to make it accessible for regular people. That said, here is a summarized,
simplified, and greatly shortened version of the mechanisms known to
science about how red/NIR light works (broken down by molecular,
cellular, and tissue-level mechanisms), as discussed in the latest 2018
textbook 30 from several of the world’s top authorities on this topic. (Note:
If you don’t care about all the details of the mechanisms and specific
molecules at the cellular level, you can skip the next couple pages of bullet-
point lists to the part right after “Two Key Mechanisms of Red/NIR Light
Therapy.” In that next section, I explain the details of the two most
important mechanisms of how red/NIR light works in our body.)
Red/NIR light has been shown in research to affect all of the following
compounds and pathways :

Molecular Mechanisms:
Cytochrome c oxidase: This is a photoreceptor located on
mitochondria in our cells that “accepts” light photons and then
triggers events in the mitochondria. (More detail on this below.)
Retrograde mitochondrial signaling : This is a key factor
where mitochondria in the cells communicate with the nucleus of
the cell about what is going on, thus affecting what genes get
expressed in the DNA-containing nucleus of our cells.
Light-sensitive ion channels: There are channels in our cells
which control the flow of various ions (e.g. calcium, potassium,
sodium, etc.). Some of these are affected by light, and then are
involved with triggering further events in the cell or between cells.
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP): This is cellular energy produced
by mitochondria. One of the more notable findings from many
studies is that exposure to red/NIR light increases levels of ATP
production.
Cyclic AMP: This is involved with opposing inflammatory
pathways, among other functions in the cell.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS): These are also commonly called
“free radicals.” While commonly associated with bad things (e.g. cell
damage, oxidation, etc.), they also play vital roles in our bodies as
signaling molecules. For example, ROS are produced from physical
exercise and signal many of the positive adaptations that our body
makes to exercise.
Calcium: Red/NIR light can affect calcium levels in the cell, which

26
in turn act as a signal for numerous cellular processes.
Nitric oxide (NO): It is known that NO levels rise after red/NIR
light exposure. NO is well known by most people for its role in blood
vessel dilation, but it also acts in many other signaling pathways.
(More on this below.)
Nuclear factor kappa B: This is a signaling compound that
regulates many genes involved in inflammation and cell survival to
stressors.
RANKL: A protein involved in bone regeneration/remodeling.
Hypoxia-inducible factor: A protein involved in cellular
adaptation to low oxygen levels.
Akt/GSK3b/b-catenin pathway: This pathway relates to cell
survival and apoptosis (programmed cell death).
Akt/mTOR/CyclinD1 pathway: Involved in cell growth
signaling.
ERK/FOXM1: Involved in regulating cell division.
PPARy: Involved in the inflammatory response.
RUNX2: Involved in bone cell differentiation.
Transforming growth factor: Stimulator of collagen production
(e.g. in the skin).
Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines: Many pro- and anti-
inflammatory cytokines and mediators have been shown to have
their levels altered by red and near-infrared light exposure.
Vascular endothelial growth factor: Involved in angiogenesis—
the formation of new blood vessels.
Hepatocyte growth factor: Involved in liver cell health.
Basic fibroblast growth factor and keratinocyte growth
factor: Involved in the wound healing process.
Heat-shock proteins: Involved in inflammation, wound healing,
and cellular survival against many types of stressors (e.g. exercise,
sauna/heat stress, etc.).
Melatonin: Interestingly, red/NIR light therapy has been shown to
increase “extra-pineal” production of melatonin outside of the pineal
gland. Melatonin is much more than just a sleep inducing hormone
as most people know it—melatonin has critical roles in protecting
the mitochondria from damage and supporting glutathione levels,
which is one of our body’s most powerful and important
antioxidants and detoxifying compounds. Some researchers have
suggested that this increased melatonin may be a significant factor
in the effects of red/NIR light. 31

27
 Brain-derived neurotrophic factor: Involved in neuron/brain
cell growth and regeneration.

Cellular Mechanisms:
Inflammation: One of the most important cellular mechanisms
that red/NIR light have is their effect on inflammation pathways. It
appears to do this through inhibition of inflammatory prostaglandin
PGE2 production and expression of COX-1 and COX-2, as well as
inhibition of the NF-kB pathway. The net effect: Reduced
inflammation.
Cytoprotection: Various studies have shown that red/NIR light
can help protect cells from dying after being exposed to various
toxins (e.g. methanol, cyanide, etc.). It appears to have cell-
protective effect in some instances.
Proliferation: Some types of cells (e.g. skin cells, bone cells, cells
that line blood vessels, etc.) have been shown to grow and replicate
faster with exposure to red/NIR light.
Migration: Some types of cells (e.g. tenocytes in tendons or
melanocytes in skin) need to actually move to get to the location
they’re needed. Some research has shown that red/NIR light can
stimulate this.
Protein Synthesis: Red/NIR light can also stimulate cells (e.g.
skin cells, bone cells, etc.) to produce more proteins (e.g. collagen).
Stem Cells: Stem cells are apparently even more sensitive to
red/NIR light. Red/NIR light has been shown to positively affect
growth, movement, and viability of stem cells. This may be relevant
to both stem cells already present in our body, as well as in the
context of stem cell therapy.

Tissue Mechanisms:
Muscles: Numerous studies have shown that red/NIR light affect
muscle performance, recovery from exercise, and adaptations (i.e.
enhanced strength, endurance, muscle growth, fat loss) to exercise.
(These studies are discussed in this book in later sections.)
Brain: Red/NIR light has been shown to benefit brain function as
well. Studies have shown improvements in cognitive performance
and memory, improved functioning after traumatic brain injury,
improved mood, as well as improvements in certain neurological
diseases (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease). The improvements in
mitochondrial function, reduction in inflammation, and increased

28
 Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF) likely all play a role in
enhancing neuron health.
Nerve (Pain): Some studies have shown that red/NIR light can
dull pain due to blocking conduction at nerve fibers. Anti-
inflammatory actions, as well as blocking of substance P, likely play
a role in this effect.
Healing (Bones, Tendons, and Wounds): Numerous studies
have shown that red/NIR light can stimulate and accelerate healing
of numerous types of injuries—from tendon/muscle/ligament tears
to bone fractures, and skin wounds. This is likely by affecting local
growth factors involved in cellular repair, as well as effects on the
inflammatory processes.
Hair: Red/NIR light is also used in the context of hair re-growth,
and numerous studies have shown it to be effective for this purpose.
This is likely due to local blood vessel dilation and anti-
inflammatory effects.
Skin: Numerous beneficial effects on skin wrinkling and laxity,
cellulite, collagen production and other aspects of skin health have
been found. Anti-aging of the skin is one of the most common uses
for red/NIR light.
Fat: The exact mechanisms of how this happens are still debated
among researchers, but numerous studies have shown that red/NIR
light can stimulate the release of fatty contents from fat cells, and
ultimately, lead to body fat loss .

Two Key Mechanisms of Red/NIR Light

Therapy
Having gone through this more complete list of factors and mechanisms,
now I want to simplify and condense the science. I generally think of
red/NIR light as having two central mechanisms in how it benefits cellular
function and overall health:

1. Stimulating ATP production in the mitochondria through interacting

with a photoreceptor called cytochrome c oxidase.
2. Creating a temporary, low-dose metabolic stress (known as
hormesis, which is also a primary mechanism of why exercise works)
that ultimately builds up the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and
cell defense systems of the cell.

29
Let’s talk about each of these mechanisms in more detail:

Mechanism #1: Stimulating Mitochondrial Energy Production

Researchers have found that one specific mechanism of red and near-
infrared light therapy is that these wavelengths of light are able to
penetrate into cells and activate the mitochondria, directly leading to
increased cellular energy production. Many lines of research indicate that
the mitochondria are the key player when it comes to the mechanism of
how red and near-infrared light affect our cells. According to Hamblin, M.
and Carroll, J. et al.,
“Several pieces of evidence suggest that mitochondria are responsible
for the cellular response to red visible and near-infrared light. The
effects of (red and near-infrared light) on mitochondria isolated from
rat liver, have included increased proton electrochemical potential,
more ATP synthesis, increased RNA and protein synthesis and
increases in oxygen consumption, membrane potential, and enhanced
synthesis of NADH and ATP.” 32
This point deserves special attention, because a huge amount of research
in the last decade points to the mitochondria as being critical to health,
disease prevention, energy levels, and longevity. So let’s go into some
detail about why mitochondria are so important.
The mitochondria are the life-yielding, energy yielding engines within the
cells of all living things. Our mitochondria produce cellular energy in the
form of ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate). Our bodies are constantly

30
producing and using massive amounts of ATP in every cell in order to fuel
every function in the body, from breathing to thinking to lifting a
dumbbell. Every time you breathe, digest food, your heart beats, or you
perform a bicep curl, your cells are using ATP energy.
Our heart and liver are packed with mitochondria, because they work
constantly to pump blood, give life, filter toxins, and protect us from toxic
damage. The brain is also packed with mitochondria. So are all our organs,
tissues, skin, and especially muscles, which power us through movement.
The mitochondria are the batteries that fuel all the processes of our
organs; thus, things which enhance the mitochondria translate
into more cellular energy inside the cell, which allows the cell or
organ (e.g. brain, heart, liver, skin, muscles, etc.) to work
optimally .
However, since we don’t get enough red light anymore, we are paying the
price in the very core of our cells themselves—our mitochondria, the
energy generators in our cells—and this has dire consequences for our
health because we need red and near-infrared light therapy to generate
energy efficiently in our cells.
Thus, this lack of red and near-infrared light today impacts every organ
and tissue in our bodies—because every cell in our organs, tissues, skin,
heart, liver, lungs—all contain mitochondria. This gives our heart energy to
beat, our skin the energy to synthesize collagen more efficiently, our liver
energy to detoxify, and so forth.
To understand the detailed mechanisms of how red and near-infrared light
actually enhance mitochondria, you need a basic understanding of how our
cells produce energy.
We produce ATP by going through a cycle of something called “cellular
respiration”—which is what gives us energy to do anything. It gives our
body energy to chew, breathe, sweat, produce hormones—everything.
Cellular respiration has 4 steps:

1. Glycolysis (this the first step in cell respiration, which is the

conversion of glucose/sugar to pyruvate)
2. Pyruvate Oxidation (the next step in converting glucose to ATP,
which entails converting pyruvate to acetyl-CoA, to enable ATP to be
manufactured)
3. Krebs Cycle (this uses acetyl-CoA to generate a pool of chemical
energy substances, ATP, NADH, FADH2)
4. Oxidative Phosphorylation (the last step in ATP production,
where the mitochondria use the chemicals produced in the Krebs

31
 cycle to pump out ATP)

This last stage, oxidative phosphorylation, is the when red light

(red and near-infrared light) does most of its magic .
There is a crucial step in the production of ATP, when electrons pass
through the electron transport chain (ETC) in the mitochondria.

As these electrons travel down this chain, protons are pumped across the
inner mitochondrial membrane into the space between the inner and outer
mitochondrial membrane. This forms a gradient across the membrane,
which in chemistry and physics has what’s called “potential energy” since
substances at a high concentration will be driven to move towards lower
concentration.

32
And sure enough, the mitochondria harness this potential energy—as the
proton moves back across the membrane to lower concentration, it passes
through a little rotating motor called “ATP synthase” which uses the
energy of the proton moving across the membrane to power the process of
producing ATP (cellular energy).
One of the key parts of this energy production in our mitochondria is a
photoreceptor—cytochrome c oxidase—that helps oxygen be used
efficiently by the mitochondria to power the ATP synthase pump.
A “photoreceptor” is something that absorbs light photons .
The first law of photobiology states that for light to have any effect on a
living cell or body, the photons of light must be absorbed by something in
that organism/cell. It turns out that there are indeed such things in many
different organisms from plants to humans. It is well known by virtually
everyone that plants have such a light photon absorber—chlorophyll,
which is a “chromophore” light photon acceptor that turns photons into
energy that the plant can utilize. What is not well known by most people is
that humans also have light absorbing compounds (chromophores or
photoacceptors) in our cells and our blood—hemoglobin (in your blood
cells), cytochrome c oxidase, myoglobin, flavins, flavoproteins, porphyrins,
and melanin in your skin (that’s what gives your skin a tan). (Side note: It
turns out that even plain old water—including the water that fills our cells
—is also a photoacceptor that absorbs certain wavelengths of light.)
And it turns out that many of these light absorbing compounds in our
bodies have been verified by research to absorb certain wavelengths of
light, and translate that light into various biological effects.
When it comes to red/NIR, the photoacceptor cytochrome c oxidase in our
mitochondria is of particular importance.

Cytochrome c oxidase is part of the respiratory chain in our mitochondria

33
that plays a key role in producing ATP (cellular energy). When red and
near-infrared light photons hit the photoacceptor cytochrome c oxidase, it
helps the mitochondria use oxygen more efficiently to produce ATP.

If all of this seems complex, let me simplify: Mitochondria need

this little enzyme called cytochrome c oxidase to bind efficiently
with oxygen to produce cellular energy (ATP) efficiently, and
red and near-infrared light help make that happen.
Cytochrome c oxidase and oxygen working together well means good
things are happening—energy production and cellular respiration—which
yields energy for the body and all its functions.
When cells are functioning poorly—which most human’s cells are
today because we live a life full of stressors, like job stress, toxins like BPA
and pesticides and heavy metals in our food, too much artificial light at
night, and air pollution (among others)—these toxic impacts hinder our
cells’ ability to produce energy.
While the exact mechanisms are still debated, many researchers (including
Dr. Michael Hamblin) believe that nitric oxide (NO) plays a central role. 33 ,
34

NO of course plays many vital roles in the body, but when we

have too much of it, too much in the wrong place, or when our
cells don’t have the antioxidant capacity to quell the buildup of
NO, it can hinder ATP from being manufactured in the
mitochondria. 35
How?

34
Well, nitric oxide begins to compete with oxygen in the mitochondria.

In fact, NO binds with cytochrome c—preventing it from binding with

oxygen. It basically blocks the oxygen from being used by the
mitochondria. Because of this, the NO inhibits efficient ATP production .
Mitochondria cannot generate ATP efficiently without oxygen. So anything
that slows oxygen from being utilized by the mitochondria will slow energy
production dramatically.
Therefore, in unhealthy cells, nitric oxide prevents cytochrome c from
getting enough oxygen molecules. This hinders ATP production, which is a
recipe for poor mitochondrial function, and thus, poor cellular function.
As shown by several research groups around the world, red and near-
infrared light essentially prevents this pairing of NO with cytochrome c
oxidase. It knocks the NO out and lets the oxygen in!
This allows cytochrome c to have its oxygen molecules and thus, allows for
efficient mitochondrial function.

35
This image gives the basic idea of a mitochondria with too much NO that is
not producing ATP efficiently, and how red/NIR light al-lows more oxygen
in, to allow the mitochondria to produce more ATP:

To have great mitochondrial function, we want to kick out the NO from the
mitochondria and get the oxygen in.
This means oxygen can once again be utilized efficiently by the
mitochondria, which then allows mitochondria to produce energy
efficiently.
This is explained in more detail on the mechanisms by Farivar et al.:

36
 “The activity of cytochrome c oxidase is inhibited by nitric oxide (NO).
This inhibition can be explained by a direct competition between NO
and O2 for the reduced binuclear center CuB/a3 of cytochrome c
oxidase, and is reversible. It was proposed that laser irradiation could
reverse this inhibition by photodissociating NO from its binding sites.
Because this coordinate binding is much weaker than a covalent bond,
this dissociation is possible by LLL ( low-level light). The dissociation of
NO from Cox increases the respiration rate. Light can indeed reverse
the inhibition caused by NO binding to cytochrome oxidase, both in
isolated mitochondria and in whole cells. LLL can also protect cells
against NO-induced cell death.” 36
In essence, red and near-infrared light therapy allow oxygen into the
mitochondria (and prevent NO from halting energy production), which
boosts mitochondrial function and improves the health of every organ and
system in our body.
I should add here that, to some extent, the nuances of all of the exact
mechanisms of how red/NIR light affect mitochondria are still debated
amongst researchers, but everyone is in agreement that red/NIR
light does indeed increase mitochondrial energy production . 37
Also note that this cytochrome c pathway may not be the only way that
red/NIR light increases cellular energy production. There are several more
potential mechanisms by which red/NIR light can increase mitochondrial
energy production that are described below—including increasing the size
and number of mitochondria through hormesis, and more speculative
theoretical mechanisms of how this type of light may interact with water in
our cells and chlorophyll metabolites. See the section below on “potential
mechanisms” for more on the evidence on ways that red/NIR light may
potentially affect our cells.
This appears to be the major mechanism that drives many of the beneficial
effects associated with red/NIR light on skin, muscles, bone, glands, and
brain cells. In short, when mitochondria are stimulated, the cell produces
more energy, and when the cell has more energy available, it essentially
does everything better—heals faster, is more resistant to stress, produces
more proteins (e.g. collagen) and performs better (e.g. muscular
performance). Mitochondrial energy production is the heart of all optimal
cell function.
Mechanism #2: Hormesis
Another key mechanism for how red and near-infrared light therapy work
is through hormesis. Hormesis is the process by which a transient
metabolic stressor stimulates adaptations that actually improve health.
This may sound like an odd concept at first, but you’re more familiar with
it than you realize—exercise is a type of hormesis. Exercise works by

37
transiently creating metabolic stress—stressing out the body (workouts are
hard work!) and temporarily increasing reactive oxygen species, a.k.a. free
radicals—and then in response to that stress, the body adapts to it with
things like improved cardiovascular efficiency, improved blood delivery to
the muscles, and by strengthening and growing the mitochondria. It also
involves downregulating the genes involved in chronic inflammation and
oxidative stress (two keys drivers of aging and disease), and upregulating
the genes involved in energy production and the internal cellular
antioxidant defense system.
The mitochondria get temporarily stressed in a way that causes them to
send signals back to the nucleus of the cell (which contains your DNA),
and these signals are literally used by the nucleus to determine what genes
should be expressed. This is called “retrograde signaling.” It’s a
remarkable phenomenon, because most people think that our genes do all
the dictating of what happens in our cells. In fact, mitochondria generate
signals (based on the environment) that signal back to the nucleus which
genes to switch on and off !
In particular, the transient increases in ROS (free radicals) from red/NIR
light activates many of the same cell defense systems that exercise does.
The transcription factor NF-kB is activated through exposure to free
radicals generated by red and near-infrared light, which promotes a very
low level inflammatory response. This then engages a mechanism called
the NRF2 pathway and the Antioxidant Response Element (A.R.E.)—our
internal cellular antioxidant defense system—which helps put out the fire
by eliminating the inflammation and free radicals. In short, in much the
same way that exercise builds your muscles stronger by temporarily
stressing them, light does the same thing to our internal anti-oxidant and
anti-inflammatory defense system. It helps make your cells more tolerant
to stress, combats inflammation, helps prevent the buildup of free radicals,
and ultimately makes your cells healthier, more energetic, and more
resilient.
It turns out that humans actually need some of these low-level stressors in
their life. The absence of these stressors actually sabotages our health.
Light serves a transient low-level stress to your cells. The end result of
these cellular adaptations to the temporary stress is healthier cells that
produce more energy, have a stronger anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory
defense system, and are more resilient to overall stress.

38
This is the same way that exercise makes us healthier. Red and near-
infrared light therapy also work by temporarily creating an increase in
metabolic stress and increasing reactive oxygen species (free radicals), just
like exercise. 38 In that sense, some researchers have called it an “exercise
mimetic” because it mimics some of the same effects of exercise. (As you’ll
see in a later section, research shows that it also combines well with
exercise and amplifies the benefits on fat loss and muscle gain). So red and
near-infrared light therapy also are a form of hormesis, and benefit the
mitochondria by creating a low dose stressor that the body then adapts to
by becoming even stronger—the body increases production of internal
antioxidant and anti-inflammatory systems, and builds up the size and
strength of mitochondria.
In this way, red/NIR light become a powerful tool that doesn’t just
temporarily alleviate symptoms (like say, an anti-inflammatory or
painkiller drug), but it stimulates your body making lasting adaptations at

39
the cellular level that lead to more resilience against stressors and a
greater capacity to produce energy.

Potential Mechanisms
In addition to these—what I consider to be the two most important general
mechanisms—there are a couple of other fascinating potential mechanisms
for how red/NIR light works inside our bodies. Some of these potential
mechanisms may even revolutionize our understanding of human biology
and how our cells produce energy. (I list these as “potential mechanisms”
because we have some evidence for them, but not enough yet for there to
be a consensus within the scientific community that they are “proven.”
Further studies are still needed for widespread acceptance of these
physiological mechanisms, but they are incredibly exciting nonetheless!)

Potential Mechanism #1: Interacts with water in our cells to

produce more energy.
Water itself is a photoacceptor. That means that water can actually absorb
the energy from some wavelengths of light—including wavelengths in the
red and near-infrared spectrum.
This may not be such a trivial fact .
Why?
Water fills our cells. While many people think of our cells as just bags of
inert water—just a place for chemical reactions of other compounds to take
place—this may in fact not be accurate. The water in our cells itself may be
impacted by the light exposure in a way that affects cell function. That is,
the water itself may have much more biological activity than we have
previously thought.
Researchers have found that when water that is next to surfaces that are
biochemically similar to structures in our cells, is exposed to red/NIR
light, it literally changes the viscosity of water. The water literally changes
in “thickness” and “wetness.”
Think of it like this. Imagine swimming through a pool of water vs.
swimming through a pool of Jell-O.
It’s a heck of a lot easier to swim through regular water than through Jell-
O, right?
The point is that things that are surrounded by liquid which need to move,
will likely function a whole lot better if the liquid that surrounds them is
not giving a lot of resistance. That’s the basic idea here.
A 2015 study published in Scientific Reports titled “Light Effect on Water

40
Viscosity: Implication for ATP Biosynthesis” suggests this may be exactly
what is going on inside our mitochondria.
The researchers suggested that if this change in water viscosity occurs
inside our cells, which is probable according to many experts—may allow
the physical rotation of the ATP synthase pump on the mitochondria (the
little motor on the mitochondria that actually pumps out cellular energy)
to operate more efficiently. 39 (Side note: This is likely related to Gerald
Pollack, PhD’s work on the “fourth phase” of water, which he has written a
book on and done several interviews and TED talks that can be found on
YouTube).
To some extent, much of this has in fact already been demonstrated—that
light does in fact affect water viscosity when next to surfaces that are
ostensibly similar to cellular membrane surfaces, and that light increases
ATP production. But as explained earlier, the conventional explanation for
this is solely that red/NIR light impact the mitochondrial respiratory chain
components (e.g. cytochrome c oxidase). Based on their findings, the
researchers of this 2015 study suggest that it may be due (partly or mostly)
to how light affects the water viscosity in the mitochondria and allows for
easier rotation of the ATP synthase pump.
The researchers of this 2015 study summarized their findings by saying:
“Thus, we feel justified to assume that the [red/NIR] irradiation
upregulates ATP turnover by reducing the viscosity of the nanoscopic
interfacial water layers which seem to control the efficiency of the
mitochondrial nanomotor. The insight deduced from our laboratory
experiments is expected to allow the improvement of the present
theories and hypotheses of light-induced ATP synthesis, and promises
to enhance the predictive capability of existing models. Explicitly,
realistic models designed to explore the functioning of ATP synthase
may have to consider interfacial viscosity gradients, within and around
the nanoturbine [the ATP synthase pump]. This aspect is of
considerable biological interest and may lead to a shift in the paradigm
of ATP synthesis.” 4 0
In short, the idea here is that red/NIR light penetrates cells and makes the
water thinner and more slippery, so the little ATP motor in the
mitochondria rotates with less friction and ultimately pumps out more
energy. Again, this is a potential mechanism still, and we need more
research to know for sure if this is in fact a major mechanism of action. But
it’s pretty exciting to think of these possibilities!
Potential Mechanism #2: Interacts with chlorophyll in our cells
to help our mitochondria produce more energy.
For most of the history of biology, plants and animals have been thought of

41
as autotrophs and heterotrophs, respectively.
“Autotrophs” are those organisms which provide their own food sources.
Plants do this by capturing sunlight and doing a process called
photosynthesis. (Carbon dioxide + Water → Carbohydrates + Oxygen)
“Heterotrophs” are organisms which consume other organisms for food.
Thus, whether animals are herbivores, omnivores or carnivores, they are
eating other organisms to acquire their energy.
For most of biology, we have generally classified organisms into these
categories. But with some exceptions we have called “photoheterotrophs”
or “mixotrophs.” Most corals, for example, can both synthesize energy
from sunlight as well as consume organisms like plankton. Another
example is the Venus flytrap and other insect-eating plants that can derive
energy both from sunlight and from the organisms they consume. More
examples include some types of non-sulfur bacteria, heliobacteria, many
types of plankton, and even many types of insects .
But of course, humans have always been conceptualized as purely
“heterotrophs.” We need to eat plants and animals of various kinds to get
our energy.
Yet, I have already explained that hundreds of studies have now found that
human cells—the mitochondria in our cells—do actually produce more
ATP when exposed to red/NIR light!
And it even goes further than that…
A recent study has actually found that other organisms—
including mammals that are biologically very similar to humans
(like rodents and pigs)—have now been shown to be capable of
taking up chlorophyll metabolites into their mitochondria, and
using those metabolites to capture sunlight energy and amplify
cellular energy production! The research suggests that some animals
can use these chlorophyll metabolites to speed up the rate of energy
production and increase the overall volume of ATP produced by fairly
large amounts in many cases.
This revolutionary discovery was published in 2014 in the Journal of Cell
Science in a study titled “Light-harvesting chlorophyll pigments
enable mammalian mitochondria to capture photonic energy
and produce ATP .”
Here is a chunk of the abstract from this fascinating study, where
researchers succinctly summarized their findings:
“Sunlight is the most abundant energy source on this planet. However,
the ability to convert sunlight into biological energy in the form of

42
 adenosine-59-triphosphate (ATP) is thought to be limited to
chlorophyll-containing chloroplasts in photosynthetic organisms. Here
we show that mammalian mitochondria can also capture
light and synthesize ATP when mixed with a light-capturing
metabolite of chlorophyll .” 41
So how do light and chlorophyll interact in our cells to help our
mitochondria produce more energy?
Specifically, it appears that chlorophyll metabolites and light may have
some synergy that affects one of the key players in mitochondrial energy
production—CoQ10.
A 2013 study titled “Dietary chlorophyll metabolites catalyze the
photoreduction of plasma ubiquinone” found something remarkable.
First, you need to understand a bit about how CoQ10 works in our cells.
CoQ10 is often thought of as simply an “antioxidant,” but it is much more
than that—it does many things that go far beyond just neutralizing free
radicals. In particular, it acts to facilitate electron transfer in mitochondria
to allow energy production. Now, in order for CoQ10 to do its work of
facilitating mitochondrial energy production, it has to be constantly
“regenerated” from its oxidized form (ubiquinone) to its active form
(ubiquinol). When much of the CoQ10 is being oxidized, but it’s not being
efficiently converted back into ubiquinol, we get problems. We accumulate
ubiquinone and our ubiquinol stores are low. (In fact, CoQ10 deficiencies
are very common. And that’s why there is so much positive research
around CoQ10 supplementation.)
But what if the reason our CoQ10 stores (especially ubiquinol) are
decreased in the first place is actually a deficiency in sunlight exposure and
chlorophyll consumption ?
These researchers took dietary chlorophyll metabolites (compounds that
our bodies actually make when we consume dietary chlorophyll) and
mixed it with some CoQ10 in ubiquinone form.
Then they exposed the chlorophyll metabolite and CoQ10 solution to red
light…
Guess what happened?
The ubiquinone form of Coq10 was regenerated into ubiquinol
CoQ10!
But without the chlorophyll metabolites or the red light, no ubiquinone
gets converted to ubiquinol!
Pretty damn amazing, right?!

43
It turns out that light can actually interact with chlorophyll metabolites in
a way that leads to the regeneration of CoQ10!
What kind of light has this effect?
Well, as luck (or biological design) would have it, it’s the kind of light that
penetrates deep into our body—red/NIR light. (Remember, most light only
gets absorbed at the skin, but red/NIR light can penetrate beyond the skin,
deep into our body.) In short, this research suggests that we are in fact
designed by nature in such a way that the wavelengths of light that happen
to penetrate deeply into human tissues are biologically active in human
cells, and do a lot of amazing things—including, interacting with
chlorophyll metabolites and helping to regenerate the active form of
CoQ10.
The researchers of this study suggest that red/NIR light and chlorophyll
may in fact be the key players in helping our cells maintain the proper
ratio of ubiquinone to ubiquinol.
But you might be wondering “Can’t this only affect the cells that light can
penetrate into? And since red/NIR light can only penetrate a couple inches
into the body, this wouldn’t affect all the cells of our body deeper than that,
right?”
Interestingly, it turns out that ubiquinol can be carried in our bloodstream.
So theoretically, the ubiquinol that cells produce could be carried to cells
throughout the entire body via the bloodstream. Hence the light may have
effects on all the cells of the body, not just the cells that light can penetrate
directly.
In the words of the researchers of this remarkable study:
“The mechanisms responsible for maintenance of plasma ubiquinol are
poorly understood. Here, we show that metabolites of chlorophyll can
be found in blood plasma of animals that are given a chlorophyll-rich
diet. We also show that these metabolites catalyze the reduction of
plasma ubiquinone to ubiquinol in the presence of ambient light, in
vitro. We propose that dietary chlorophyll or its metabolites, together
with light exposure, regulate plasma redox status [the balance of
oxidants to antioxidants] through maintaining the ubiquinol pool.” 42
And here is the astounding conclusion from these researchers of the
previously mentioned chlorophyll study:
“Both increased sun exposure and the consumption of green vegetables
are correlated with better overall health outcomes in a variety of
diseases of aging. These benefits are commonly attributed to an
increase in vitamin D from sunlight exposure and consumption of
antioxidants from green vegetables. Our work suggests these

44
 explanations might be incomplete. Sunlight is the most abundant
energy source on this planet. Throughout mammalian evolution, the
internal organs of most animals, including humans, have been bathed
in photonic energy from the sun. Do animals have metabolic pathways
that enable them to take greater advantage of this abundant energy
source? The demonstration that: (1) light-sensitive chlorophyll-type
molecules are sequestered into animal tissues; (2) in the presence of
the chlorophyll metabolite P-a, there is an increase in ATP in isolated
animal mitochondria, tissue homogenates and in C. elegans
[roundworms], upon exposure to light of wavelengths absorbed by P-a;
and (3) in the presence of P-a, light alters fundamental biology
resulting in up to a 17% extension of life span in C. elegans suggests
that, similarly to plants and photosynthetic organisms,
animals also possess metabolic pathways to derive energy
directly from sunlight. ” 43
I must say that I personally found these studies to be some of the most
exciting and potentially revolutionary studies I have read in years! Who
would’ve thought that human cells have the ability to use chlorophyll to
capture energy from sunlight?
A quick funny story: When I was in high school 20 some years ago, I had a
biology teacher who everyone thought was totally nuts, because she would
drink vegetable juices and then go lay in the sun. She was convinced that
there was some synergy between consuming the chlorophyll and exposing
her body to the sunlight.
We used to joke around that our crazy biology teacher thought she was a
plant and that she could photosynthesize! We thought the whole idea was
total nonsense and that she was crazy.
But hey, 20 years later, it turns out that maybe she was onto something
after all! Human mitochondria may in fact have the ability to use dietary
chlorophyll metabolites and red/NIR light to more efficiently produce
energy!

Mechanisms Summary
In short, it is clear that humans can indeed harness sunlight energy and
translate it into energy production by our mitochondria—either through
the conventional cytochrome c pathway (the widely accepted pathway), or
through how light affects water viscosity and the ability of mitochondria to
pump out ATP, or by using chlorophyll metabolites to more efficiently
produce energy, or through increased production of CoQ10 in the
mitochondria, or perhaps through some combination of all of these
mechanisms. More research is certainly needed to confirm these
speculative pathways, but they are certainly fascinating to think about, and

45
if proven, they have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of
human biology.
Now let’s move away from the more speculative mechanisms and cutting-
edge research, and get back to the scientific consensus…
The bottom line here is that we have scientific evidence for several
mechanisms of how red and near-infrared light therapy enhance
mitochondrial energy production and overall cell function.
In essence, what this all boils down to is that red and near-
infrared light therapy help mitochondria produce more energy,
decrease inflammation, and help build the cell defense systems
to increase resiliency.
But as mentioned above in the list of factors known to be affected by
red/NIR light, there are also many other mechanisms of action of red and
near-infrared light therapy which researchers are still elucidating. It is
likely that other effects on specific compounds (e.g. BDNF, cAMP, nitric
oxide, etc.), on stem cells, 44 on hormones, 45 , 46 DNA repair, 47 or some
other specific effects on gene expression 48 , 49 , 50 also play a role in
mediating many of the positive effects of red/NIR light therapy.
The truth is that it’s possible to get endlessly complex and nuanced about
all the different molecular and biochemical pathways involved. An entire
textbook could be written on the various pathways. (And that’s
acknowledging that many of the mechanisms are still being elucidated,
and some may even yet to be discovered.) One study gave a nice brief
encapsulation of the mechanisms by saying:
“During near-infrared phototherapy, absorption of red or near-infrared
photons by COX (cytochrome c oxidase) in the mitochondrial
respiratory chain causes secondary molecular and cellular events,
including activation of second messenger pathways, changes in NO
levels, and growth factor production. NILT (near-infrared light
therapy) leads to the reduction of excitotoxicity, the production of
neurotrophic factors, the modulation of ROS, the transcription of new
gene products with protective or pro-proliferative properties, and the
release of numerous growth factors for neurons and other cells. near-
infrared appears to initiate a cascade of subcellular events which can
yield immediate, delayed, and persistent beneficial changes in the
injured neuron or other cell.” 51
So the reality is that there are dozens of signaling pathways in the cell and
between cells that are affected by red/NIR light. But again, to simplify all
this, most experts agree that the primary mechanism of action is how it
works to increase mitochondrial energy production.
In essence, red and near-infrared light “fires up” this engine of the cell,

46
driving ATP production by the mitochondria. And since everything cells do
depend on energy supplied by the mitochondria, red light and near-
infrared light therapy have been linked with a wide range of amazing
benefits:

Anti-aging effects in the skin (enhancing collagen synthesis,

production, and elastin production for youthful skin and
dramatically reducing cellulite) 52
Lowering inflammation
Enhancing fat loss 53
Enhancing physical performance and muscle recovery afterward 54
Boosting testosterone 55
Speeding wound healing 56
Spurring neurogenesis in the human brain, strengthening synapses,
spurring brain cell growth 57
Helping prevent cognitive decline 58
Reducing waist circumference and liberating fat from cells so it can
be burned again 59
Enhancing physical performance and muscle recovery afterward 60
Enhancing fertility 61
Combatting gingivitis and promoting healthy gums 62
Enhancing stem cell implantation and proliferation 63
Enhancing gland health from the thyroid to the lymphatic system
Clearing skin for sufferers of acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis 64
Improving eye health 65
Fighting chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia 66 , 67 , 68
Potentially helping the body to fight cancer (in tandem with
chemotherapy) 69
Removing wrinkles, lines, and veins on the surface of the skin 70
Increasing energy
Improving the appearance of scars 71
Killing pain 72
Protecting cells against damage from stress 73

This list might seem too good to be true. How could one technology benefit
so many totally different types of conditions?
It almost seems to claim that it’s a panacea. So it’s only natural to express
skepticism.

47
Yet, the reason it can benefit all these radically different conditions is
actually quite simple: The health of every organ and every cell in
the body depends on the energy being produced by the
mitochondria in those cells. Thus, because red/NIR light
therapy work to enhance mitochondrial energy production in
essentially every type of cell in the body, it can enhance the
cellular processes and cellular health of potentially almost every
type of cell in the body.
In essence, the basic principle is this: Whatever cells you shine it on—
whether muscle, skin, gland, or brain—those cells will work better when
the mitochondria in those cells are producing more energy.

28 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-

Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
29 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
30 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
31 Yeager, et al. (2007). Melatonin as a principal component of red light therapy. Medical
Hypotheses.
32 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2790317/
33 Hamblin, M. (2008). The role of nitric oxide in low level light therapy.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237089612_The_role_of_nitric_oxide_in_low_level_light_therapy
.
34 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
35 Hamblin, M. (2008). The role of nitric oxide in low level light therapy.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237089612_The_role_of_nitric_oxide_in_low_level_light_therapy
.
36 Farivar, S. et al. (2014). Biological Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy. Journal of Lasers in

48
Medical Science. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4291815/ .
37 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
38 Hamblin, M. (2017). Mechanisms and Mitochondrial Redox Signaling in
Photobiomodulation .
39 Sommer A.P. et al. (2015). Light Effect on Water Viscosity: Implication for ATP Biosynthesis
.
40 Sommer A.P. et al. (2015). Light Effect on Water Viscosity: Implication for ATP Biosynthesis
.
41 Sommer A.P. et al. (2015). Light Effect on Water Viscosity: Implication for ATP Biosynthesis .
42 Qu, J. (2013). Dietary chlorophyll metabolites catalyze the photoreduction of plasma
ubiquinone. Photochemistry and Photobiology.
43 Sommer A.P. et al. (2015). Light Effect on Water Viscosity: Implication for ATP Biosynthesis
.
44 Oron et al. (2010). Lasers stimulate stem cells and reduce heart scarring after heart attack,
study suggests.
45 Hofling, D. (2013). Low-level laser in the treatment of patients with hypothyroidism induced
by chronic autoimmune thyroiditis: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Lasers in
Medicine and Science, 28(3): 743-53.
46 Luo et al. (2013). Effects of low-level laser therapy on ROS homeostasis and expression of
IGF-1 and TGF-β1 in skeletal muscle during the repair process.
47 Lau et al. The effects of low level laser therapy on irradiated cells: a systematic review .
48 Myakishev-Rempel, M. (2015). Red Light Modulates Ultraviolet-Induced Gene Expression in
the Epidermis of Hairless Mice.
49 Cohen, J. 8 Amazing Health Benefits of Red Light Therapy – with Mechanisms .
50 Guo, J. (2015). Visible red and infrared light alters gene expression in human marrow
stromal fibroblast cells. Orthodontics and Craniofacial Research, 18(01): 50–61.
51 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4552256/
52 Barolet, D. (2009). Regulation of Skin Collagen Metabolism In VitroUsing a Pulsed 660 nm
LED Light Source: Clinical Correlation with a Single-Blinded Study, Journal of Investigative
Dermatology, 129(12): 2751-2759.
53 Pinar, A. et al. (2013). Low-Level Laser Therapy for Fat Layer Reduction: A Comprehensive
Review, Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, 45(6): 349-57.
54 Sommer et al. (2015). Light Effect on Water Viscosity: Implication for ATP Biosynthesis.
55 Ahn, Jen-Chiu. (2013). The effects of low level laser therapy (red and near-infrared light) on
the testis in elevating serum testosterone level in rats. Biomedical Research. 24(1): 28-32 .
56 Trelles, M. A. et al. (2006). Red light-emitting diode (LED) therapy accelerates wound
healing post-blepharoplasty and periocular laser ablative resurfacing. Journal of Cosmetic Laser
Therapy, 8(1): 39-42 .
57 Vargas, E. (2017). Beneficial neurocognitive effects of transcranial laser in older adults.
Lasers in Medical Science, 32(5): 1153-1162.
58 Vargas, E. (2017). Beneficial neurocognitive effects of transcranial laser in older adults.
Lasers in Medical Science, 32(5): 1153-1162.
59 Pinar, A. et al. (2013). Low-Level Laser Therapy for Fat Layer Reduction: A Comprehensive
Review, Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, 45(6): 349-57.
60 Sommer et al. (2015). Light Effect on Water Viscosity: Implication for ATP Biosynthesis .
61 Ohshiro, T. (2012). Personal Overview of the Application of red and near-infrared light in
Severely Infertile Japanese Females. Laser Therapy, 21(2): 97–103.
62 Karhuria, V. (2015). Low Level Laser Therapy: A Panacea for oral maladies. Laser Therapy,
24(3): 215-223.
63 Freitas, de Frietas, L. and M. R. Hamblin. (2016). Proposed Mechanisms of

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Photobiomodulation or Low-Level Light Therapy. ISEEE, 22(3): 7000417.
64 Pinar, Avci. Low-level laser (light) therapy (red and near-infrared light) in skin: stimulating,
healing, restoring. SCMS, 32(1): 41-52.
65 Merry, G.F., et al. (2016). Photobiomodulation reduces drusen volume and improves visual
acuity and contrast sensitivity in dry age-related macular degeneration .
66 Gur, A. (2002). Efficacy of low power laser therapy in fibromyalgia: a single-blind, placebo-
controlled trial. Lasers in Medical Science, 17(1): 57-61.
67 Ruaro, J. A. (2014). Low-level laser therapy to treat fibromyalgia. Lasers and Medicine in
Science, 29(6): 1815-9.
68 Da Silva, M. et al. (2017). Randomized, blinded, controlled trial on effectiveness of
photobiomodulation therapy and exercise training in the fibromyalgia treatment. Lasers in
Medical Science.
69 Antunes HS., et al. (2017). Long-term survival of a randomized phase III trial of head and
neck cancer patients receiving concurrent chemoradiation therapy with or without low-level
laser therapy (LLLT) to prevent oral mucositis.
70 Kim, Hee-Kyong. (2017). Effects of radiofrequency, electroacupuncture, and low-level laser
therapy on the wrinkles and moisture content of the forehead, eyes, and cheek. Journal I
Physical Therapy and Science, 29(2): 290–294.
71 Pinar, Avci. Low-level laser (light) therapy (red and near-infrared light) in skin: stimulating,
healing, restoring. SCMS, 32(1): 41-52.
72 Chung H. et al. (2012). The nuts and bolts of low-level laser (light) therapy. Ann. Biomed.
Eng. 40, 516–533. 10.1007/s10439-011-0454-7.
73 Guaraldo et al. (2016). The effect of low-level laser therapy on oxidative stress and functional
fitness in aged rats subjected to swimming: an aerobic exercise.

50
 Benefits of Red and Near-Infrared Light
Therapy
Today, research into the power of red light to improve health and treat
disease is really gaining momentum. We are learning that red and near-
infrared light therapy can benefit virtually every system of the body and
can even improve the way you look—it can help you to shed inches of fat,
reduce the signs of aging, regrow hair, increase the results you get from
your workouts, reduce pain, speed healing, boost hormonal health, and
lower inflammation.
So now, let’s talk about the specific benefits of red and near-infrared light
that have been shown in studies. Here are the major benefits that have
been proven by scientific research for red and near-infrared light therapy:

Reverse Skin Aging and Get Youthful Skin

with Red Light Therapy and Near-Infrared
Light Therapy
Red and near infrared light are working wonders in the anti-aging
communities, and dermatologists and plastic surgeons, even dentists who
do Botox and other treatments are capitalizing on the incredible powers of
red light for anti-aging .
Because red light stimulates both collagen and elastin production,
eradicates lines and wrinkles, as well as the appearance of scars, surface
varicose veins, acne, and cellulite, red light therapy is fast becoming
recognized as a safe and welcome alternative to injections and surgeries
for anti-aging and skin rejuvenation.
Collagen is important—not just for giving us youthful skin and helping us
avoid that saggy “schnauzer” look around the neck and jowls—collagen is
needed to keep the entire body youthful, resilient, strong, and vital. In fact,
collagen is the most abundant protein in the entire body. Even more
important than what we can see on the surface, collagen is also what gives
our muscles, skin, blood vessels, bones, and digestive system the healthy
tissues that they need to keep us strong and free from disease. In some
schools of medicine popular in Europe, physicians put a lot of emphasis on
keeping the “extra-cellular matrix” (the fibrous skeleton that surrounds
and supports our cells) healthy, and dysfunction in the extracellular matrix
is seen as a major source of disease. Why is this important? Because
collagen is an integral part of the extracellular matrix, and red and near-
infrared light are integral in supporting the collagen networks of our body.

51
74
Supporting the health of your extracellular matrix may very well turn out
to be far more vital for overall health than we currently understand.
Red and near-infrared light therapy has been widely researched and is a
proven anti-aging, skin improvement tool that brings numerous positive
effects to facial skin and skin all over the body. Repairing damage from UV
rays requires that skin be able to repair cellular and DNA damage, much as
it does when healing from wounds. Red light does this extremely well
through stimulating collagen synthesis and fibroblast formation, anti-
inflammatory action, stimulation of energy production in mitochondria,
and even stimulating DNA repair. 75
A wealth of human studies is proving red and near-infrared light therapy
can reverse the signs of aging, repair damage from UV rays, and reduce the
appearance of lines, wrinkles, and even hard to remove scars.
A 2013 issue of Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery featured a
review of the research that highlighted dozens of studies proving red and
near-infrared light therapy can reduce the signs of aging. 76
Another review of the research by Harvard professor Michael Hamblin,
PhD has found that red and near-infrared light therapy can:

reduce the signs of damage, DNA damage, 77 and aging from UV rays
78

reduce wrinkles 79
reduce color patches, hyperpigmentation, and skin discoloration 80
enhance collagen synthesis and collagen density (research has
shown it can enhance production of collagen by 31%) 81 , 82
accelerate repair in the epithelial layer of skin 83
combat other skin conditions like acne, keloids, vitiligo, burns,
herpes virus sores, and psoriasis 84
speed wound healing by enhancing skin tissue repair and growth of
skin cells 85

52
In short, red and near-infrared light therapy is offering a new, completely
safe and non-invasive alternative to various anti-aging skin surgeries,
Botox injections, and more abrasive chemical peels. For combating skin
aging, red and near-infrared light is an extraordinarily powerful tool.

Slow Hair Loss and Re-Grow Hair with Red

and Near-Infrared Light Therapy
Red light has also been shown to help with certain types of hair loss. Red
light has proven to help both women and men with various conditions to
regrow hair and even thicken the diameter of individual hair strands. Red
and near-infrared light therapy has proven to help women with alopecia to
significantly regrow and thicken hair. 86 Red and near-infrared light
therapy has also proven to regrow hair in men with hair loss in several
studies. 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91
To get a little more detailed on the mechanisms, basically hair growth
takes place in several phases:

Anagen—growth phase
Catagen—the hair transitions upwards towards the skin pore
Telogen—the dermal papillae (are of blood supply) fully separate
from the hair follicle. (After 5-6 weeks, the dermal papillae move
upward to meet the hair follicles again and the hair matrix starts
forming more hair—i.e. to go back to the anagen phase.)

Red and near-infrared light has been shown to help transition hair from
the telogen phase back to the anagen phase and prolong the

53
anagen/growth phase. It can also increase the rate of growth in the anagen
phase while preventing premature catagen phases .
These effects may be mediated by increases in certain growth factors, of
effects on inflammation, improved mitochondrial functioning in the cells
in that area, or on nitric oxide levels and blood circulation to the area, or
some combination of all these factors.
In short, it helps hair stay in the growth phase, grow more, and re-enter
the growth phase (instead of dying off). The end result is less hair loss and
more hair growth.

Reduce Cellulite with Red and Near-

Infrared Light Therapy
Red light therapy has a profound effect on reducing fat layers and
eliminating cellulite.
Cellulite is a problem caused by a combination of unhealthy collagen and
elastin in the skin layers, combined with excess fat accumulation in the fat
cells in that area. (The health of the extracellular matrix likely also plays a
role.)
Red and near-infrared light therapy actually combat cellulite in three
ways:

1. By bolstering production of collagen and elastin (and supporting the

health of the extracellular matrix—the fibrous support structure
around cells).
2. By supporting blood circulation and blood vessel health in the area.
3. By causing fat cells to release their fat contents into the blood where
they may be burned off.

One study found that when red and near-infrared light therapy is
combined with massage, it led to an astounding 71% reduction in
cellulite ! 92

54
Another study that assessed the use of red and near-infrared light therapy
on skin health found that “91% of subjects reported improved skin
tone, and 82% reported enhanced smoothness of skin in the
treatment area .” 93
In fact, this is one of the only scientifically proven ways to reduce cellulite,
and likely, the single most powerful. (Note: Most creams and products sold
to reduce cellulite have little to no scientific evidence of effectiveness.)

Red/NIR light support collagen and elastin production, increased blood

vessel health and circulation, and potentially, also fat loss in the area—all
leading to enhanced skin smoothness and decreased cellulite.

55
Speed Up Wound Healing with Red and
Near-Infrared Light Therapy
Red and near-infrared light therapy are fantastic for wound healing. This
was one of the original findings of the NASA research that really put red
light therapy on the map. In fact, red and near-infrared light therapy has
been found to help close wounds—even those resistant to healing—20%
faster and with less scarring. Red and near-infrared light therapy has also
proven to reduce the appearance of facial scars. 94
It also increases circulation and the formation of new capillaries. Increased
circulation and the formation of new capillaries means the wounded area
receives more of the oxygen and nutrients it needs to initiate and maintain
the marvelous healing process. Red/infrared light accomplishes this in
several ways:

cleaning up dead and damaged skin cells (phagocytosis)

increasing ATP in skin cells, giving cells more energy to heal
themselves
increasing the production of fibroblasts 95 , 96
increasing blood flow, supplying the wound more oxygen and
nutrients needed for repair
stimulating the production of collagen and the health of the
extracellular matrix 97
stimulating lymph activity
stimulating the formation of new connective tissue and blood
capillaries on the surface of the wound. 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104

Combat Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue,

and Increase Energy Levels with Red and
Near-Infrared Light Therapy
Studies show that red light therapy is also effective at restoring energy and
vitality in persons suffering with fibromyalgia. Because red light is so
effective at reducing inflammation, it is proving effective at treating
fibromyalgia, which is partly caused by inflammation in the brain
stem/hypothalamus region. 105 , 106 This same effect would likely also
benefit chronic fatigue syndrome (which shares many of the same
symptoms as fibromyalgia), though it has not yet been studied.
Red and near-infrared light therapy is very effective for the treatment of
fibromyalgia, for virtually all of the most problematic symptoms that

56
accompany fibromyalgia .
Multiple studies have found that red and near-infrared light therapy
offers:

Enhanced quality of life for fibromyalgia patients

Decreased pain
Decreased muscle spasm
Decreased morning stiffness
Decreased total tender point number in fibromyalgia cases

Research—including a very recent 2017 study—suggests that this therapy

method is a safe and effective treatment for fibromyalgia. 107 , 108 , 109
Once you understand the pathways through which red/NIR light works its
magic on the human body, it actually makes good sense that red/NIR light
would benefit chronic fatigue conditions and increase energy levels. Much
research over the last 5 years suggests that mitochondrial
dysfunction, brain function, and inflammation are at the core of
chronic fatigue . 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 As explained throughout this book,
there are hundreds of studies now showing that red/NIR light therapy
has huge benefits to mitochondrial and brain function, and that
it powerfully decreases inflammation . So even though there are
only a few studies that have tested this directly thus far, based on a simple
understanding of the mechanisms at play and the science that is already
known, it is perfectly reasonable to think that red/NIR light has massive
potential for helping people struggling with chronic fatigue.
But it’s not just “potential!” I’ve already been using red/NIR light therapy
with members of The Energy Blueprint program (which is the system I’ve
developed to help people overcome fatigue) for over 3 years now, and I’ve
had hundreds of people tell me that red/NIR light therapy has been one of
the absolute biggest factors in their recovery from chronic fatigue. In short,
this stuff really works!

Fight Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism with

Red and Near-Infrared Light Therapy
Several studies have shown profound benefits of red and near-infrared
light therapy for autoimmune hypothyroidism. This is one of the only
treatments that has been shown to potentially reverse (or at least greatly
slow the progression of) autoimmune hypothyroidism.

A recent 2013 randomized, placebo-controlled study in hypothyroid

patients demonstrated that in people who got near-infrared light

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 therapy, thyroid function dramatically improved, and remarkably,
that thyroid antibody (TPOAb) levels were massively reduced.
Amazingly, 47% of patients were able to stop medication
completely! Moreover, the researchers also followed up 9 months
after treatment and found that the effects were still evident! 116 They
even published a 6-year follow-up, which basically said that even at
6 years, some of the benefits still remained, but periodic sessions
were recommended to maintain all benefits. 117 (To be honest, I don’t
suggest red/NIR light as a one-time treatment that is expected to
last long-term. For optimal benefits, most research indicates that
sessions be done with red/NIR therapy at least once a week
consistently.)
A 2010 study found that red light therapy helped 38% of study
participants reduce their hypothyroid medication dose, with a
whopping 17% being able to stop taking the medication
altogether ! 118
A 1997 study done in Russia included some data on people with
autoimmune hypothyroidism who underwent a thyroid surgery.
They found that red/NIR light therapy improved thyroid hormone
levels enough that they required, on average, roughly half as much
thyroid hormone medication. 119
A 2003 study done in the Ukraine showed that red light therapy can
decrease thyroid medication needs by 50-75% in people with
postsurgical hypothyroidism. 120
A 2010 Russian dissertation study gave red light therapy on the
thyroid gland to a group of people with hypothyroidism and found
that 17% of people could completely get off thyroid medication and
38% could decrease the dose by 25-50µg. 121
A 2014 study used the light therapy for 10 sessions with 347 women
with subclinical hypothyroidism. At baseline, the average TSH
(thyroid stimulating hormone) was 9.1 mIU/L. (Note: Higher TSH is
a sign of hypothyroidism). After ten sessions of light therapy, the
TSH was normalized in 337 (97%) of these women. Their TSH
averaged at 2.2 mIU/L after just 10 light treatments. 122

While more research is still needed, the existing research is very consistent
that red/NIR light therapy has profound beneficial effects on thyroid
function. It appears to improve thyroid hormone output, increase blood
vessel formation (and thus blood flow) in the thyroid gland, and decrease
the progression of the condition through beneficial changes in thyroid
gland health and immune system modulation .
I don’t want to sound hyperbolic, but these effects are astounding! You’d
be hard-pressed to find any other type of therapy in existence that shows

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anywhere close to this level of improvement in hypothyroidism.

Potentially Combat Cancer Growth with Red

and Near-Infrared Light Therapy—with
Caveats
Since red light tends to enhance energy production in whatever cells it’s
shined on, it was speculated many years ago that it might actually enhance
cancer growth.
For this reason, it’s probably not a good idea to use red light therapy
directly on cancerous tumors. (Though there is some research using it in
extremely large doses to actually damage tumor cells, 123 it is not worth
risking the possibility that exposure directly on the tumor could stimulate
growth.)
But, according to Michael Hamblin, PhD, using the light on other areas of
the body (not directly on the cancerous growth) will likely improve overall
outcomes in people with cancer. 124
For example, a 2004 phase 1 trial in patients with advanced neoplasia
demonstrated that red and near-infrared light therapy was safe for clinical
use and improved performance status and quality of life. Antitumor
activity was observed in 88.23% of patients and remained so in a 10-year
follow-up. 125
These early results from this 2004 trial, combined with a growing body of
research, demonstrate that red and near-infrared light therapy can exert
strong antitumor effects 126 , 127 , 128 and are consistent with experimental
and clinical reports from multiple studies that red and near-infrared light
therapy exerts anti-cancer and anti-tumor effects. 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 It may also
help decrease side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation.
Further studies are needed to confirm that red and near-infrared light

59
therapy is safe and effective for use in treating cancer patients. 133
WARNING: I do NOT recommend trying this sort of cancer treatment
with red/NIR lights at home—it should only be done under the guidance of
a physician who knows the proper dosing and administration of the
therapy. Again, let me emphasize that none of this is to be construed as
medical advice or as claims to treat or cure any medical condition. As
stated above, more research is still needed on this topic. Do not attempt to
self-diagnose or treat yourself for any medical condition. The above
paragraphs are meant only to educate about experimental research that’s
been done, not as advice for anyone to treat any condition. If you have any
medical condition, follow your doctor’s advice .

Increase Bone Healing with Red and Near-

Infrared Light Therapy
Studies on animals and humans have found that red and near-infrared
light therapy greatly aids in healing breaks, fractures, and bone defects. 134
ATP production is interrupted in broken bones, and cells begin to die from
lack of energy. Red and near-infrared light have been shown to:

Stimulate energy production in the bone cells 135

Increase bone growth factors 136
Enhance blood vessel formation and blood flow to the affected area
137

Modulate inflammation 138

Enhance the attachment and production of collagen and procollagen
and stimulates growth of bone cells—all of which accelerate the bone
repair process 139 , 140

Overall, bone irradiated with near-infrared wavelengths shows increased

bone formation and collagen deposition. 141 Red and near-infrared light
therapy is becoming very popular in all sports where breaks, sprains, and
fractures are frequent—from horse racing to football .

Combat Inflammation (and Potentially

Inflammation-Related Diseases) with Red
and Near-Infrared Light Therapy
Red and near-infrared light therapy is highly effective in treating chronic
inflammation. It suppresses inflammation and production of
inflammatory cytokines, and dramatically reduces inflammation

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throughout the body.
Since chronic inflammation is now being recognized as a major
contributor to most chronic diseases from heart disease, depression,
and cancer, to Alzheimer’s and chronic fatigue syndrome, this effect of red
light therapy on inflammation is a very big deal.
Many aging scientists now speak of “inflamm-aging” 142 —the concept that
the genes and pathways that control inflammation may very well be the
key drivers of aging and disease.
Red light has shown to decrease inflammation wherever mitochondria are
present—from the tissues to the joints and other specific organs of the
body. Recent studies are exploring the possibilities of using red light
therapy to treat autoimmune diseases which originate in inflammation,
such as lupus and multiple sclerosis. 143 Red and near-infrared light
therapy has been used with positive effects in autoimmune diseases such
as rheumatoid arthritis 144 and Sjogren’s syndrome. 145
Studies have even shown that red/NIR light therapy can have anti-
inflammatory effects on par with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs), 146 which are the anti-inflammatory drugs routinely prescribed
and typically, the over-the-counter drugs people buy when in pain. (It’s
important to mention that chronic use of these drugs comes with a big risk
of side effects).
In general, red and near-infrared light therapy powerfully downregulate
the body’s inflammatory pathways. This has profound implications for its
potential role in disease prevention and longevity.

Improve Eye Health with Red and Near-

Infrared Light Therapy
Research into the benefits of red and near-infrared light therapy for eye
health is very promising. Studies on animals show that red light therapy
can heal damage to eyes from excessive bright light in the retina. This kind
of damage is similar to the damage that occurs in age related macular
degeneration (AMD). 147
One human study in patients with AMD showed that red light therapy
improved vision, and that improvements were maintained for 3-36
months after treatment. It also appeared to improve edema, bleeding,
metamorphosia, scotoma and dyschromatopsia in some patients. 148
Note: The eyes are sensitive tissues, and as such, for any self-use of light
therapy, I suggest shorter sessions at an increased distance away from the
light. And as always, for any medical conditions, consult your physician

61
rather than attempting to self-treat .

Combat Depression and Anxiety with Red

and Near-Infrared Light Therapy
We know that bright light therapy and light boxes have shown great
promise in treating seasonal affective disorder and depression. What about
red light and near-infrared light therapy?
Although large randomized studies on using humans are still needed (two
major studies are currently in progress), early research regarding the use
of red and near-infrared light therapy for treating depression and anxiety
disorders is very promising.
In a recent review of all existing studies on red and near-infrared light
therapy and depression/anxiety disorders, researchers found that these
light therapies offer a “promising treatment” for major depressive
disorder, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and traumatic brain injury. 149
Several studies have indicated that people with depression have abnormal
blood flow in the frontal cortex of the brain. Since red/NIR light improve
blood flow and circulation to the brain, it is reasonable to believe that
could be part of the mechanism at play. 150 , 151
Note: For treating the brain, it is likely that near-infrared will be superior
to red light, as it penetrates more deeply. Specifically, research has shown
that it penetrates the skull better than red light. 152 We’ll talk more in detail
later for which scenarios it’s better to use red or near-infrared, depending
on what you are trying to do. But in this case, for any brain-related issues,
near-infrared is generally superior.
A 2009 study took 10 patients with a history of major depression
and anxiety (including PTSD and drug abuse) and gave them four weeks
of treatments to the forehead with red/NIR light. Remarkably, by the end
of the four-week study, 6 out of 10 patients experienced a remission of
their depression, and 7 out of 10 patients experienced a remission of their
anxiety.” 153
Though further research is needed, there have been 10 studies so far on the
use of red and near-infrared light therapy to treat depression and anxiety
related disorders with 9 of 10 studies yielding very positive results. 154 , 155 ,
156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161

Researcher Julio Rojas, MD, PhD has stated “The data supports that LLLT
to the head constitutes a promising neurotherapeutic tool to modulate
behavior in a non-invasive manner.” 162

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Improve Cognitive Performance with Red
and Near-Infrared Light Therapy
One aspect of human health that red and near-infrared light therapy
almost always improves, is cognitive performance. It not only improves the
metabolic pathways but also enhances the health of mitochondria in the
brain. Since the brain is incredibly rich in mitochondria, this is where
people often notice effects the most.
In studies, researchers have found that transcranial red and near-infrared
light therapy profoundly benefits the brain and cognitive performance. 163
Research has also shown that transcranial near-infrared stimulation has
been found to increase neurocognitive function in young healthy adults, 164
finding that it improved sustained attention and short-term memory
retrieval in young adults, and improved memory in older adults with
significant memory impairment at risk for cognitive decline. 16 5
Another study found red and near-infrared light therapy also increased
executive cognitive function in young healthy adults, providing hope that
further studies find that red and near-infrared light therapy may provide a
hopeful treatment in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, as well as
prevention. 166

Help Tendonitis with Red and Near-

Infrared Light Therapy
One of the most common uses for red and near-infrared therapy in clinics
is for injuries and tendonitis. Because red light stimulates collagen
production, speeds wound healing, and is highly anti-inflammatory, it has
been shown to bring great relief to people suffering from tendinopathy and
tendonitis. 167 , 168
A systematic review of the research concludes that red and near-infrared
light therapy has proven highly effective in treating tendon disorders in all
12 studies conducted. 169
Red light therapy exerts positive effects on tendon disorders by
modulating inflammation, improving energy production and increasing
growth of tendon cells, while stimulating collagen production—all of which
act to improve tendon healing processes. 170

Increase Fertility with Red and Near-

Infrared Light Therapy

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Some research suggests that red light therapy may be useful for fertility,
which is making quite an impact upon couples trying to conceive.
A growing number of studies have shown that red and near-infrared light
therapy may significantly boost pregnancy rates, even in women who have
been unsuccessful with other assisted reproduction treatments, such as in
vitro fertilization (IVF).
Red and near-infrared light therapy improves fertility, even in older
women, by boosting ATP production in eggs, profoundly improving their
viability.
It also improves follicular health, which are highly vulnerable to oxidative
stress. Two recent studies, one in Japan and one in Denmark, found that
red and near-infrared light therapy improved pregnancy rates where IVF
had previously failed, in Denmark, by 68%. 171
In Japan, red and near-infrared light therapy resulted in
pregnancy for 22.3% of severely infertile women with 50.1%
successful live births . 172
The testicles also have photoreceptors that respond to red light, and
research shows that red and near-infrared light therapy can greatly
enhance sperm motility and therefore, fertility. 173 , 174
In studies on human sperm, near-infrared light therapy at 830 nm
produced significant improvements in sperm motility. 175
Why does red and near-infrared light therapy enhance sperm motility
outside of the body? The tails of spermatozoa are comprised of a string of
mitochondria, therefore improving their mitochondria increases their
ability to “swim” upstream and enhances their viability.
Given that red light boosts mitochondrial function, it should be of little
surprise that it boosts ATP production of the mitochondria in the sperm
and testosterone producing cells of the testes as well, thus leading to
improved sexual function, and sperm viability .
So red/NIR light therapy can be a powerful tool for both men and women
trying to conceive.
One caveat for men: Never use any type of red light therapy that gets hot,
like red heat lamps, near your testicles, as that could damage fragile Leydig
cells. In fact, let me make three things very clear about applying light to
the testicles:

Avoid heating the testicles, heat damages sperm cells and negatively
impacts the Leydig cells.
Avoid blue light on the testes (blue light inhibits the production of

64
 ATP—thus decreasing, not promoting, mitochondrial health).
Avoid any infrared heat lamps and infrared bulbs on the testes—
these emit far too much heat to be used.
I recommend low dose red light therapy in general, as the testes may
be especially sensitive to overdoing sessions. Don’t overdo it—small
doses only.

Note: Some people in the red light business and biohacking communities
have made claims around the capacity of red light therapy to increase
testosterone levels. While I was initially excited about this, upon exploring
the research that was cited, I have concluded that the evidence is simply
not strong enough to support these claims. The claims are based mostly on
one study in rats, which wasn’t an impressive study—it only showed
elevations in testosterone briefly on one day, before returning to normal.
176
It also didn’t show testosterone elevation for the group using near-
infrared (only in the group using red light). The study did use very high
doses (far too high, in my opinion) and it’s possible that a more reasonable
dose could lead to benefits for testosterone levels. However, other studies
have failed to show similar benefits. 177 , 178 I remain open to the possibility
that red/NIR light may increase testosterone levels when used on the
testes, but the evidence for it as of this writing (2018) is insufficient. That
said, there is some intriguing research on the ability of sun exposure and
vitamin D to boost testosterone levels, and that seems a safer bet for now.
179 , 180

While the research on boosting testosterone is not strong, there

is an abundance of solid evidence for the ability of red/NIR light
therapy to improve fertility.

Improve Joint Health and Combat Arthritis

with Red and Near-Infrared Light Therapy
Studies have also shown that red and near-infrared light therapy can help
people with osteoarthritis (often called just “arthritis”). 181 , 182 , 183 It does
this through four primary mechanisms:

Decreasing pain 184

Modulating inflammation (decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokines)
and increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines) 185
Increasing circulation to the area 186
Stimulating wound healing and cellular repair mechanisms in the
damaged joint itself 187

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It’s worth noting that there have been some mixed reports in the data
about the effectiveness of red/NIR light therapy for osteoarthritis. Here’s
what Michael Hamblin, PhD wrote in his 2013 review of the scientific
literature on this subject :
“LLLT has been used clinically in osteoarthritis for many years but is
still considered controversial. Although a Cochrane review reported
mixed and conflicting results, a subsequent analysis conducted by
Bjordal and colleagues concluded that the Cochrane review conclusion
was neither robust nor valid. Further sensitivity analyses with inclusion
of valid non-included trials, performance of missing follow-up, and
subgroup analyses revealed consistent and highly significant
results in favor of active LLLT for osteoarthritis .” 188
In short, while some published studies apparently failed to find positive
results, a more detailed review of the research showed that red/NIR light
does in fact have powerful benefits for osteoarthritis. Given its capacity to
decrease inflammation, kill pain, and increase connective tissue growth,
this finding is exactly what we would expect.

Decrease Diabetes Symptoms with Red and

Near-Infrared Light Therapy
For diabetics, the most positive results gleaned from studies on the effects
of red and near-infrared light therapy for healing is healing foot ulcers.
Historically, these are harder to heal due to poor circulation and high
glucose levels, especially in the lower limbs. Studies in animals and
humans reveal that red light therapy restores diabetic patients’ normal
healing ability by exerting a stimulatory effect on the mitochondria with a
resulting increase in adenosine triphosphate (ATP). 189 , 190 , 191 , 192
Red light therapy also has had profound success in helping patients with
painful diabetic neuropathy. Studies have found that red and near-infrared
light therapy also helps to relieve pain and improve nerve function and
foot skin microcirculation in diabetic patients. 193 , 194 , 195 , 196

Improve Oral health with Red and Near-

Infrared Light Therapy
Red and near-infrared light therapy have proven to have numerous
benefits for oral health and research in this area is booming right now. So
far, studies indicate promising results for red and near-infrared light
therapy, which has been shown to:

Combat viral and bacterial infections of the mouth (tonsillitis,

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 herpes, cold sores) 197 , 198 , 199
Reduce mouth pain 200
Facilitate tooth growth/tooth movement and reduce pain for
individuals with corrective braces 201 , 202 , 203
Help diabetics with gum problems and periodontal disease 204 , 205 , 206
Reduce thrush (yeast in the mouth/candidiasis) 207 , 208
Improve tooth sensitivity 209 , 210
Fight gum disease and gingivitis 211 , 212 , 213

Hamblin et al. note that red/NIR light therapy can be used with a huge
variety of dental procedures to improve outcomes and speed healing. 21 4

Improve Respiratory Health with Red and

Near-Infrared Light Therapy
In studies, red and near-infrared light therapy has been shown to improve
the health of those who suffer from chronic respiratory diseases such as
asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis, and ILD, 215 , 216 , 217 , 218 as well as patients
suffering from chronic obstructive bronchitis. 219
Red light therapy has also proven to decrease lung inflammation in
rodents after exposure to toxins and common indoor air pollutants, such
as formaldehyde. 220

Improve Heart Health with Red and Near-

Infrared Light Therapy
So far there have only been animal studies on red light therapy’s benefits
for heart health and heart repair after cardiac events and surgery. In a
recent systematic review (2017) of the scientific literature, scientists found
that animal studies reveal consistently positive effects of red light therapy
by reducing infarct size (the size of the damaged area in heart attacks) up
to 76%, decreasing inflammation and scarring, and accelerating tissue
repair.
In heart tissue studies, red and near-infrared light therapy works through
multiple molecular pathways, including modulation of inflammatory
cytokines, signaling molecules, transcription factors, enzymes and
antioxidants. 221 Other studies have noted many other benefits to heart
function. 222 , 223 , 224 , 225 , 226 , 22 7

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Improve Liver Function with Red and Near-
Infrared Light Therapy
The study of red light therapy to enhance the health of the liver is still in its
infancy. So far, only animal studies have been done. However, in these
studies, red and near-infrared light therapy yields very positive results for
healing cirrhotic livers in rodents 228 as well as in surgical applications,
such as to enhance regeneration of the liver during liver transplants. 229

Increase Pancreas Health with Red and

Near-Infrared Light Therapy
So far, there have been very few studies done on this organ with red and
near-infrared light therapy. However, in human and animal studies
conducted so far, red and near-infrared light therapy has proven to
enhance islet cell function before transplantation, 230 and stimulate
regeneration of islets and ducts in experimental models of diabetes. 231

Decrease Pain with Red and Near-Infrared

Light Therapy
Red and near-infrared light therapy has been remarkably effective at
reducing joint pain in virtually all areas of the body.
There are a number of proposed mechanisms (that have some evidence to
support them) for exactly how red/NIR light works to combat pain:
changes in tissue opioid receptors, changes in substance P, and
interference with nerve transmission and pain sensation. 232 , 23 3
It’s worth noting that there are different types of pain that are caused by
different things. Red/NIR light therapy almost certainly does not work
equally well for all types of pain, regardless of location and cause of the
pain. For that reason, not all studies on various types of pain have shown
benefit. The most recent 2014 review of the scientific literature noted:
“Studies have demonstrated that LLLT may have positive effects on
symptomology associated with chronic pain; however this finding is not
universal. A meta-analysis utilizing 52 effect sizes from 22 articles on
LLLT and pain from Fulop et al. (2010) demonstrated an overall effect
size of 0.84. This would be classified as a large effect size and suggests a
strong inclination for the use of LLLT to reduce chronic pain.” 234
Here are several conditions where red/NIR light has proven effective:

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 Chronic neck pain 235 236
Knee pain 237
Fibromyalgia
Low back pain 238
Chronic pain in the elbow, wrist and fingers 239
Chronic joint disorders 240
Sacroiliac joint pain 241
Chronic tooth pain 242 , 243
Osteoarthritic pain 244
Tendinitis and myofascial pain 245

So while not every study has shown benefit for every type of pain
condition, the overwhelming bulk of evidence suggests that red/NIR light
can at least be moderately helpful for most types of pain.
In a recent systematic review, researchers concluded that red light therapy
has proven “beneficial for many individuals suffering from pain, regardless
of the condition that is causing it.” 246

Improve Immunity with Red and Near-

Infrared Light Therapy
In numerous studies, red/NIR light therapy has proven to benefit the
immune system.
In animal studies, red and near-infrared light therapy has a boosting effect
on the immune system of immune-deficient cancer-inoculated animals,
resulting in an increased lifespan. 247
In human studies, red and near-infrared light therapy also boosted the
immune systems and T cells of preoperative cancer patients without
increasing tumor size. 248 (Researchers have expressed hope that these
exciting results may mean a form of safe treatment for immunodeficiency
diseases in humans.)
In the context of wound healing, it has also been shown to have beneficial
effects, in part by modulating immune function. 249
One review of the scientific literature noted:
“Immune cells, in particular, appear to be strongly affected by LLLT.
Mast cells, which play a crucial role in the movement of leukocytes, are
of considerable importance in inflammation. Specific wavelengths of
light are able to trigger mast cell degranulation, which results in the

69
 release of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-a from the cells. …
Lymphocytes become activated and proliferate more rapidly, and
epithelial cells become more motile, allowing wound sites to close more
quickly. The ability of macrophages to act as phagocytes is also
enhanced under the application of LLLT.”
Another study found that red/NIR light therapy to the bone marrow could
increase the platelet count and help resolve low blood platelets caused by
chemotherapy or by an autoimmune disease. 250 , 251
It also appears to selectively modulate cell function in some types of
infected cells while not affecting healthy uninfected cells in the same way.
252

In vitro studies on human leukocytes have shown that near-infrared light

can increase activity of these immune cells. Given that we know red/NIR
light penetrates our blood vessels and irradiates our bloodstream, it is
reasonable to think may also happen internally. 253 , 254
A fascinating study in mice looked at shining red light on the thymus gland
(an important gland in the immune system) and on an area of a back leg.
They found that the mice who received the treatment on the thymus gland
area (in the center of the chest) had more profound changes in immune
cell function. 255 (They also noted that overdoing the dose could have
immunosuppressive effects, which is consistent with what is known in
every other context—you can overdo the dose. We’ll talk more about this in
a later section on the “biphasic dose response.”) Another remarkable and
more recent study from December 2017 looked at the potential for
red/NIR light to reverse “thymic involution.” What the heck is “thymic
involution,” you ask? As we get older, our thymus glands “involute”—they
basically shrivel up and become much less functional, which has a negative
impact on our immune function. This study suggests that red/NIR light
may be able to slow or even reverse this “thymic involution”—thus keeping
our thymus gland function and immune function in tact as we age. 256 The
researchers concluded “This perspective puts forward a hypothesis that
PBM [photobiomodulation] can alter thymic involution, improve immune
functioning in aged people and even extend lifespan.” 257
Another fascinating study looked at the influence of red light therapy on
people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia and found symptomatic
improvement in a large portion of people. They also found pronounced
improvement in immunological markers. 258
As discussed in the section on thyroid health, in people with Hashimoto’s
—a common autoimmune condition responsible for most hypothyroidism
—red/NIR light has proven to have remarkably beneficial effects on
immune function. 259 Another animal model of multiple sclerosis (another
autoimmune condition that degenerates the fatty sheath around nerves

70
that helps nerve conduction) showed that just two treatments done over a
span of 14 days led to significant improvement with less brain cell death
and slowed the progression of the disease. 260 Other animal studies have
found similar effects:
“Finally, histological analysis showed that LLLT blocked
neuroinflammation through a reduction of inflammatory cells in the
CNS, especially lymphocytes, as well as preventing demyelination in the
spinal cord after EAE induction. Together, our results suggest the use
of LLLT as a therapeutic application during autoimmune
neuroinflammatory responses, such as MS.” 26 1
As you can see, it doesn’t just appear to increase immune activity—but to
also beneficially modulate immune activity, regardless of whether one
currently has underactive or overactive (or otherwise imbalanced) immune
activity.
Overall, the body of research looking at immune function in different
conditions paints a more complex picture than simply that red/NIR light
either stimulates or inhibits immune function. While I’m sure we’ll find
exceptions to this rule as more studies are done, red/NIR light seems to be
an “immune nutrient” that supports optimal immune function in a wide
variety of different scenarios and health conditions. It seems to be able to
positively affect immune function in the right direction, potentially,
regardless of whether someone has low immune function during an
infection or has an overly active and imbalanced immune system due to
autoimmune disease.

Help Heal Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and

Spinal Cord Injury with Red and Near-
Infrared Light Therapy
Red light therapy is bringing recovery and enhanced cognition to those
suffering from traumatic brain injury. Patients who have suffered TBI
report improved cognition, better sleep, and enhanced recovery from the
traumatic experience of their accident. 262 , 263
In animal research, red and near-infrared light therapy has impressive
outcomes in recovery of animals after stroke. Scientists believe the
therapeutic effects stem largely from increased mitochondrial function (i.e.
increased ATP production) in brain cells irradiated with red and near-
infrared light therapy. 264 , 265 , 26 6
Spinal cord injuries cause severe damage to the central nervous system
with no effective known restorative therapies. However, red and near-
infrared light therapy has been found to accelerate regeneration of the

71
injured peripheral nerve and increase the axonal number and distance of
nerve axon regrowth, while significantly improving aspects of function
toward normal levels. Numerous studies indicate that red and near-
infrared light therapy is a promising treatment for spinal cord injury that
warrants full investigation. 267 , 268 , 269 , 270

Improve Stem Cell Therapy with Red and

Near-Infrared Light Therapy
There have been wonderful results in both human and animal studies
where infrared light has been used in conjunction with stem cell
implantation, and potentially in activating the body’s own stem cells. Bone
marrow stem cell transplantation depends upon the survival and
colonization of the new stem cells that have been transplanted. So far,
research has found that “ Red or near-infrared light from 600–1,000nm
(red and near-infrared) promotes cellular migration and prevents
apoptosis”—meaning, it helps promote cell growth and prevent cell death
in the newly transplanted cells. 271 Red light therapy also increases stem
cell growth and promotes cell proliferation without the creation of
excessive ROS (free radicals). 272 , 273
Researchers have also found that red and near-infrared light therapy can
help repair heart tissue after a heart attack. 274 In a recent study, Professors
Oron et. al. shined red laser lights onto the bone marrow cells of heart
attack patients and found that “After a low-level laser was ‘shined’ into a
person’s bone marrow -- an area rich in stem cells -- the stem cells took to
the blood stream, moving through the body and responding to the heart’s
signals of distress and harm. . . Once in the heart, the stem cells used their
healing qualities to reduce scarring and stimulate the growth of new
arteries, leading to a healthier blood flow.” 275 Studies like Oron’s are giving
scientists hope that red and near-infrared light therapy can be used to
make stem cell therapy easier and more effective in a wide range of
surgeries, and even aid in the repair of other organs, such as the liver and
kidneys. Overall, red and near-infrared light therapy has proven to speed
internal wound healing, cell regeneration, cell proliferation, promote
cellular migration and prevent development of ROS and apoptosis (cell
death). 276 , 277 , 278 , 279 , 280 , 281 , 282 , 283 , 284 , 285 , 286 , 287 , 288 It is very possible—
likely in fact—that part of the healing mechanisms at play is the activation
of stem cells.
Hopes are high for transplant patient, bone marrow recipients, and
patients recovering from organ failure and degeneration of all kinds.
Heidi Abrahamse assessed the potential of red light therapy combined
with stem cell therapy, noting that

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 “… by combining regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy and (red
light therapy), the numbers and patients [receiving transplants and
regenerative therapy] will increase, the applications will expand, and,
therefore, the quality of life of millions of people may be improved.
Regenerative medicine has the ability to transform the treatment of
human disease by introducing combined, innovative new therapies
such as stem cell and (red light therapy) that offer faster, complete
recovery and reduce the risks of donor organ transplantation
rejection through autologous grafts seem harder to believe than what
it is possible.” 28 9
Abrahamse adds that these new discoveries of red and near-infrared light
therapy’s powers to enhance transplant and regenerative surgery to the
point that “ Revitalizing or replacing worn-out or diseased body tissue and
organs in a ‘made to order’ fashion may well be in our near future.” 290

Fall Asleep Faster and Improve Sleep

Quality
There is some research suggesting that red/NIR light can impact
melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced primarily by the pineal gland
in the brain, and even most non-scientists are somewhat familiar with
melatonin for its role in promoting sleep. Interestingly, based on a few
studies done in China, red/NIR light seems to increase melatonin
produced by the body! Even more interestingly, it seems that this
increased melatonin production comes from other parts of the body other
than the pineal gland! The studies found increased melatonin in
blood circulation following red/NIR light exposure, and studies
have also found dramatic benefit to sleep in people with
insomnia. 291 , 292 , 293 (Note: The studies used intranasal light specifically,
but there is no logical reason to believe that light in the nose is necessary
for this effect—it is likely from irradiating the bloodstream or the skin, or
both.)
Here is a quick summary of the relevant research from Lew Lim, the
founder of VieLight:

The first documented use of a similar intranasal light therapy device

to directly observe melatonin level was conducted by Xu C et al in
2001. They treated 38 subjects that had insomnia with intranasal
low-level laser therapy once a day over 10 days. They found that
serum melatonin had increased.
The same group of researchers further treated another group of 128
patients with insomnia and found that the polysomnogram (sleep
study that includes data on brain waves as electrical activity) data

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 had improved.
In 2006, Wang F et al reported that they had treated 50 patients
with insomnia with intranasal low-level laser therapy that is of
similar specifications to Vielight’s laser device for 60 minutes per
session. Each session was conducted once a day over between 10 to
14 days. They found that the condition had improved
significantly in 41 (82%) of the cases, mild for 4 (8%) of the
cases, and none for 5 (10%) of the cases .
Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners often prescribe herbs as
remedy for insomnia. This seems to help somewhat. Chen YM et al
tested 90 patients and found that that the condition improved
significantly for 40% of the cases, mild for 37.5% and none for 22.5%
of the cases. In the group that added the extra element of the
intranasal low-level laser therapy, the improvement in the number
of positive results were significantly more impressive. 78% of the
patients experienced significant improvement, 20% mild
and 2% none . 294 , 295 , 296 , 297

More research is still needed on this topic. But I also want to mention that
I have experimented with this heavily with my Energy Blueprint program
members and the reports I get from people who try it line up perfectly with
the research—it just flat-out works, in a very noticeable and powerful way
for many people .
There is one more thing I want to add about melatonin…
Most people know melatonin as a sleep-inducing hormone. And it is
certainly that.
But most people have no idea that melatonin is imperative for
mitochondrial function, protects mitochondria from damage, and is vital
for mitochondrial regeneration while we sleep.
Evolutionary side note: It is interesting to think that maybe our bodies are
wired to benefit from sitting next to a fire for several hours each night, as
many of our ancestors did. Perhaps the red and near-infrared light emitted
from the fire actually benefits us at the cellular level, partly because of the
impact it can have on melatonin production and sleep enhancement. Some
researchers have suggested that many of the health benefits of red/NIR
light therapy may have to do with the effect on melatonin levels. 298 )
There are a number of impressive—and little known—studies showing how
vital it is for mitochondrial health that you produce adequate melatonin
each night. Melatonin benefits our mitochondria in numerous ways,
including:

Preventing free radical damage directly in the actual mitochondria

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 299 , 300
(which is quite unique to melatonin since virtually all other
“antioxidants” cannot do this).
Regulation of mitochondrial bioenergetic function and maintaining
respiratory complex activities, electron transport chain, and ATP
production in mitochondria. 301
Acting as a neuroprotectant in the brain, preventing the kind of
oxidative stress/nitrosative stress-induced mitochondrial
dysfunction seen in experimental models of Parkinson’s,
Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s disease. 302
Potentially slowing aging. 303

And remember, mitochondrial health is critical to not only our energy

levels, but poor mitochondrial health is also implicated in numerous
diseases and even aging itself. 304 So the fact that red/NIR light supports
melatonin production may have far-reaching benefits to us for increasing
energy levels (and preventing fatigue), slowing aging, and preventing
disease.

Improve Brain Health, and Slow

Progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Disease with Red and Near-Infrared Light
Therapy
Red and near-infrared light therapy is having a profound impact in
diseases and conditions of the nervous system of all kinds from traumatic
brain injury, to spinal cord injury, peripheral nerve injury, painful diabetic
neuropathy, and has potential to help reverse Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
disease, and may potentially contribute to delaying and/or halting them if
caught early enough. 305
Red and near-infrared light have been shown to: 306 , 307 , 308 , 309 , 310

Benefit cognitive performance and memory

Improved mitochondrial function of brain cells
Have a protective effect on neurons
Improve cellular repair of neurons
Increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve
growth factor (NGF)
Decrease brain inflammation (decreased pro-inflammatory
cytokines and increased anti-inflammatory cytokines)

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Recent studies have now found that red and near-infrared light therapy
may significantly slow the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
disease. 311 , 312
Although still in its infancy, scientists are hopeful that red and near-
infrared light therapy may offer a new way to halt or reverse Parkinson’s
and Alzheimer’s or halt progression of these conditions if caught early
enough. Alzheimer’s is, at least in part, caused by mitochondrial damage
or dysfunction, which reduces ATP production and contributes to neuronal
death. This process leads to an increase in toxic reactive oxygen species,
generating oxidative stress and subsequent neuronal death, as observed in
Alzheimer’s disease. 313 , 314 , 315 , 316
Although researchers are still unclear as to the exact way that near-
infrared-induces its neuroprotective effects, they believe it operates by:

1. Activating healing intracellular cascades that result in the survival of

target and surrounding cells.
2. Spurring neurogenesis (growth and birth of neurons in the brain)
through increases in BDNF, for example.
3. Triggering systemic protective mechanisms.

As researchers note,
“…with the bulk of results still at the pre-clinical ‘proof of concept’
stage, near-infrared therapy has the potential to develop in to a safe
and effective neuroprotective treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s
and Parkinson’s disease (and presumably other neurodegenerative
diseases such as multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). If
near-infrared was applied at early stages of the disease process, for
example at first diagnosis, it could potentially slow further progression
by protecting neurons from death. Consequently, over time, the greater
neuronal survival would lessen the clinical signs and symptoms.
Further, near-infrared therapy—because of its lack of side-effects and
neuroprotective potential—is amenable to use in conjunction with other
treatments.” 317

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In short, near-infrared light (because it penetrates the skull better than red
light), appears to be a promising therapy for neurological conditions and
improving brain health .

Enhance Muscle Gain, Strength, Endurance,

and Recovery with Red and Near-Infrared
Light Therapy
“Sports medicine will benefit from PBM [photobiomodulation] because
both professional and amateur athletes can better recover from
intense exercise, and the process also aids training regimens. In the
near future, sport agencies must deal with ‘laser doping’ by at least
openly discussing it because the aforementioned beneficial effects and
the pre-conditioning achieved by laser and LED irradiation will
highly improve athletic performance.” 318
—Michael Hamblin, PhD
Red/NIR light with exercise makes a potent combination. Not only does
red/NIR light help you recover faster, it seems to amplify everything that
happens with exercise—increased muscle gain, fat loss, performance,
strength, and endurance.
Studies show that both red and near-infrared light therapy can powerfully
repair muscle tissue and help people perform better. It also helps the body
get more benefits from exercise—both in terms of muscle gain and fat loss.
319 , 320 , 321

There is also research (albeit from animal studies) showing that red and
near-infrared light may help prevent muscle loss that occurs with aging. 322
, 323

Muscle tissue has more mitochondria than almost any other tissue or
organ in the human body. So muscle tissue is particularly responsive to red

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and near-infrared light therapy. The muscles are packed with
mitochondria, because ATP is needed for every muscle twitch
and movement, no matter how insignificant.
Through their effect on ATP production and cellular healing mechanisms,
red/NIR light help individuals to recover more quickly from strenuous and
resistance exercise, and even helps to prevent muscle fatigue during
exercise . 324
Studies provide evidence that red and near-infrared light therapy
powerfully help prevent muscle fatigue, enhance muscle strength and
endurance, increase fat loss responses from exercise, increase muscle
growth responses from exercise, and promote faster recovery. 325 , 326 , 327 , 328
, 329 , 330 , 331 , 332 , 333
Not too shabby for one simple treatment that takes only
a few minutes, right?
How does red and near-infrared light affect muscles—what is it actually
doing to cause these benefits? It works through several important
mechanisms in the body:

Red and near-infrared light help promote the production of internal

antioxidants by your cells, which prevents oxidative stress and
damage to the muscle tissue (when light is applied before exercise).
334 , 335

Red and near-infrared light help reduce inflammation that will lead
to cellular damage (and fatigue) in the muscle tissue as well. 336 , 337
Protect damaged muscles from secondary damage from further
exercise.
Pre-conditioning: By using the light prior to exercise, it creates a
“pre-conditioning” effect where the muscle cells suffer less damage
from the exercise, as well as display higher strength/stamina in
subsequent exercise following the initial bout of exercise.
Red and near-infrared light decrease lactic acid production by
muscles.
Red and near-infrared light improve mitochondrial function during
exercise.
Increases acetylcholine receptors on muscles (this is the
neurotransmitter released from nerve cells that stimulates muscle
contraction).
Red and near-infrared light increase the production of specific types
of heat shock proteins that protect cells from oxidative damage,
stress, and apoptosis (early cell death). 338
Red and near-infrared light also enhance muscle growth, as well as
increasing strength significantly. 339

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 Red and near-infrared light therapy promotes the development of
muscle stem cells, myosatellite cells, which develop into specific
varying types of muscles.
Red and near-infrared light also have the profound benefit of
increasing mitochondrial adaptations and mitochondrial biogenesis
(the creation of new mitochondria) following exercise. 340

To get into some of the research on this topic:

One study looked at the number of reps that 34 athletes were able to
perform on a leg extension weighted exercise as well as the amount
of lactic acid their muscles produced, in placebo treatment (sham
red/NIR light therapy) vs. 30, 60, or 90 seconds of real red/NIR
light therapy. After receiving 60 or 120 seconds of light therapy, the
number of reps the athletes were able to perform went up
by 27%. And in the group that received 120 seconds of light therapy,
their lactic acid levels were also significantly lower —
indicating less muscle strain while actually performing better. 341

This graph shows the improvement in number of reps performed

(blue) with 60 seconds of light therapy, and the improvement in
both reps performed and lactic acid levels (red) with 120 seconds of
light therapy prior to exercise.

Another study by Vieira et al. examined levels of fatigue in leg

muscles after endurance exercise and found that using light therapy
immediately following significantly reduced fatigue scores
relative to the control group. The researchers concluded “The results
suggest that an endurance training program combined with
LLLT leads to a greater reduction in fatigue than an

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endurance training program without LLLT . This is relevant
to everyone involved in sport and rehabilitation.” 342
Leal-Junior et al. performed a review of the relevant research in
2015 to examine the effects of phototherapy on exercise performance
and recovery. They compiled data from thirteen randomized control
trials and examined the number of repetitions and time until
exhaustion for muscle performance, as well as markers of exercise-
induced muscle damage. The researchers concluded that pre-
conditioning the muscles with red/NIR light (i.e. using the
light prior to exercise) improves muscular performance
and accelerates recovery . 343
Another study looked at use of LED red/NIR therapy lights in male
athletes who performed 3 intense bouts of exercise on a stationary
bike. The athletes who were given the LED light therapy
prior to the exercise had significantly lower levels of
creatine kinase (a marker for muscle damage) compared to
the sham light therapy (placebo) group. 344
A recent 2016 review of 16 studies by Nampo et al. 345 looked at
research using both laser and LED therapy on exercise capacity and
muscle performance of people undergoing exercise compared to
placebo/sham treatments. They found an average improvement
of 3.51 reps, a 4 second delay in time to exhaustion (i.e.
people were able to exercise longer before exhaustion),
increased peak strength, and a significant reduction in
lactic acid production .
A review of research by Borsa et al. found that studies consistently
show that red/NIR light done prior to weight training
improved performance and decreased muscle damage . 346
Another double-blind study (that means that neither the researchers
nor subjects know who is getting the real treatment and who is
getting the placebo) with 22 non-exercising people were subjected to
exercise on a treadmill until exhaustion. The group that received
the light therapy for 30 seconds before exercise had
significantly lower levels of creatine kinase and lactate
dehydrogenase (LDH)—both markers of muscle damage—
suggesting that the light therapy decreased the level of
muscle damage . 347
Another study compared red/NIR light therapy with LEDs to cold
water immersion (e.g. ice baths) as a recovery method after exercise
and found that red/NIR light improved recovery more than
ice baths . The researchers concluded: “We concluded that treating
the leg muscles with LEDT 5 min after the Wingate cycle test seemed
to inhibit the expected post-exercise increase in blood lactate levels
and CK activity. This suggests that LEDT has better potential than

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 5 min of CWIT [cold water immersion therapy] for improving short-
term post-exercise recovery.” 348 This is notable for another reason:
Ice baths have been found to accelerate recovery, but at the same
time, they have been shown to hinder some adaptations to exercise
such as muscle growth, whereas red/NIR light therapy accelerates
recovery while also amplifying (rather than hindering) adaptations
to exercise. So all in all, red/NIR light therapy would appear to be a
superior recovery method compared to the typical ice baths that
many athletes engage in.
A 2015 study by Baroni et al. 349 looked at 30 healthy males who were
randomized into 3 groups:

1. Control group—remained sedentary

2. Training group (TG)—did an 8-week exercise program
3. Training + light therapy (TLG)—did the same 8-week exercise
program plus also did a light treatment (total dose of 240J) using a
near-infrared light (810nm wavelength) before each training session.
What happened?
The training group improved strength by about an average of
14% while the group that included light therapy improved by
nearly 25%. 350
The training group improved muscle size of the quadriceps
muscles by about 10% while the group that included light
therapy nearly doubled that improvement! 351

As you can see, red and near-infrared light also have the ability to increase
your strength and endurance adaptations to exercise, decrease muscle
damage from your workouts, help you recover faster, and even increase
muscle gains .

Increase Fat Loss (And Burn Off Stubborn

Fat) with Red and Near-Infrared Light
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Therapy
How does red light therapy enhance weight loss, fat burning, and shrink
waist circumference? While there is still some debate among researchers
over the exact mechanisms involved, the research clearly shows that it
does work. 352 The most popular theory among researchers is by causing fat
cells to release stored fat into the blood stream, where it can then be
burned off during energy expenditure or via exercise.

Source: Pinar, A. et al. Low-Level Laser Therapy for Fat Layer

Reduction: A Comprehensive Review .
Research has shown that red and near-infrared light therapy has a
profound impact on reducing fat mass and fat tissue, and at eliminating
cellulite.
In studies, red and near-infrared light therapy have helped shave an
entire 3.5 to 5.17 inches off waist and hip circumference by
reducing the fat mass layer in just four weeks of use . 353 , 354
Red and near-infrared light therapy works to not only release the fat into
the blood, but does so without negatively affecting blood serum lipid
profiles. 355
In another study of 86 individuals using red light therapy at 635 nm for 20

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minutes every other day for two weeks, study participants lost
2.99 inches across all body parts—yes, 3 inches—in just 14 days
of red light therapy. 356
That said, I am not a strong advocate of trying to use red/NIR light
therapy alone to cause fat loss. Where I believe red/NIR light therapy
really shine (forgive the pun) is when combined with exercise.
Some research shows that near-infrared light therapy can
dramatically enhance—nearly double— fat loss from exercise, as
compared to people doing just the exercise routine without the
NIR light therapy. 357
In addition, the group using the NIR light therapy in tandem with
exercise saw nearly double the improvements in insulin
resistance! 358

The above graph shows the differences in reductions in body

weight, body fat, insulin levels, and insulin resistance (IR) from
either NIR light therapy (ET-PHOTO) vs. sham/placebo light
therapy (ET-SHAM). As you can see, exercising with NIR light
nearly doubled the loss of body fat and nearly doubled the
improvement in insulin resistance.
There is also some fascinating potential for use on “stubborn fat” areas and
even the mythical “spot reduction.”
For those not familiar with these terms “stubborn fat” and “spot
reduction,” I’ll summarize below…

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What is stubborn fat? And what is spot reduction?

Stubborn fat = Areas where we store body fat that’s hard to get rid
of, no matter what we do.
Spot reduction = The idea that you can burn off fat in a specific area
by doing exercise that targets that area .

So really everyone knows what spot reduction is. How could we not know
about the idea of stubborn fat and spot reduction?
For the last several decades, infomercials on TV have been selling us
various exercise gadgets that are meant to cause fat loss in the specific
area. “Use this ab cruncher and you’ll shed inches of fat off your waist and
stomach!” “This thigh blaster will take inches off your thighs!”
It is absurd how many billions of dollars have been spent by consumers in
the pursuit of spot reduction--mostly through various exercise devices
(like thigh masters, ab crunchers and butt blasters), wraps that cause
temporary water loss, and electrical stimulation devices that shock
muscles in a targeted area.
Walk into any gym around the world and you’re likely to find lots of men
trying to burn off unwanted abdominal fat with 30-minute long ab
workouts, and women doing all sorts inner and outer thigh exercises and
“butt-toning” aerobic classes. Most of us have some area of our body that
has a little excess flab, and most people think the solution to this problem
is to do exercises for that area.
We all tend to store fat in certain areas--men more in the belly/lower
back/love handles, and women more in the thighs and hips (generally
speaking)—so given that our body deposits fat in specific areas, it seems to
make sense to also pursue fat loss from those specific areas.
Indeed, we’ve been pursuing the goal of spot reduction for well over a
century. There were the vibrating belt machines of the early 1900s,
countless other machines that looked like they could double as torture
devices, and of course, corsets, which have been around forever (and seem
to be making a comeback). These devices that we’ve seen come out over
the last few decades are really nothing new. They’re just the latest gadgets
to be created in the century-long pursuit of spot reduction.
So what is the bottom line on spot reduction? Do any of these devices
really work?
The simple answer: No. Most of these are based on general public’s lack of
understanding that muscle and fat are two separate and distinct tissues,
and they confuse the “burning” one feels when working a muscle with the
“burning” of body fat from the layer of fat on top of that muscle.

84
Unfortunately, these are two distinct entities, and working a muscle in a
specific area does not have a significant relationship to how much fat is
burned off from the adjacent layer of fat. Yet, since most people don’t
understand that, they are gullible for products selling them on the idea
that working a muscle in a specific area will cause fat loss in that area. Or
to use the words of the people who manufacture these spot reduction
products, these devices will “tone,” “shape,” “trim,” and “sculpt” that area
of your body.
Interestingly, there have been some studies testing whether spot reduction
really exists:

A 1971 study conducted on tennis players also found evidence to

confirm this. Tennis players constitute a population whose right and
left arms have been consistently subjected to very different amounts
of exercise over several years. Consequently, if spot reduction were a
valid concept, one would expect the players’ dominant arms to have
thinner layers of subcutaneous fat compared to their non-dominant
arms. When the researchers measured the thickness of
subcutaneous fat at specific points along the players’ arms, however,
they found no statistically significant difference between right and
left arms. 359
A classic study that was performed back in 1984, looked at fat
biopsies taken from the abdominal area before and after a 27-day
period that had subjects progressively increase the number of sit-ups
they were doing. Subjects started with 140 sit-ups a day and by the
end of the study they were doing 336 sit-ups a day. The group
averaged 185 sit-ups a day while a control group did not exercise.
Following the study, the fat cells in the abdominal area were not
reduced. There were no significant changes in either fat-folds, girth,
or total fat content assessed by underwater weighing. Over 5000
sit-ups and zero fat loss off the stomach to show for it.
That’s pretty damning evidence to show that spot
reduction is not possible. 360
More recently, in a 2007 study led by the University of Connecticut,
104 participants completed a twelve-week supervised resistance-
training program in which their non-dominant arm was selectively
exercised. MRI assessments of subcutaneous fat before and after the
program revealed that fat loss was generalized across the entire
body, rather than only occurring in the exercised arm. 361
Even more recently in 2013, another even more impressive study
was published. Three times per week, for 12 weeks, the participants
were required to do about 1,000 repetitions of low resistance activity
on a leg press machine. Here’s the cool part: They only did the
exercise on one leg and left the other one unexercised. What was the

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 result? The participants lose 5.1% of their body fat on
average, but virtually none of that loss came from fat tissue
in the legs—there were no differences in fat mass on the
legs at the end of the 12 weeks of training compared to
when they started. Most importantly, there was no
difference between the leg that did all that exercise and the
leg that wasn’t exercised at all! Where did the fat loss come
from? It came from the upper extremities and torso. In short, if you
can do 1,000 repetitions of an exercise on one leg, three times per
week, for 12 weeks, and that doesn’t lead to any detectable difference
in fat on that leg relative to the leg that wasn’t exercised at all, then
that’s pretty clear evidence that chasing spot reduction through “ab
crunchers” and “thigh blasters” is a big waste of time and money.

So the science is clear: Exercising a muscle does not cause fat loss in the
adjacent fat tissue. You don’t lose fat off your stomach by doing crunches,
or lose fat off your thighs by using the thigh machines at the gym. And for
several decades, this is exactly what all respectable fitness professionals
have been preaching: Spot reduction is a myth!
Simply put, the scientific consensus about spot reduction
through muscle contractions is that it does not work.
There are a couple of reasons why this is the case:

1. There’s no direct link between the underlying muscle and the

overlying fat. So in order for working a muscle to cause fat next to it
to be burned off, that fat would have to connected to the muscle via
blood vessels. Yet, there is no such direct connection between
muscles and their adjacent fat area. This means that working a
muscle in a particular area, basically has no effect on the rate of fat
burning in the fatty tissue adjacent to it. Performing those exercises
may strengthen the muscle responsible for those movements, but
they have negligible impact on reducing the amount of fat stored
there.
2. Fat contained in fat cells exists in the form of triglycerides, and
muscle cells cannot directly use triglycerides for energy. The fat
must be broken down in glycerol and free fatty acids first, then enter
the bloodstream where they can be carried to the muscle cells for
burning. So there really is no reason for the muscle to preferentially
use fats from the fat cells adjacent to it—it is using up the fatty acids
in the bloodstream and doesn’t care whether those fatty acids were
released from the fatty area right next to it or from the other side of
the body.

The bottom line: Spot reduction via exercising a specific body area doesn’t

86
work. Working a particular muscle does not impact the amount of fat in
the fatty area adjacent to the muscle being worked. Whether you lose fat or
not comes down to overall energy balance. But you have no control over
where your body takes that fat from. Your body will lose fat from some
areas quicker than others, and there is nothing you can do about it. This
has pretty much been the consensus among highly-educated health
professionals for the last several decades and is what I personally taught
for a decade.
But it may not actually be correct…
It’s generally true that just working a particular muscle doesn’t burn off
the fat in the fat tissue adjacent to that muscle (i.e. thigh exercises don’t
selectively burn off thigh fat), but with an understanding of why stubborn
fat is actually stubborn, perhaps we can impact things after all .
Even though most fat loss experts shun the idea of targeting fat loss in
specific areas of the body, there are actually a few experts who have
suggested that it is possible through a slightly different approach that
revolves more around burning lots of calories (not just exercising the
muscle in a specific area, like the abs or thighs) combined with selectively
enhancing blood flow to certain fatty areas of the body.
For example, Dr. Lonnie Lowery (a bodybuilder) and Christian
Thibaudeau (a strength coach) have both developed spot reduction
protocols published on a website called T-Nation. And exercise
physiologist Lyle McDonald has written a book called The Stubborn Fat
Solution . That book presented a ton of new science-backed information
that shows the physiological reasons why some fatty areas are harder to
burn off than others--the areas that don’t seem to come off no matter how
much dieting and exercise you do, thus, “stubborn fat.” Some areas of the
body store fat easily and release it poorly. Other areas don’t get fat very
easily and those areas are the quickest to lean out. That is, in the context of
someone doing things right with their lifestyle such that they are losing
body fat, the body burns off body fat from some areas more so than other
areas. So what is going on physiologically to make this the case—why are
some areas so easy to put on fat and so difficult to get lean?
Those reasons are outlined by McDonald in the book, but here’s a
summary:

1. Poor blood flow to certain fat tissues. Certain fatty areas of the
body (mainly the stomach and low back areas of men, and the thighs
and hips on women) receive poorer blood flow than visceral fat (fat
in the center of the body around the organs). If there is little blood
flow to those fat cells, they are not able to dump their fats into the
blood to be burned for energy. How can you possibly lose fat if your
body’s fat cells aren’t able to dump their fatty acid contents into the

87
 blood where they have the potential to be burned? They can’t. When
there is low blood circulation to the fat cells, the potential for fat to
be burned from those cells is also low. Even when you’re in a state
where you’re burning lots of body fat (i.e. on a weight loss diet), very
little of the fat you’re burning will be coming from these areas that
have poor blood circulation.
2. Muscle cells become de-sensitized to insulin and fat stores
become hyper-insulin sensitive. This is the body’s way of
shuttling the calories you eat away from muscle cells (where they are
burned off) and towards fat cells (where they are stored as fat). The
above-mentioned gender-specific fatty areas also tend to be more
insulin sensitive and generally speaking, soak up nutrients from the
blood most efficiently.
3. Fat cells themselves become resistant to releasing fat due
to their receptors. There are two types of adrenoceptors
(receptors that respond to adrenaline) that control the flow of fatty
acids in and out of fat cells and the blood flow to the fat cells--beta
and alpha receptors. Beta receptors are the good guys who increase
fat burning and fat tissue blood flow. Alpha-2-receptors do just the
opposite—they inhibit fat burning and they inhibit fat tissue blood
flow. Stubborn fat areas have a high density of alpha-2 receptors and
low density of beta receptors. So not only is there poor blood flow to
these fatty areas (making it difficult for the cells to release any fats
into the blood to be burned), but also, the fat cells themselves are
incredibly resistant to releasing any fats into the little blood flow that
is present .

McDonald’s program to burn off this stubborn body fat is essentially that
you do a morning protocol before breakfast whereby you do some things to
boost adrenaline levels (high-intensity interval training, and taking
tyrosine), take some yohimbine to inhibit the alpha receptors on your fat
cells, and then do some light exercise. The idea is that this would boost
adrenaline and then also allow stubborn fat cells to release more of their
fats into the bloodstream, and then you would burn off some of these
stubborn fat areas. Many people have reported success using this method,
so it does appear to work. (Side note: I once tried it and the yohimbine
made me feel so anxious and jittery that I never wanted to do it again. It
was like 8 cups of coffee and what I can only imagine crack must feel like.)
Now, it’s important to realize, as McDonald himself points out, that this is
not true spot reduction. This is simply for people who are already doing a
calorie restricted diet and actively losing fat , but still have one area with
some fat that won’t come off. It is not spot reducing that specific area—you
are burning overall fat, but the only place left to burn it from is that
specific area. While oversimplifying the nuances, basically, the idea of this

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protocol is just to get more blood circulation to those stubborn fat areas
and pair that with exercise (burning off fat) with the hope that a large
portion of the energy you burn would come from fat in the stubborn fat
areas. With greater blood circulation in those stubborn fat areas, your
body will have the opportunity to release and burn more of the fatty acids
stored in those tissues.
Even though this is not really spot reduction per se, McDonald’s
examination of all the scientific literature on why certain fat tissues are so
hard to burn off was instrumental as a step towards figuring out how to get
rid of stubborn fat. The most important factors in this regard are how the
cellular receptor profile influences how easily the cell will give up its fats
into the bloodstream, and even more importantly, the blood flow to that
fatty area. Poor blood flow to an area combined with cells that are resistant
to giving up their fats makes fat loss from that area essentially impossible.
Science has now shown that blood flow to a particular area might be the
biggest factor of all that hinders fat loss from that area. Blood flow is
critical for fat extraction. Poor blood flow equals poor fat loss. Here’s a fun
test that you can do to put this in practical terms. Buy a forehead
thermometer and take the skin temperature of different parts of your
body. In particular, test the temperature of your hard to burn off fatty
areas. What do you notice? They are a lot colder than other areas of your
body. I myself have tested this extensively and found that generally, the
lower abs/love handles/lower back areas (typical areas where men tend to
store stubborn fat) have temperatures that are 1-2 full degrees Fahrenheit
lower than other areas of my body. Just prior to writing this, I told my wife
about it and she didn’t believe me. So she immediately grabbed our
thermometer to test it. Sure enough, if she measures in most places on her
body, she gets between 97-99 degrees F, but on her butt and thighs, it is
between 94.7-95.7 F. Again, that’s 2-3 full degrees F° lower than anywhere
else on her body. This is not a coincidence. Areas that are hard to burn fat
are primarily that way due to lack of blood flow to that region, therefore
they are significantly colder. Blood flow to the tissues is a huge factor.
As physiology expert Dr. Keith Frayne notes in Proceedings of the
Nutrition Society: “There is evidence that adipose tissue blood flow does
not increase sufficiently to allow delivery of all the fatty acids released into
the systemic circulation.” 362 In other words, fatty acids may indeed be
getting released from the cells in our hard to burn off fatty areas, but due
to poor circulation to those areas, most of those released fats don’t even
make it into the bloodstream where they have the potential to be burned.
So they end up just getting deposited right back into the fat cells they
originated from, essentially being locked off in that area.
If we can somehow cause a specific fatty area on our body to have all its
blood vessels dilated and be filled up with blood, and if we can

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preferentially stimulate the fat cells in that specific area to release their
glycerol and free fatty acids into the bloodstream, then we have the key to
targeting fat loss to specific fat areas on our body.
Now here’s the key thing to understand: Most people who have tried to
lose fat in a “stubborn fat” area have been trying to pursue the goal of
either enhancing localized fat burning or increased blood flow to a
particular region through muscle contractions in the muscle next to the fat
we want to burn off . As research (that I showed you above) has already
proven, relying on muscle contractions in a specific area to burn fat from
the layer of fat next to that muscle is basically a worthless approach.
But what if there were a truly effective way to get the fat cells in a
particular area to be perfused with blood and release their fats into the
blood? Something that no one talking about spot reduction has yet thought
of.
It turns out that red/near-infrared light affects both blood
circulation to the area it’s shined on, as well as stimulating the
release of fatty acids from fat tissue !
And there are numerous studies showing it contributes to fat loss:
Here’s a quote from one review of the scientific literature on the ability of
red/NIR light to help with fat loss:
“Within the past decade, LLLT has also emerged as a new modality for
noninvasive body contouring. Research has shown that LLLT is
effective in reducing overall body circumference measurements of
specifically treated regions, including the hips, waist, thighs, and upper
arms, with recent studies demonstrating the long-term effectiveness of
results. The treatment is painless, and there appears to be no adverse
events associated with LLLT. The mechanism of action of LLLT in body
contouring is believed to stem from photoactivation of cytochrome c
oxidase within hypertrophic adipocytes, which, in turn, affects
intracellular secondary cascades, resulting in the formation of
transitory pores within the adipocytes’ membrane. The secondary
cascades involved may include, but are not limited to, activation of
cytosolic lipase and nitric oxide. Newly formed pores release
intracellular lipids, which are further metabolized.” 363
To give you an idea of some of the research:

A group of 20 women riding stationary bicycles 3 times per week for

4 weeks while being exposed to NIR lost (on their waist, hips, and
thighs) an average of 8 centimeters or 444% more fat (specifically on
the waist, hips, and thighs) as compared to 20 women doing the
same exercise without NIR. 364

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 Studies on “laser liposuction” have also shown that red/NIR light
therapy alone can even have significant fat loss benefits. “LLLT
achieved safe and significant girth loss sustained with cumulative
treatments of 8 treatments over a 4-week period. The girth loss from
the waist gave clinically and statistically significant cosmetic
improvement.” 365 , 366

Given that red/NIR light stimulates both blood circulation and

the release of fatty acids from fat cells, it is reasonable to believe
that it may very well be the most effective tool out there for
getting rid of stubborn fat. While more research is needed to confirm
this, I actually developed a “stubborn fat protocol” around this several
years ago, and based on my experimentation over the last few years with
clients, I can say with a high degree of confidence that it works amazingly
well.
Here’s how to do my Stubborn Fat Protocol:

1. Start when you wake up in the morning in a fasted state.

2. Get your body (and especially the stubborn fat area) warm.
A hot shower or sauna is great. Then put on clothes to stay warm,
and maybe even use extra clothing on the stubborn fat areas.
3. Do some light warm up exercise (walking, resistance
bands, yoga, calisthenics, etc.).
4. Remove clothing from the stubborn fat area and do 3-7
minutes of red/NIR light exposure on the stubborn fat area
at 6” away from the light.
5. Do 5-10 minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
There are many variations of how to do this. But to keep it simple, do
fast-paced bodyweight exercises like squats, pushups, burpees,
jumps, jumping rope, running, or cycling. There various time
intervals for workout and rest periods, but a simple and effective
way to get started is to do 20-45 second bursts of high-intensity
effort with 10-30 seconds of rest between each interval.
6. Go for a long walk for 30-60 minutes. (During this period,
keep your body warm, especially the stubborn fat area to keep
optimal blood circulation in that area. You can even add a neoprene
wrap to the area to create extra heat and blood circulation.)
7. Ideally, wait at least 1 hour before eating.

Do this protocol in the mornings during a fat loss phase (i.e. a period when
you are actively on a weight loss regimen and losing fat) and you’ll notice
that you are slimming down in those stubborn fat areas more than you
ever have before!

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Now, this isn’t the only potential way that you can use red/NIR light
therapy to support fat loss. Some studies have shown that using the light in
tandem with exercise (before or after) on the muscles used during the
workout (as opposed to on fat areas) leads to increased overall fat loss.
Again, please note that red/NIR light therapy doesn’t actually burn off the
fat by itself. The mechanism appears to be that it causes the fat cells to
release their stored fat into the bloodstream where it can (potentially) be
burned for energy. One still must be in a calorie deficit to have actual fat
loss. Your overall diet and lifestyle must be conducive to overall net fat
loss, otherwise you will just put back the fat right back into the fat cells it
was released from. If you’re not actively doing nutrition and lifestyle
interventions to lose fat, please don’t think that the light therapy alone will
cause fat loss. Think of it more as a tool to amplify the fat loss effects from
diet and exercise, rather than a tool that generates fat loss by itself.
Nevertheless, this technology can be used to greatly accelerate loss of
overall body fat, and even “stubborn fat” from fat areas that normally are
resistant to being burned off—for men, this is the lower abdomen and love
handles, and for women, the hips and thighs most typically, or belly fat.
Overall, the research is clear that red/NIR light can be a powerful tool to
support your fat loss efforts.
So, with a red/NIR light therapy device of your own, you can potentially
achieve significant weight loss and fat reduction (and dramatic
improvements in insulin sensitivity) in the comfort of your own home.

Summarizing the Benefits of Red and Near-

Infrared Light Therapy
In summary, red and near-infrared light therapy are incredibly powerful
tools you can use to dramatically enhance your health. As I said at the
beginning of this book, if there were a drug that had scientific research
showing all these benefits, it would be an absolute blockbuster drug for
pharmaceutical companies—it would be hailed as a “miracle drug” and
prescribed to basically everyone.
Here’s the best part: That “drug” exists. It’s just not in the form
of a pill. It’s in the form of red and near-infrared light therapy!
From Adel Moussa, the author of SuppVersity, a popular fitness blog that
reviews scientific research:
“When I started this blog a few years ago, I was guilty of believing that
supplements would be the most relevant ergogenics [ performance
enhancers] for anyone who trains, myself. Today, 2,300 articles later,
this has changed: don’t get me wrong - supplements can be useful, but

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 diet, training and - at least in a few cases - even things like using light
emitting diode therapy (LEDT) or low-level laser therapy (LLLT), as it
is also called, are much higher on the ‘things that really work’-list.” 367
This is a remarkable quote. Basically, after reviewing thousands of studies
examining supplements, he concludes that, in general, red/NIR light
generally provides bigger effects than the vast majority of supplements.
This is also notable because there is so much focus and attention on
supplements, and so few people have heard of red/NIR light therapy.
Now that you can see how red and near-infrared light have the potential to
help combat skin aging, improve brain health, decrease pain and speed
healing, improve mental and physical performance, increase muscle
growth and/or fat loss, and many other benefits, you’re probably
wondering how you can get your hands on one of these devices.
You might also be thinking: “There are lots of red LED lights for sale on
Amazon and eBay that claim to have health benefits…so how do I know
which devices work best and which device I should get?”
There are indeed hundreds of different red and near-infrared light devices
for sale online—devices for the face, hair, tendons, and more.
Here’s the crucial piece of information you need to know: Virtually ALL
of these devices—even the ones that cost hundreds of dollars—
are grossly underpowered, too small, and ultimately, ineffective
or very time-consuming to use, or both .
To understand why, let’s talk about red light therapy dosing…
Don’t worry, there are several companies that offer high quality devices
and products, and I am going to break down my recommendations for you
in a later section.

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344 E. C. Leal Junior, R. A. Lopes-Martins, B. M. Baroni, T. De Marchi, R. P. Rossi, D. Grosselli
et al., “Comparison between single-diode low- level laser therapy (LLLT) and LED multi-diode
(cluster) therapy (LEDT) applications before high-intensity exercise,” Photomedicine and laser
surgery 27(4), 617–23 (2009).
345 Nampo FK, Cavalheri V, Dos Santos Soares F, de Paula Ramos S, Camargo EA. Low-level
phototherapy to improve exercise capacity and muscle performance: a systematic review and
meta-analysis. Lasers Med Sci. 2016; 31(9): 1957–1970. doi: 10.1007/s10103-016-1977-9.
346 P. A. Borsa, K. A. Larkin, and J. M. True, “Does phototherapy enhance skeletal muscle
contractile function and postexercise recovery? A systematic review,” Journal of athletic training
48(1), 57–67 (2013).
347 T. De Marchi, E. C. Leal Junior, C. Bortoli, S. S. Tomazoni, R. A. Lopes-Martins, and M.
Salvador, “Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in human progressive-intensity running: effects on
exercise performance, skeletal muscle status, and oxidative stress,” Lasers Med. Sci. 27(1), 231–
6 (2012).
348 Leal-Junior, E. et al. (2011). Comparison between cold water immersion therapy (CWIT)
and light emitting diode therapy (LEDT) in short-term skeletal muscle recovery after high-
intensity exercise in athletes—preliminary results. Lasers in Medical Science.
349 Baroni, BH. et al. (2015). Effect of low-level laser therapy on muscle adaptation to knee
extensor eccentric training.
350 Baroni, BH. et al. (2015). Effect of low-level laser therapy on muscle adaptation to knee
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351 Baroni, BH. et al. (2015). Effect of low-level laser therapy on muscle adaptation to knee
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352 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
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353 Jackson, R.F., et al. (2009). Low-level laser therapy as a non-invasive approach for body
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354 Jackson, R.F., et al. (2012). Application of low-level laser therapy for noninvasive body
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355 Pinar, A. et al. (2013). Low-Level Laser Therapy for Fat Layer Reduction: A Comprehensive
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356 McRae, E. et al. (2013). Independent evaluation of low-level laser therapy at 635 nm for
non-invasive body contouring of the waist, hips, and thighs. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
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364 Ger Med Sci. 2006 Jul 11;4:Doc05. Influence of water-filtered infrared-A (wIRA) on
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R, Drobnik W, Schmitz G.
365 Obes Surg. 2011 Jun; 21(6): 722-9. doi: 10.1007/s11695-010-0126-y. Efficacy of low-level
laser therapy for body contouring and spot fat reduction. Caruso-Davis MK, Guillot TS,
Podichetty VK, Mashtalir N, Dhurandhar NV, Dubuisson O, Yu Y, Greenway FL.
366 Jackson et al: Low-level laser therapy as a non-invasive approach for body contouring: a
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Stamina and More Recent LLLT / LEDT Data

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 Guide to Red Light Therapy Dosing
Before we discuss all the factors that go into device selection and how to
get the ideal dose of light, let me preface this next section by saying that if
you don’t care to understand all the technical aspects of this,
that is perfectly fine. You don’t need to understand all of the
factors that go into light selection, power density, joules, the
nuances of the mathematical calculations and so on. If you just
want the practical how-to guidance, you can skip to the
summary “Key Points for Dosing.”
I will just add that you do need to pay attention to my warnings not to
overdo treatments. While red/NIR light therapy is very safe, thinking that
“more is better” and then overdoing treatments will actually decrease the
effectiveness. So make sure you understand and adhere to the general
guidelines for dosing.
Also, please note that dosing in red/NIR light therapy is a tricky and
complex issue because of the wide variety of different types of devices
(laser units vs. LED panels vs. other devices), a wide range of different
doses used in various studies, the overall body surface area treated, the
types of treatment (e.g. general light on an area vs. light on acupuncture
points), the goals (e.g. performance enhancement vs. fat loss vs. skin anti-
aging), and the specific body tissues you’re trying to affect (e.g. the skin
requirement is very different than that of deep tissue, and something like
the brain, which sits behind the skull, may require much larger doses to
deliver a significant amount of light).
Due to these complexities, different people sometimes have different views
on the subject of ideal dosing. For example, I have talked to some people
who recommend only very low doses, with lasers. Others who advise
against lasers. Others who advise much larger doses than what I
recommend here, and who think that it’s basically impossible to overdose
on red/NIR light therapy. So there are a number of people in this field who
don’t agree with each other on finer details. With all of that in mind, I am
going to do my best here is to accurately represent the overall body of
research and what I perceive to be general consensus of the world’s most
respected experts on red/NIR light therapy.
The dosing guidelines here are generally intended for use with LED panel-
style light devices. (I’m assuming most people don’t want to spend $2,500-
$30,000 on a laser device, and want to be able to do red/NIR light therapy
for less than $1,000 or $500, so I’m focusing on how to do treatments with
LED panel light devices rather than lasers.)
Now, let’s get into a detailed discussion of applying what we’ve learned.

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If you want an effective light therapy session, you must have an effective
dose. That requires:

A light that is relatively powerful (i.e. has an ideal “power density”)

Ideally, a light that can treat a large area of the body at once
An understanding of the optimal duration of time using the light to
get the right total dose

Too little of a dose and you get minimal to no effects. Too strong of a dose
and you get minimal to no effects.
Let’s talk about power density of the light first.
As mentioned previously, most studies showing benefits of red/NIR light
therapy used light outputs of 20-200mW/cm2 .
This is basically a measurement of power density—how much power the
light is emitting (in watts) over how big of an area.
To put that in different terms, if you shine the light on your torso (let’s say,
for the sake of ease of calculation, that it’s an area of 50cm x 40cm, which
equals 2,000cm2 ) and the light you’re using is 200 watts (which is
200,000mW), then you have 200,000mW/2,000cm2 = 100mW/cm2

That’s a great power density.

But, beyond this simple calculation, there are a few nuances here that
make this considerably more complex:

1. Distance from the light. It’s also important to be aware that this
measure of power density decreases dramatically by
moving further from the light source . So you’ll get the highest
doses by being within a few inches of the light. Moving further away
than about 3 feet from the light (as a general rule) and you’ll get little
to no effect on anything below the surface of the skin. (And that’s
using a powerful light. Many lights won’t provide effective doses
beyond just 12” away.) Essentially, moving closer to the light
increases the potency of the light dose, and moving further away
dramatically decreases the dose. However, closer is not universally
better—I generally advise staying at least 6 inches away to minimize

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 exposure to EMFs (electromagnetic fields), just to err on the side of
caution. This applies to all electronic devices, from TVs to dish
washers to blenders. So the sweet spot is generally between 6 - 36
inches, and we’ll talk more later about when to go closer and when to
move further away depending on your goals. But again, the point
here is to understand that distance from the light dramatically
affects the dose your cells receive.
2. Wavelengths of the light. Certain devices emit all the light
output/wattage in the effective therapeutic wavelengths, and others
emit only part of their total wattage in therapeutic wavelengths.
Therefore, they may have 20-60% of their total wattage at non-
therapeutic or non-optimal wavelengths. This also factors into the
dose. When this is the case, it makes calculations quite complex.
3. Claimed wattage vs. actual wattage. The claimed wattage of a
light differs from the actual power output of the light. This is a critical
difference One thing is the claimed wattage that the light device is
rated for, and another thing is the actual intensity of the light
emitted. Generally, lights emit a power density about 25-
50% lower than the claimed wattage would suggest. So the
truth is that even with the calculation above, it’s really just a theory .
You don’t know the true light intensity output of the light you get
until you actually measure it. You have to rely on actual
measurements using a PAR meter, rather than calculated
measurements based on theoretical wattages. Don’t worry—I’ve
already done all this for you, so you don’t have to worry about it. But
again, be aware that the actual light output of many devices
may be a whopping 50% lower than what the companies
are claiming! (If you’re interested in learning more about
this point, Platinum Grow Lights has videos on their
website where they compare actual light emission from
various lights that are all rated at the same wattage. They
even show in the video how massively the actual light
output can differ from the claimed power.)
4. Size of the device/treatment area. One other nuance that’s
important to note here is that even if a device is technically powerful
enough to create beneficial effects, it may still be too small. In other
words, one can have a device that has a power density of let’s say
100mW/cm2 , but it may be a device with only a few inches
circumference and thus, only emits light over a small area of your
body. If you’re trying to treat large areas of your body, this makes
things extremely inefficient and time-consuming.

Overall, the device needs to emit light above a certain power density (light
intensity), needs to be at the right wavelengths, be at the proper distance
away from your body, and ideally, needs to be physically large enough to

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emit light over a large portion of your body .
But for simplicity, let’s leave all these nuances of the calculations out of it.
The next part of the equation is how long should you apply the light. The
dose (duration of exposure) is calculated by:
Dose = Power Density x Time
So all we are doing is taking that number we already have (mW/cm2 ) and
then the “dose” can be calculated once you know how long you should
apply that light for. (If this sounds complex, don’t worry, because it’s
actually VERY simple if you get the lights I recommend). Here’s the
equation you need to calculate the dose:
mW/cm 2 x time (in seconds) x 0.001 = J/cm 2
Here’s the critical piece of information you need to know: The dose you
want to shoot for is between 3J/cm2—50J/cm2.
(Note: Depending on whether you’re treating superficial areas like the skin
or surface wounds or deeper tissues like muscles/organs, etc., you want
different doses. We’ll talk more about the specifics of those treatment goals
in a later section of this book.)
Here are some sample calculations to show you how this works:

25mW/cm² applied for 40 seconds gives 1J/cm²

50mW/cm² applied for 20 seconds gives 1J/cm²
75mW/cm² applied for 15 seconds gives 1J/cm²
100mW/cm² applied for 10 seconds gives 1J/cm²

What that means is that if you have a device with a power output of
100mW/cm2 (at the distance you are using it), then you want your
treatment time to be between 30 seconds-7 minutes on a given area of
your body (that will equate to roughly 3-50J/cm2 ).
If you have a device that has 50mW/cm2 (at the distance you are using it),
your treatment time would be 1-14 minutes on each area.
That’s a pretty wide range of times, so let me simplify this.
If you get either of the two top lights I recommend, they emit roughly
90mW/cm² at a distance of 6” away from the light, about 55-65mW/cm²
at a distance of about 12 inches away from the light, 35-45mW/cm² at 18
inches away, and 25-30mW/cm² at 24” away.
If you’re a more visual person, this will help get what I’m saying here:

Irradiance at 6” Irradiance at 12” Irradiance at 18” Irradiance at 24”

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 85-95mW/cm2 55-65mW/cm2 35-45mW/cm2 25-30mW/cm2

Now you might be wondering, “Okay, so how do I know whether to use it

for 1 minute or 10 minutes? And how do I know whether to use it from 6”
away or 24” away?”
Good questions!
For skin issues (e.g. anti-aging benefits) and other more superficial (near
to the surface) body issues, there are a few things to note. We want a
relatively low overall dose on each area of skin, of roughly 3-15J.
Also, there is some indication that lower power densities (below
50mW/cm2 ) may actually be more optimal for treating the skin than very
higher power densities. This may cause you to think that low power lights
are okay, but high-power lights still have a huge advantage because they
allow you to move the light further away ( note: light spreads out and
covers a larger area the further you are away from it) and thus treat a
much larger area of your body at once with the optimal light intensity and
dose. Smaller lights are much more inefficient and time-consuming, and
limited in what they can be used for. (More on this later!)
In contrast, for treating deep tissues, you want bigger doses and higher
power density (light intensity) for optimal effects. You want doses of 10-
60J. So in general, you’d want to have the light much closer to your body
with a much higher light intensity. That’s what’s needed to deliver optimal
doses of light deep into your tissues.
To sum up: With skin/surface treatments, you want to be further away
from the light (which lowers the light intensity and covers a broader area
of your body) for an overall lower dose. With deeper tissues, you want to
be closer to the light (which increases the light intensity) for an overall
higher dose.
To make this very specific and practical, here are some simple guidelines:

FOR SKIN ISSUES: Assuming you have one of the lights I

recommend, for skin issues (e.g. anti-aging benefits) and other more
superficial (near to the surface) body issues, here are my basic usage
suggestions:
Somewhere between 1-4 minutes from 12” away. (Note: For
skin issues, I recommend going 12” or more away from the
device, whereas with deeper tissues, you want to be closer and
have higher power density to reach deeper into the tissues.)
Or 1.5-5 minutes from 18” away.
Or 2-8 minutes from 24” away.

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 FOR DEEP TISSUES: For deeper issues in muscles, tendons,
ligaments, bones, glands, the brain, organs, etc., you want much
higher doses more in the neighborhood of 10-60J. In general, this
means that you want higher power devices and you want to be 6-12”
from the device (as opposed to further away as with treating the
skin) to get optimal doses of light to those deep tissues. The deeper
the tissue you’re trying to treat, the closer to your body you want the
light to be (i.e. 6” is ideal) and the higher the overall dose you want
to do, so that you deliver adequate therapeutic doses to the deeper
tissues. Also, for use on the brain, this may require higher doses (or
doses on the higher end of the spectrum shared here) because it
takes a relatively higher dose for enough light to penetrate through
the skull and be delivered to the brain. Here are my general
suggestions for treating deep tissues below the skin:
Using the light from 6” away for between 2-7 minutes per area
is the ideal dose range.
Or 5-10 minutes per area from 12” away. (For treating deep
tissues, I don’t recommend going further away than 12” away
from your body.)

If you get the lights I recommend, that’s really all you need to know.
If you choose a different device than one I recommend, you’ll have to do
the calculations yourself using the above equations. And now that you
know how to do all this math, you can certainly do these calculations for
yourself. The only tricky part is that actual wattage is often much lower
than claimed wattage for many lights, so if your calculations are based on
the claimed wattage instead of actual measurements using a PAR meter,
your calculations will likely be off by a fairly wide margin.
Reminder: More is not necessarily better ! As you’ll see below, there
is something called a “biphasic dose response” whereby doing too much
can actually result in a lesser benefit rather than more. So don’t assume
that “if a little is good, a lot must be better.” All you’re doing is
decreasing the benefit by doing more than the recommended
doses . Let me repeat that for emphasis: Doing larger doses than what I
recommend will render less of an effect, not more.
For those of you with health struggles, if you are very ill or your health is
severely compromised, be aware that you in such state you’re more fragile
and will not be able to tolerate as much of the light. A healthy young
person may overdo the light and not really notice anything, but an ill
person will notice that they feel fatigued if they overdo it. And as an ill
person is much less tolerant, their body may have a lower threshold for
overdoing it compared to the younger, healthier person. So for anyone who
is in very poor health (especially those who are easily overwhelmed by any

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type of stress or physical activity), it is very important to start with very
low doses (i.e. at the bottom of my recommendations, or even lower), to
make sure that your body can tolerate it. Then slowly increase the dose
over the subsequent days and weeks to find the appropriate dose for you
within the range outlined above .

Can You Overdose on Red/NIR Light

Therapy? (The Biphasic Dose Response)
As I mentioned, there is something called the biphasic dose response. But
what does that mean?
That means that too little red/NIR light therapy won’t provide much, if
any, benefit, and too much will also negate the benefit.
In other words, it’s important to get the dose right and to be in the range
I’m recommending. You aren’t doing yourself any favors by dosing higher
than my guidelines suggest.
The principle of the biphasic dose response is often explained as the
Arndt-Schulz law, which dates back to the end of the nineteenth century,
when H. Schulz analyzed the activity of various kinds of poisons like
bromine, iodine, mercury, arsenic, etc. on yeast, where he showed that in
very low doses, all of these poisons actually had a slightly stimulatory
effect on the yeast metabolism. With the help of psychiatrist R. Arndt, they
developed the concept (that later became the Arndt-Schulz law) which
states that weak stimuli slightly increase metabolic activity, stronger
stimuli increase it even more until a peak is reached, and from there,
increasing the dose further suppresses the effect until a negative/harmful
effect is eventually reached. Later, this concept became known as
“hormesis” (which I discussed earlier.) The term “biphasic dose response”
is also used.
In the context of light therapy, Hamblin et al. describe it this way:
“Simply put, it suggests that if insufficient energy is applied, there will
be no response (because the minimum threshold has not been met),
and if more energy is applied, then a threshold is crossed and
biostimulation is achieved. However, when too much energy is applied,
then the stimulation disappears and is replaced by bioinhibition.” 368
In fact, Hamblin believes that in instances where studies don’t find
significantly positive effects, it’s almost always because they did too large
of a dose .
One other important aspect here is that it’s much easier to do too large of
doses on surface issues (like the skin) than it is for deeper tissues. The

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optimal doses for the skin can be reached within seconds or a few minutes
with many devices, and it is very easy for people to use devices for two or
three times longer than is ideal—often times, with people thinking that
doing more will lead to better results—and they actually negate the
benefits in the process.
Although this idea might sound odd at first, there are many common
examples where we know this occurs. One example is physical exercise. In
small or moderate doses, it is clearly linked with countless health benefits.
But we also know that people who over-exercise can actually cause
themselves a great deal of harm. It’s not uncommon to hear of
ultramarathon runners dropping dead from heart attacks, or developing
calcification of arteries in the heart, or of female athletes over-exercising
themselves into losing their menstrual cycle and fertility (hypothalamic
amenorrhea). And of course, anyone who has overdone it with exercise
knows that fatigue is a common side effect. In athletes, there is
“overtraining syndrome” which is associated with stalled progress, fatigue,
depression, headaches, insomnia, weakened immune function, and many
other symptoms.
In short, exercise is an incredible and powerful medicine for us. But only
when done in the right amounts. Too much, and you may negate the
benefits. And if you really overdo it in an extreme way, it actually damages
your cells.
Many other things are like this too—sun exposure is associated with
numerous health benefits, but if you do too much, you can get severe
sunburns, accelerated aging, skin damage, and potentially skin cancer.
Red and near-infrared light are the same way. You must use them in the
right dose to get the benefits. Too much and you negate the benefit.
Fortunately, red and near-infrared light are safer and have less potential
for harm (when you overdo it) than either sunlight or physical exercise.
Therefore, it’s extremely safe! I even know some people who have used red
light therapy for decades and believe that it’s very hard to realistically
overdo it in a way that negates the benefits. Generally, if you overdo it
slightly, you won’t likely notice any negative effects whatsoever. And many
people won’t even notice negative effects if they overdo it by a lot. But if
you massively overdo the dose, it’s common to feel some fatigue or get a
slight headache. That’s typically as bad as gets for most people. Someone
with severe health issues who is more fragile may notice very significant
fatigue for a day or two following overdosing it with the red/NIR light
(much as they would if they overdid exercise). Basically, there is very
limited potential for side effects with overdosing, particularly when
compared with exercise or sun exposure.
So if you feel a little fatigued after using it, that’s usually just a sign that

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you overdid the dose a little. Lower the dose, and the problem is solved.
Just think about this: If you got really sore and fatigued after doing an
intense workout, would you conclude “exercise is terrible for you—it just
makes you inflamed and fatigued… I quit!”? Or would you think along
these lines: “I know that there are thousands of studies showing that
exercise is highly beneficial to health, but I’m really tired and inflamed
from this last workout, so I better back off the intensity/duration of the
workouts and do a dose that is more appropriate for my body and my
fitness level.”
Hopefully the latter.
Key point: Red/NIR light is exactly the same principle.
Since this phenomenon is well-known, and we know that it applies to red
and near-infrared light therapy, what causes it?
It’s not completely understood, but there are several theories:

Excessive Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). All hormetic

stressors produce some ROS or “free radical species.” These ROS are
vital for building up the internal anti-oxidant defense system (the
A.R.E. or Antioxidant Response Element) and are vital for your body
to gain the benefits of things like exercise or light therapy. But, they
still produce free radicals that oxidize, and if they are produced in
too large amounts that overwhelm the body’s capacity to quench
those free radicals, cell damage can occur. Also, some people may
have a very weak internal antioxidant defense system that is easily
overwhelmed by even small amounts of hormetic stressors like light
therapy or physical exercise. In this case, the exercise or light
therapy doesn’t create a small stimulus that the body adapts to
successfully—the body is overwhelmed by it and cannot deal with the
stressor, and thus, cell damage occurs.
Excessive Nitric Oxide (NO). Another potential mechanism is
excessive NO release. NO serves many vital roles in the body, and
can either be protective or harmful, depending on the amount and
the place it’s located in the body. It’s a double-edged sword. One
function for example, is dilation of blood vessels. Another function is
its role in the immune response to kill certain kinds of microbes that
can cause infections. The right balance in the right locations is key
with NO. Since it is known that red and near-infrared light affect NO
release, it is possible that overdosing on red/NIR light may
imbalance NO or release too much. Very high amounts of NO can
lead to the formation of a highly toxic free radical called
peroxynitrite, which can cause cell damage.
Activation of a cytotoxic pathway. The third theory is that while
low doses stimulate cells with a low dose stressor that the cells can

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 adapt to, very high doses may activate an additional pathway that
triggers apoptosis (programmed cell death). This is not
unreasonable, because over-exercising can also cause severe cell
damage and trigger apoptosis. 369 Hamblin et al. describe this
possibility in their textbook: “high-dose LLLT was found to induce
apoptosis via a mitochondrial caspase-3 pathway, and cytochrome c
release was attributed to the opening of the mitochondrial
permeability transition pore caused by high-level intracellular ROS
generation.” 370

It is also possible (perhaps even highly likely) that these three pathways
are intertwined and it’s all three, rather than just one of them. But the
basic idea is that much like overdoing physical activity, you can get
symptoms like fatigue and headaches if you overdo red/NIR light therapy.
Hamblin et al. summarize the biphasic dose response by saying:
“LLLT delivered at low doses tends to work better than the same
wavelength delivered at high levels, which illustrates the basic concept
of biphasic dose response or hormesis. In general, fluences of red or
near-infrared as low as 3 or 5 J/cm2 will be beneficial in vivo, but a
large dose, e.g., 50 or 100 J/cm2 will lose the beneficial effect and may
even become detrimental… These advances [in our understanding of
the biphasic dose response] will lead to greater acceptance of LLLT in
mainstream medicine and may lead to LLLT being used for serious
diseases such as stroke, heart attack, and degenerative brain diseases.
Nevertheless, the concept of biphasic dose response or LLLT hormesis
(low levels of light are good for you, whereas high levels are bad for
you) will remain.” 371
There are a number of studies that have shown that by overdoing the dose,
you negate the benefits. If anything, the research indicates that smaller,
more conservative doses are superior to very large doses.
Below are two illustrations meant to give you an idea of the optimal dosing
parameters for surface tissues and deep tissues. (Note: These images are
not exact, because actual responses differ somewhat depending on the
exact tissues treated and the type of device and other parameters used—
these images are intended to illustrate the general concept of the biphasic
dose response and give an idea of the general range of optimal doses. )
Here is an illustration of the general optimal dose range for skin
treatments (or tissues near to the surface of the body):

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Here is an illustration of the general optimal dose range for deeper tissues
beneath the skin:

Please know that it’s perfectly fine, and may even be better, to stick with
the lower end of my recommended ranges of doses than to try to push into
the upper limits of dose ranges.
I know there is a tendency in human psychology to want to do more and
think that higher amounts of something will be better—i.e. “if a little is
good, a lot must be better.”
So let me repeat one more time for emphasis: With red/NIR light
treatment, more DOES NOT equal better.
Stick with the recommended dose range, start with the lowest end of the
range, and don’t be in a rush to do a lot more. The benefits may be most
optimal in the lower to mid-range of the recommended dosage.

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How Often You Should Do Red and Near-
Infrared Light Therapy Treatments
The last question to answer is “How often should you do the treatment?”
The studies all use different dosing schedules, but in general, the range is
from two times per week to two times per day.
As a general approach, I suggest starting slow to assess your body’s
response at first (with low doses done infrequently for the first few
sessions) and then building up to 3-7 sessions per week.
As with the biphasic dose response (and with many other types of
hormesis, like physical exercise, for example), note that it may turn out
that too high of a frequency is detrimental. Although there is no consensus
in the research yet, my hunch is that optimal treatment times are probably
once every other day to once per day at the most. I personally do it every
other day, because that’s what I believe will turn out to be most optimal.

How Deep Does Red/NIR Light Penetrate Into Our Body?

The answer to this question is actually much more complex than you might
imagine …
The penetration depth differs depending on many factors:

The type of tissues (e.g. skin vs. bone vs. fat vs. muscle).
First, it depends on exactly what part of your body you shine it on. It
will penetrate much more deeply into your belly than your skull.
The power output of the device. More powerful lights can
deliver more light to deeper tissues of the body.
The distance of the device from your body. As explained
previously, the closer the light is to your body, the higher the light
intensity will be and the deeper it will penetrate.
The wavelengths of light. Blue light and UV light, for example,
get almost completely blocked by the skin and do not penetrate
much more deeply than the very surface layers of skin. Whereas red
and near-infrared penetrate much more deeply. And within that
category, near-infrared has significantly greater penetration depth
than red light, and there are even some small differences between
specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light in terms of
penetration depth.

Penetration depth is also made even more confusing due to varying claims
of red/NIR light penetrating only millimeters into the body and other
claims of it penetrating inches into the body.

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How can we make sense of this?
Well, first of all, it is actually very easy for even a child to verify that red
light penetrates much further into the human body than just a few
millimeters. Take a flashlight and go into a dark room. Then shine the light
through your fingers. You can see the light—specifically the red
wavelengths of light—penetrates all the way through your fingers. If you
have a strong enough light, some light can even penetrate all the way
through the palm of your hand! So this 5-second test that you can do
yourself at home can tell you that it penetrates at least an inch or more.
So why the varying claims of millimeters vs. inches?
It turns out that “penetration depth” is actually a technical scientific term
within the study of light, and it has a specific definition. Most people
misunderstand the meaning of this term “penetration depth.”
Penetration depth “is defined as the depth at which the intensity
of the radiation inside the material falls to 1/e (about 37%) of its
original value at (or more properly, just beneath) the surface.”
In other words, the penetration depth is technically defined as the depth
that a light penetrates a specific type of substance where it loses 63% of its
overall light intensity/irradiance.
In most human tissue (and this depends on the specific type of tissue,
whether fat vs. bone, for example), red/NIR light may have a technically
defined “penetration depth” of 3-6mm. Then over the next 3-6mm, it may
lose another 63% of that remaining light, and then over the next 3-6mm,
another 63% is lost, and so on. In other words, the deeper you go, the more
of the overall light doesn’t reach as it is absorbed in the tissues closer to
the surface.
So a light may have a technically-defined “penetration depth” of 5mm, but
you can take that light and shine it through your hand that is more than an
inch (25mm) thick and see light coming out the other side. How does that
make sense? Well, the light that penetrates all the way through your hand
is not at the same light intensity as it went into your hand. That’s because
63% of the light was absorbed in the first 5mm of tissue, then another 63%
was lost in the next 5mm, and another, and so on, such that maybe only 5-
15% of the light photons that are emitted actually penetrate all the way
through your hand and out the other side. In fact, we even know that near-
infrared light can penetrate through bone (like the human skull) into the
brain. According to Hamblin et al.,
“One of the best studies on penetration was provided by Tedford et al.
in 2015. They performed a light-penetration study on human unfixed
cadaver brain tissue … They compared 660-nm, 808-nm, and 940-nm
laser penetration. 808 nm achieved the best penetration, and they

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 concluded that 808-nmwavelength light penetrates the scalp, skull,
meninges, and brain to a depth of approximately 40 mm.” 372
Penetration depth is also a confusing topic when it comes to red/NIR light
because many light device manufacturers make claims about how their
lights penetrate deeper than other light devices. Some also make claims
about the particular pulsation of the light (“super pulses”) and claim that
affects penetration. (Note: Based on the evidence, pulsation of the light
does not appear to affect penetration depth.) These claims make it hard to
know what’s really going on. But it is true that higher power devices will
deliver more light to deeper tissue depths.
To sum up all the confusing concepts around penetration depth, here’s
what you really need to know: Red and near-infrared light can
penetrate several centimeters (close to 2 inches) into your body,
and a high-power light with the right wavelengths (especially
near-infrared) can even penetrate through the thick and dense
human skull to deliver light directly into the brain. Hamblin has
given the general rule of red/NIR light penetration of “up to 5cm,” which is
almost exactly 2 inches. So that gives you a sense of how deep this light is
actually getting into your body.
As you can see, “penetration depth” is not actually as simple a concept as
one would think. But the general point here is that with high-power light
sources, red/NIR light can deliver significant amounts of therapeutic light
inches into human tissue.

The Problem with Most Devices on the Market

Now that you understand the importance of the power density of the light,
here’s the big problem with most lights on the market.
Most devices being sold (that you might pay $100-$900 for) are:

1. Grossly underpowered and simply too low wattage to reach

therapeutic power densities of above 50mW/cm2 with large coverage
of body areas. This is especially problematic for treating deep
tissues. So you’d end up having to use the light for extended periods
(sometimes upwards of 20-40 minutes) to generate an effect.
Moreover, the weaker lights won’t penetrate deeply into the body
and to even treat any deeper issues, even with extended exposure
times.
2. Very small, and thus, only treat a small area of your body. Even if a
small light has optimal power density, a small light that radiates
light on only 5-10 square inches will require multiple treatments to
cover a significant portion of your body. (Note: This is a major
limitation with small LED devices.)

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If I can give one piece of advice on which light to get, it’s this: Get a high-
power light that reaches therapeutic power outputs and is big
enough to cover a significant portion of your body .
Take it from someone who has wasted over $10,000 on underpowered red
light devices (that now are just junk in my garage). I bought them before I
understood everything I just explained to you about power density, dose,
and how much of the body is being illuminated, thinking that just because
the light was “red” that it would provide all the benefits. Nope.
I will tell you right now that 99% of the red light therapy products being
sold in major outlets online are a waste of money. So please be aware of
the power output and size of the light you’re interested in. Not
understanding those two factors caused me to waste a huge amount of
money on ineffective and time-consuming lights.
I’ve given you all the information you need to know if a light will work or
not. So if you have any interest in lights others than the devices I
recommend, I suggest making sure to closely examine the wattage,
wavelength, and size and do the calculations to see for yourself whether a
light is quality or not. I urge you: Don’t waste your money like I did!

Why You Should Get a High-Power Device

One might ask the question: “Do I really need a high-power device?
Couldn’t I just get a cheap low-power device and then increase the length
of time I use it to get up to the recommended doses?” An alternative but
similar question is: “Do I really need a large device? Couldn’t I just get a
small device and then just treat each area of my body separately for a few
minutes—e.g. 5 minutes on my left knee, then 5 minutes on my right knee,
then 5 minutes on the left cheek, and 5 minutes on the right cheek, etc.?”
This are good questions, and it’s important to understand the answers to
them.
Here’s why low-power devices and small devices are a problem (even if you
were to increase the length of time you use it):

1. Penetration Depth: Let’s take two lights of equal size, but one
light is 50W and the other is 100W. Theoretically, you could use the
50W light for twice as long (let’s say 10 minutes instead of 5
minutes) and reach the same dose. And on paper, based on the
simple math, this is indeed the case. But here’s the problem:
More powerful lights penetrate more deeply into the body.
They deliver more overall light deeper into the body. So if
you’re trying to reach deep tissues, you may use the weaker light
device for 5 or 10 times longer (than the more powerful device) but

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 still not deliver enough light to the target tissues to reach therapeutic
levels. According to Hamblin et al.: “For example, the application of
a 100-mW laser will deliver higher irradiance at a given depth than a
1-mW laser (assuming all other parameters are equal). The former
might generate enough light (threshold) to produce a meaningful
therapeutic effect at the required depth in the target tissue, whereas
the latter will not, regardless of the length of the illumination time.
Therefore, technically speaking, a claim such as ‘this system
penetrates deeper than others by virtue of extra-high power’ may be
true.” 373 Simply put: If you want to treat deeper tissues below the
skin, I strongly suggest getting a high-power device rather than a low
power device.
2. Convenience: Don’t underestimate the simple power of being able
to do an entire treatment in 1-5 minutes vs. having to do it for 10-40
minutes. A smaller and weaker light will require much longer
sessions to treat a significant area (or areas) of your body. A light
that can treat the entire front of your body at once and allow you to
treat virtually all areas of your body in less than 5-10 minutes,
whereas a smaller or weaker light may require 5-10 times longer to
accomplish the same thing. (And due to differences in penetration
depth, they may still be less effective.) So convenience is a huge
benefit of larger and more powerful lights. For many people who are
busy, this is the difference between actually making time to do it vs.
just having another thing sitting in your garage unused because you
don’t have the time.
3. Body area treated at once: This is a huge factor as well. The
bigger more powerful devices allow you to do something very cool.
They allow you to stand further back from the light (2 or 3 feet away)
and still have enough power output to reach therapeutic levels. This
allows the light to spread out and hit a much larger area of your
body at once. In this way, a light that is 20 or 30 inches long can
effectively treat the entire front or back of your body at once, from
head to toe. Basically, a light that size can effectively act the same as
a light twice the size. In contrast, if you take a small light and stand 2
or 3 feet away, it’s still only going to hit a relatively smaller portion
of your body, but more importantly, if the light is low wattage, you
have to be within 6” of it to even get therapeutic effects—so standing
back 2 or 3 feet will decrease the power density so much that you’re
no longer getting an effective dose (even if the light is technically
hitting a large portion of your body). So ideally, you want a light that
is both high wattage and relatively large, so you can treat large areas
of your body at once with effective doses.

Without getting too complicated, I should also mention that the power of
the light and the distance from it also impacts the effectiveness of the dose.

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Even when the calculated total doses are equal between devices, results
may not be the same. So if you use a powerful light for 2 minutes, the end
result may be different from a much weaker device used for 20 minutes—
even if the total dose of both is 10 Joules. So total dose is not the only thing
that matters—the power of the light and distance from the body also
influence the end result.
I believe that for both skin issues and deeper tissues, a high-power light is
superior. This may seem counter-intuitive at first, because how could a
high-power light be best for both contexts where you want to treat surface
issues with low doses (and lower light intensity) and for deep tissues
where you want higher doses (and higher light intensity)? Here’s why:

For skin issues, a high-power device gives you the ability to place it
much further away from your body while still having optimal light
intensities. In fact, with a high-power device, you want it to be
further away to give a little lower power density of below 50mW/cm2
. Most importantly, the fact that light spreads as you move further
from the source creates a huge advantage. By having the light source
further away, it allows the light to spread and hit a far larger area of
your body at once ! So basically, it makes the treatment much more
time-efficient compared to a lower power device that is closer to
your body.
For deeper tissues, it’s straightforward—you want and need high-
power lights to give the intensity needed to deliver optimal doses to
the deep tissues. So even if you were to use them for long periods of
time, the lower power devices simply can’t do the job.

Remember, one of the big benefits of getting a high-power light is that—

since light spreads out as you move further away—it allows you to treat
much larger areas of your body while still getting an effective dose on all
the parts of the body it is shining on. Remember, the power density (dose)
of the light decreases as you move further away. In contrast, lower power
lights need to be right next to your body for an effective dose, therefore,
can only treat a much smaller area. So with a high-power light that’s
less than 24” long, you can move it a little further away and treat
the skin on almost the entire front or back of your body at once!
Whereas, with a lower power light of the same dimensions, it has to be
much closer to your body to get an effective dose, and thus, you will only
be able to treat a much smaller area. This is just one of the amazing
benefits of high power lights—they allow a relatively small light less—than
half the length of your body—to function like a light that is full body size.
In short, whether your primary objective is anti-aging skin treatments, fat
loss, muscle gain, or to treat organs and glands, including the brain, high-
power lights are the way to go. They allow you to do so much more and get

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numerous benefits, are more effective, and they can treat larger areas of
the body at once, so they’re far more time-efficient .

Comparing Power Densities of Light Devices

from Popular Brands
Below are some photos I took of actual measurements of the power
densities at different distances of several lights from the companies that I
consider to be the top red/NIR light device companies on the market—the
Red Rush360 by Red Therapy Co., the Bio-300 from Platinum Therapy
Lights, and the Joovv Mini.
Remember what I explained previously about how actual power
measurements differ from claimed measurements (which are usually
based on the theoretical numbers that the lights are supposed to achieve).
I wanted to provide this section for you to see the actual light intensity of
these three options at various distances. Again, knowing the light
irradiance (power density) of a light at a specific distance is critical to
getting the dose correct. If you get any of the three lights below, you’ll have
the actual (rather than claimed) light output measurements at various
distances, so you can dose accurately. (Note: I’ve already done this for you,
so all you have to do is follow my dosing guidelines—you don’t need to do
any calculations or measure light output or anything complicated.) But if
you decide to get a different light other than what I recommend, you will
want to buy a PAR meter and test your device to get measurements of the
actual output and dose accurately.
Before we get into the photos and measurements, I want to mention a few
specifics:
For all three lights, I tested a 50-50 mix of red and near-infrared LEDs.
Also note that if you get a pure near-infrared device, it will emit slightly
higher outputs due to the LED bulbs themselves emitting more light
output.

If you were to measure a pure red light vs. a pure near-infrared light
produced by the same company, the near-infrared device would have
roughly 20-30% higher light output.
Compared to a 50-50 mix of red and near-infrared LEDs, the pure
near-infrared device would have roughly 10-20% higher light output.
If you get a pure red light device, your light output numbers will be
slightly lower, and if you get a pure near-infrared device, your light
output numbers will be slightly higher.

For the sake of equal comparisons, I am using a 50-50 mix of red (660nm)

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and near-infrared (850nm) LEDs for each of the three brands.
(Also, please note that one might get slightly different measurements
depending on the specific light output meter one uses. So you may see
other people’s measurements in articles online as being 5-20mW/cm2
different than my measurements. Rather than getting caught up on the
specific number, what I’m trying to demonstrate here is the differences in
light output between devices, which stay the same regardless of the specific
device one uses to measure light output.)
That said, below are the photos of actual light output measurements of
each device at 6”, 12”, and 18”:

The Joovv Mini (left) Platinum BIO-300 (center) and Red Rush360
(right)
Here is a photo of all three lights side-by-side so you can get a sense of
size. Note the overall number of individual LEDs—the Joovv has 60 LEDs,
the Platinum BIO-300 has 100 LEDs, and the Red Rush360 has 120 LEDs.
So even though they are somewhat similar dimensions in terms of casing,
there is a large variance in the number of LED lamps packed within that
space. Also, the Platinum light has a slight edge in terms of length, while
the Red Rush360 has a significantly more expansive coverage area with its
width. Also note that there are significant differences in overall wattage—
the Joovv is 120W, the Platinum is 300W, and the Red Rush360 is 360W.
These differences in size of the light, number of LEDs and wattage all
affect how powerful the light is (especially at further distances) and how
broad of an area of your body it can effectively treat at once .

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Here are the light output measurements for the three lights
from 6” away:

Joovv Mini (50-50 mix of red and near-infrared) from 6”—

74mW/cm2

BIO 300 (50-50 mix of red and near-infrared) from 6”—87mW/cm2

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 Red Rush360 50-50 mix of red and near-infrared) from 6”—
92.5mW/cm2
Here are the three lights from 12” away:

Joovv Mini (50-50 mix of red and near-infrared) from 12”—

38mW/cm2

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 BIO 300 (50-50 mix of red and near-infrared) from 12”—
55mW/cm2

Red Rush360 (50-50 mix of red and near-infrared) from 12”—

62mW/cm2
Here are the three lights from 18” away:

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Joovv Mini (50-50 mix of red and near-infrared) from 18”—
22mW/cm2

BIO 300 (50-50 mix of red and near-infrared) from 18”—

36mW/cm2

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 Red Rush360 (50-50 mix of red and near-infrared) from 18”—
41mW/cm 2
As you can see, there are significant differences in light output between the
different devices, even though they are similar in size and cost.
The Red Rush360 and Platinum BIO-300 have consistently higher light
output than the Joovv. They can also treat larger areas of the body at once.
All three of these lights emit enough power to be highly effective, but do be
aware of these differences in light output so that you can adjust the dose
accordingly. Longer sessions are ideal with the Joovv while shorter
sessions are needed with the Platinum BIO-300 and Red Rush360.
Remember that my default recommended treatment times listed in this
book are for the Red Rush360 and Platinum BIO-300, but I have also put
notes for how to adjust the doses for anyone who wishes to purchase the
Joovv Mini.
Also, notice that the further you move away, the bigger the difference
between light output of each device. At 18” away, the Platinum has about
65% higher power density than the Joovv, and the Red Rush360 has about
90% higher power density than the Joovv. (Note: I didn’t show photos
here of 24” and 36” away, but the differences in light intensity are even
larger at those distances.) These differences do have a large impact on how
long you need to use them to get the right dose, so depending on the
distance you’re using it, the Joovv will increase session time by 20-100% to
get the same dose.
The Joovv can certainly also work, but you’d want to increase the
treatment times compared to the Platinum BIO-300 and Red Rush360.
Also, using it from greater distances than 24” away from your body may
not work well as the power density drops significantly. To adjust the dose
with the Joovv, you’ll want to add 20-30% more time from a close range of

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about 6”, and if you’re using the light from further away like 18” or 24”,
you’ll want to add 60-100% more time to your session compared to the
other two lights.
All three of these lights are quality devices that are certainly capable of
providing effective treatments. But do note the difference in size, wattage,
and light output at different distances, which impact how much of your
body you can treat at once and how long you need to do each treatment.

Key Points for Dosing—Summary:

IMPORTANT: The following recommendations are based on the lights I
recommend. All these calculations change when you use lights that are less
powerful than the ones I recommend. If you purchase a different light, you
will need to measure the power density of that light at different distances
and calculate doses for that specific light according to the guidelines in this
book.

For general use, the light should be about 6-36 inches away from
your body.
Closer distances (6”-12” away from your body) are ideal for
deep tissue treatments as you’ll get a higher dose and much
greater depth of penetration.
Further distances (12”-36” away from your body) are ideal for
treating surface skin issues and anti-aging purposes.
Get a high-power light that can still deliver an effective
dose from further distances. This allows you to treat much
larger areas of your body at once compared to lower power lights.
This is especially important for people wanting to treat their skin for
anti-aging purposes. By getting one of the high-power lights I
recommend, even though they are smaller (i.e. not the size of a full
human body), you can use them from a further distance away and
basically treat the entire front or back of your body at once. Because
light spreads out the further you go from the source, a light that is
only 15” or 20” inches long may be able to treat 40” or 50” inches of
your body at once when used at a further distance. (Again, be aware
that this ONLY works with high-powered lights. If you have a low
power light and you move it further away from your body, it will
quickly be out of the effective range as far as the power density of the
light.) This is why getting a high-powered light can be so cost-
effective—even a smaller light that is high power can essentially
function like a much larger light that is lower power. So take
advantage of this!
Ideal frequency of use is likely between 3-7x/week (or up to

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once per day). There are studies which have used more and less
than this, however, based on my experience working with hundreds
of people, I believe between 3 to 7 times per week is optimal.
Start SLOW. This is especially true if you are in poor health. Do
not immediately assume that “more is better” by using the high end
of the range of doses. It’s not. It’s especially not true when first
starting out with red and near-infrared light therapy, or if you are in
poor health. If you are in poor health, start with the lowest possible
doses and SLOWLY increase the dose from there in subsequent
sessions. (If you are extremely ill or severely fatigued, you can even
start with lower doses than the lowest end of my recommended
ranges.) Also, giving a day or two between sessions is a good idea at
first.
Be conservative with dosing for any sensitive areas. If you’re
going to use red or near-infrared light therapy on your eyes, genitals,
or a raw wound on your skin (or any other particularly sensitive
area), I suggest going only low doses of 2-10J (and lower may be
better here).
For skin issues, we want between 3J to roughly 15J per
area. So optimal treatment times with the lights I
recommend are:
30 seconds-2.5 minutes per area (if the light is 6” inches
away). (But remember, further away is likely more optimal for
skin anti-aging purposes, if you get the lights I suggest. See
details below.)
1-3.5 minutes per area (if the light is 12” away)
1.5-5 minutes per area (if the light is 18” away)
2-7 minutes per area (if the light is 24” away). Remember that
having it further away from the body allows you to treat much
larger areas of your body at once, since light spreads out the
further you move away from the light source.
3-14 minutes per area (if the light is 36” away).
If you get the lights I recommend, for skin and anti-
aging purposes, I suggest using it a little further away—
from between 12” to 24” (or even 36”) away from your
body. Remember that moving it further away may get
the light intensity in a more optimal dose for the skin,
but most importantly, it has the advantage of treating
larger areas of skin at once.
If you get the Joovv light, these tend to have lower power
density than the Red Rush360 and Platinum lights. So
for the Joovv lights, you’ll want to add roughly 30-90%

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 more time to the above dose ranges (especially when
using the light from greater distances from your body,
because the differences in power output between lights
are largest from further away.) Therefore, if you would
use the Red Rush360 for 5-6 minutes from 36” away,
you may need to use the Joovv Mini for 8-12 minutes.
For deeper issues (e.g. muscle, bone, brain, organs, glands,
fat, etc.), we want around 10-40J per area, so optimal
treatment times and distances with the lights I recommend
are:
2-7 minutes per area (if the light is 6” inches away)
5-10 minutes per area (if the light is 12” away)
I do not recommend going further away than 12” if
you’re treating deeper tissues. Roughly 6” inches away is
ideal for delivering the most light to the deeper tissues.
If you get the Joovv light, these tend to have lower power
density than the Red Rush360 and Platinum lights. So
for the Joovv lights, you’ll want to add roughly 20-40%
more time to the above dose ranges (when using them
from 6-12” away from your body) E.g. If you would use
the Red Rush360 for 10 minutes (from 12” away), you
may need to use the Joovv Mini for 13-15 minutes to get
the same dose.
For use on the brain, some people recommend much
relatively higher doses (the high end of my
recommended dose ranges), due to the fact that it’s
harder to deliver a significant amount of light to the
brain tissues since the light has to penetrate through the
skull before it can reach the brain. Thus, less overall light
actually makes it to brain tissue (relative to say, treating
fat or muscle tissue). As a general rule, the deeper the
tissue and the more it is covered by bone, the longer
doses will be needed to deliver a significant amount of
light to that targeted tissue.
Total Treatment Dose/Time:
I suggest that you limit total treatment dose for all areas of the
body to no more than roughly 120J. So assuming the light is 6”
or 12” away from your body, that means no more than 15-
20 minutes of time total with light shining on your
body .
There isn’t adequate research on this yet, so I suggest being
conservative. Here’s Hamblin on this subject: “What we don’t
really know is can you overdose the body on total joules or is it

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 only when it’s concentrated? That’s what we don’t know … Ten
minutes or half an hour does no harm at all … Mostly, I tell
people they can use these things for 10 or 20 minutes a day
and it’ll have major benefits and extremely unlikely to have
any ill effects.”
If you use the lights I recommend for supporting muscle
recovery or fat loss for example, a reasonable session might be
to treat your chest and abdomen for 3 minutes from 6” away,
then the front of your legs for 4 minutes from 6” away, and
then your back for 4 minutes from 6” away.
This would give a total treatment time of 12 minutes, 24J
per body area, and a total body dose of 72J .
Another example for anti-aging, would be to treat your face
from 18” away for 3 minutes, the front of the legs and thighs
for 3 minutes from 18” away, and the back of your legs and
thighs for 3 minutes from 18” away.
This would be a total treatment time of 6 minutes,
roughly 6J per body area, and would give a total body
dose of about 18J .

If all of this is overwhelming, here’s the quick and simple summary of the
most important points for how to do red/NIR light therapy:

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How to Use Your Red/Near-Infrared Light
Device
With all these details and discussion of science, it’s easy to get
overwhelmed and think that using one of these lights must be terribly
complex.
It isn’t.
It’s actually very simple and straightforward: The basic idea is
to just switch the light on and put your body in front of it.

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Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that, but really not much. The
details to be aware of are:

1. Optimizing power density/irradiance for the tissue you are treating

by adjusting your distance from the light
2. Getting the dose right
3. Your body position
4. Practical tips/strategies for specific goals

Let’s cover each of these in more depth now.

Optimal Power Density
First, you must know the general optimal power density/irradiance for the
tissue you’re trying to treat. I’m not going to go into detail on this one
again, because I already covered in-depth in the earlier section on getting
the dose right. The basic idea is that for treating the skin (e.g. anti-aging),
you want to use the light from further away from your body (ideally
18”-36” with the powerful lights I recommend) to get lower power density
and higher body coverage. For deep tissues, you want to use the light much
closer (6”-12”) to get a higher power density and to deliver more light to
the deeper tissues.

Dose
I covered dosing guidelines in the previous section on dosing as well, so
please reference that for specific guidelines on how long to use the
different light devices from the different distances away from your body.
Also remember that skin and surface treatments need much lower doses
than deep tissues, and that total body dose (adding up all the light
delivered across all areas of the body you treat) also matters. Again, please
see the section on dosing for all the details.
Body Position
What position should you be in?
You can sit, stand or lay down. Whatever is the most comfortable position
for you to treat the desired area of your body.
Depending on what part of your body you’re treating, you may find
different positions more comfortable than others.
Many light devices come with a door hanging kit. If you choose to use that,
then you’ll be standing (or sitting in a chair) next to the device. Many
people do it this way.
I personally almost always use mine while laying down. I position the

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lights on the ground and lay next to them either on my side, back or front
to treat the targeted area. I just find it more relaxing (than standing) to lay
down while doing it.
Here is a little illustration showing various positions that you can use your
light:

Practical Tips and Strategies for Specific Goals

Depending on your goals, there are more ideal and less ideal ways of using
the light.
This is the most significant factor to be aware of, because for some
purposes it is best to use the light in a specific way. But for other purposes,
there really isn’t any specific protocol or timing you need to be aware of, so
in most cases, you honestly don’t have to worry about timing or whether
you’re not using it incorrectly.
In most cases—like using it for oral health on your gums, decreasing
inflammation, wound healing, or for skin anti-aging, etc.—you really don’t
need to worry about this. Just use the light on that area at whatever time is
convenient, while of course, following the dosing guidelines .
But, I do want to mention a few specifics of when to use the light to
accomplish certain goals and how red/NIR light therapy best pairs with
other things. Please note that in most cases, more research is needed to

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confirm my findings, but from my own experience and experimentation
with hundreds of people, here are some tips:

Fat loss —Follow my protocol I outlined in the fat loss section. If

you can’t do that specific fasted morning protocol, I suggest using it
right before your workouts. You can shine it on both the fat areas
you want to lose as well as the muscles that you are going to exercise
in that workout. Use the light from 6” away for 2-5 minutes on each
area.
Cellulite reduction— Ideally, follow the stubborn fat protocol
outlined previously while specifically targeting the light on the areas
of your body with cellulite. Alternatively, if that protocol doesn’t
work for you because of the timing, then use the light on the cellulite
area just prior to exercise at whatever time of day you do your
workout.
Immune health— Doing one treatment every few days on the
thymus gland area in the center of the chest is likely supportive of
good immune health. During an acute infection, you can try one
treatment per day. I suggest a treatment time of 3-5 minutes from
6’-12” away on the thymus gland area in the center of the chest.
Skin anti-aging —Either in the morning or at the end of the day.
Use the light (assuming you have either the Red Rush360 or
Platinum device) from about 24”-36” away for 5-10 minutes. (E.g. 5-
10 minutes on the whole front of your body and then 5-10 minutes
on the whole back of your body.) If you get the Joovv, a more ideal
range would be from 24” away for about the same amount of time
(but with less broad body coverage area), or from 36” away for
several minutes longer (roughly double the time) than you’d use the
other lights.
Muscle and/or strength gain —The ideal time for this is either
right after exercise or 3-6 hours later. Some research has even shown
muscle gain benefits while using the light before the workout. Do 3-7
minutes from 6” away on each of the muscle areas you exercised in
that session.
Exercise performance —You can use it to allow your muscles to
perform better (endurance, strength, and power) during your
workouts/training. For this purpose, I suggest using the light right
before exercise (between 0-30 minutes prior) from 6” away for 2-4
minutes on each muscle area.
Brain performance, mood enhancement (e.g. combatting
depression and anxiety), or brain healing —Use the light
(ideally a pure near-infrared light or 50-50 mix of NIR and red ,
since near-infrared penetrates the skull much more effectively than
red light) from 6”-12” away. Since hair blocks the light, you want to

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use it on an area of your head without hair. For people with hair (no
shaved or bald head), this generally means to use it on the forehead,
or on the sides of the head through ear area, or at the base of the
neck. The base of the neck may allow you to target the cerebrospinal
fluid (the fluid that surrounds the brain), and this may provide
beneficial effects on the cells in that fluid which impact brain health.
The forehead is definitely the most effective area, and has actually
been used in several of the studies on depression and brain
enhancement. In addition to using the standard LED panels in this
way, you also have the option to get the VieLight Neuro device,
which allows you to work the lights into the base of your hair follicles
and deliver light through the skull at multiple points on the head,
even if you have hair. For people who wish to target the brain as
their primary focus, I think it’s definitely worth it to get that
VieLight Neuro device. (Note: I don’t recommend their intranasal
lights—only the whole head “Neuro” device.)
Photopuncture— For this, you’ll need the photopuncture kit from
the Photonic Therapy Institute. They provide detailed instructions
with the kit on how to use their special “torch” lights on the
acupuncture points. This has primarily been studied in the context
of tendinitis, muscular trigger point pain, and headache treatment—
with very positive results. My friend Kay Aubrey-Chimene (the
owner of Photonic Therapy Institute) also uses it on animals (mainly
horses) for a wide variety of ailments and reports a lot of success.
Sleep enhancement/melatonin production— As mentioned
previously, there is some research suggesting that red/NIR light can
impact melatonin (interestingly, melatonin produced by the body
outside of the pineal gland!) 374 , 375 , 376 While further research is
needed to explore the potential for red/NIR light to be used for
increasing melatonin/sleep enhancement, I have experimented with
this heavily with my Energy Blueprint program members and it
clearly seems to work to enhance sleep. For many people, it has an
extremely powerful and very noticeable sleep-enhancing effect from
the very first time they do it. Here’s how I recommend using it:
Timing is key for this purpose. Do the treatment 1.5-2 hours
before bed. I do not suggest doing this closer than 60 minutes
to bedtime.
Use the light on your spine and the back of your neck area
from about 12-18” away for 3-7 minutes
Even though blue light is primarily what effects circadian
rhythm and suppresses melatonin (red light generally doesn’t
suppress melatonin), research has actually shown that very
bright red light (like red light therapy LED panels) can
suppress melatonin. For that reason, I have a few more

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 detailed recommendations:
I don’t recommend doing this within an hour of bedtime
I recommend avoiding looking into the light (i.e. doing it
with eyes closed or a towel over your eyes and avoiding
actually looking into the light is ideal).
Also, in my experience, pure near-infrared lights are
more optimal for sleep enhancement because they don’t
have the bright red light that makes you squint your
eyes. (Remember, near-infrared is mostly invisible to the
human eye). So a quick NIR treatment on the spine for a
few minutes 1-2 hours before bed can really make a
difference in your sleep.
Circadian rhythm/SAD —As discussed previously, red/NIR lights
are not optimal for use as SAD lights for treating/preventing
seasonal affective disorder or for optimizing circadian rhythm with
bright light in the mornings. However, the bright light devices used
for circadian rhythm optimization/SAD prevention typically have a
huge amount of blue light and little to no red/near-infrared light.
Blue in isolation can be harmful to both the eyes and skin, so I
always advise using the red/NIR light alongside the bright
white/blue light to counteract the blue and give some healing to your
cells at the same time. For this use, I suggest using the light from
about 3 feet away. You can position it behind or next to the bright
white/blue light.
UV light treatments for vitamin D —To be clear, I don’t mean
that red/NIR lights work for stimulating vitamin D synthesis. For
that, you need UVB rays. To understand this requires a bit of
background. In some cases, when people live in latitudes/climates
where there is little sun or little UVB available for months during the
winter, I advise using a “vitamin D lamp,” which is basically a
fluorescent bulb setup specifically designed to emit UVB light to
stimulate vitamin D synthesis in the skin. (I recommend the Sperti
UVB Light Box.) In these cases, I also advise using the red/NIR light
alongside the UV light, for the same reason as explained above in the
circadian rhythm/SAD section—UV light in isolation can also
damage cells, and the red/NIR helps mitigate damage and support
cellular healing/protection processes. For using it in this context,
you can put the red/NIR light next to or behind the UV lamp, and I
suggest using the red/NIR light from 24” away during the 3-6
minutes that you use the UV lamp.
Injuries (e.g. sprains, strains, cuts, burns, fractures, whiplash, etc.)
—In these cases, the most important tip is to get the red/NIR light
on the area as quickly as possible after the initial injury. The sooner
the better. I know some practitioners who swear that they’ve seen

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 injuries that normally take weeks to heal, take only a day or two
when they can get red/NIR light on the area very quickly after the
injury. The other thing to be aware of is if the injury is a surface/skin
issue (e.g. cut or burn) or deeper tissue issue (e.g. bone
bruise/fracture, muscle strain, ligament sprain, etc.), then follow the
dosing guidelines for either the surface issues or deep tissues—i.e.
closer distances and higher doses for deep tissues, and further
distances and smaller doses for surface tissues.
Fatigue treatment/energy enhancement— For this purpose,
we want to boost overall mitochondrial health, decrease
inflammation in the blood, enhance immune function, optimize
hormones, and decrease brain inflammation.
First, take of all your clothes and shine it diffusely on your
entire body for 30-60 seconds (from 24”-36” away), back and
front from head to toe, to wake up every cell in your body.
1-2 minutes shining it on the neck and thyroid gland area and
thymus area in the center of the chest, from roughly 6-12”
away. There are studies already showing this can impact
thyroid function (the studies were done in people with
Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism), which is critical to metabolic
health in the entire body. The light on the thymus can
potentially enhance immune function.
1-2 minutes on your sex organs (from 6-12” away) if possible,
as this will increase the health of those tissues and promote
optimal hormonal function.
1-2 minutes on your belly (from 6-12” away) to get systemic
effects through getting the red/NIR light in the entire blood of
your body. (Remember, some research has shown systemic
effects, likely from irradiating the blood and affecting blood
cells, inflammatory cytokines, and immune cells.)
1-3 minutes on your forehead/brain (from 6-12” away) and
another 1-3 minutes on the base of the neck and spine area to
decrease brain inflammation and support mitochondrial
health in the brain.
Total treatment time should be no more than 10-12 minutes.
Also, be aware that if you have severe fatigue (e.g. Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome) or are very ill with a particular condition,
you may need to cut these doses in half or even do only 1/4th or
1/5th of these recommendations to start. Remember that the
more unwell you are, the smaller doses you should use,
especially starting out.

368 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-

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Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
369 Guan Da-Syu, et al. (2011). Severe Exercise and Exercise Training Exert Opposite Effects on
Human Neutrophil Apoptosis via Altering the Redox Status. PLOS One.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0024385 .
370 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
371 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
372 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
373 Hamblin, M, et al. (2018). Low-level light therapy: Photobiomodulation. Society of Photo-
Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
374 Xu C, Wu Z, Wang L, Shang X, Li Q. 2002. The effect of endonasal low energy He-Ne laser
treatment on insomnia on sleep EEG. Prac J Med Pharm. 19(6): 407-408 (in Chinese).
375 Wang F. 2006. Therapeutic effect observation and nurse of intranasal low intensity laser
therapy on insomnia. Journal of Community Medicine. 4(3): 58 (in Chinese).
376 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jbio.201700282

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 The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Red/NIR
Light Therapy Device
When choosing the right red and near-infrared light therapy light device,
you want to select a device that’s long-lasting, has a great warranty, is well-
manufactured, and most importantly, one that offers the correct
wavelengths at the right power density over a large area.
Let’s cover each of these more in depth. The most important things to look
for specifically include the red and near-infrared light therapy devices:

1. Wavelength: What wavelengths does the device offer? Do these

have health benefits? Are they in the proven ranges of 600-700nm
and 780-1070nm, or better, the most researched ranges of 630-
680nm and 800-880nm?
2. Power Density: How much irradiance/power does the device
deliver—what is the power density in mW/cm2 ? (To calculate this,
you need to know the total wattage and the treatment area of the
light.)
3. Size of the light and treatment area: This is critically important
—how big of an area will it treat? Is it a small light of less than 12” or
a big light that can treat half of your body or your whole body all at
once? Think about it: Do you want to hold one of these small devices
by hand for 30-60 minutes to do a treatment? Probably not. You’ll
get tired of using it pretty quickly. So it has to be convenient, and
ideally, has to be something that is not only fast, but something that
you do while doing other things (if you wish), so you’re not sitting
there holding a device in different positions for 30-60 minutes.
4. Warranty: How long does the warranty last? Will you have time to
find out if it works? (Hint: look for at least one year or longer.)
5. What do you want it for? Depending on your specific purpose,
there are a few different devices you may want to consider. (If you
have specialty needs like brain health, or skin health, it will affect the
wavelengths you want, the power of the device, and even the type of
device.)

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I cannot emphasize enough: When choosing a red light or near-infrared
light device, you want to be extremely careful to choose wisely, based on
the wavelength and power density levels of the device.
Wavelength and intensity makes all the difference between incredible
benefits and no benefits.

You Want Therapeutic Wavelengths that

Achieve Real Results
Again, not all wavelengths are equal—nor all devices. Look for wavelengths
in the proven therapeutic ranges.
Based on the bulk of the research, you want:

630-680nm (the optimal healing spectrum of red light)

800 to 880nm (the optimal healing spectrum of near-infrared)
or a combination of both

Earlier, it was mentioned that wavelengths of 600 to 700nm and 780

to1070nm have been proven to have the most significant impact upon
cytochrome c in the mitochondria, and thus, these are the wavelengths
that will provide the most stunning results for anti-aging, arthritis, fat loss,
reduced waist circumference, re-growing hair for individuals with hair
loss, joint repair, bone repair, cancer recovery and prevention, cognitive

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enhancement and brain health.
The therapeutic range is only within those specific wavelengths.
I do not recommend devices that specify other wavelengths than the ones I
mentioned above (or don’t specify any wavelengths at all). If you see a
device offering wavelengths in the 700-770nm range, be aware that far
fewer studies support health benefits at these wavelengths.
Again, if the company doesn’t give you information about the wavelengths
in their light devices (or you have to go searching for it), or they are not
using optimal wavelengths, I don’t recommend it.
Also, when it comes to red vs. near-infrared, be aware that it doesn’t have
to be one or the other! Some quality devices offer red light wavelengths
(630–680nm) specifically. Other devices offer the near-infrared ranges of
800–900 specifically. And a number of devices now offer a combination of
red light and near-infrared LEDs in the same device. I generally
recommend getting a mix of red light and near-infrared for most people
and purposes. Unless you know that you only want to treat deeper issues
(like the brain, for example) and nothing else in your body—in which case,
a near-infrared light is best—then a combination of red and near-infrared
is ideal most of the time. But again, since they work through the same
mechanisms, a pure red or pure near-infrared device can also work great.

Why Power Density of The Light Matters

Power density is also important because your cells need to receive a certain
intensity of red light to benefit.
Remember, to know power density, you simply need to know the wattage
of the light and the treatment area (as described in the guide to dosing
section).
We want a sizable light that has a power density of at least 30mW/cm 2 ,
and around 100mW/cm2 from close range (e.g. 6” away). That’s what will
allow us to get up to the therapeutic levels that are used in the studies—
especially for the deeper tissues. Importantly, it also allows you to use the
light from further away and treat a much larger area of your body—since
light spreads out with more distance—while still getting an effective dose.
In contrast, lower wattage lights will need to be right next to your body to
get an effective dose, and thus can only treat much smaller areas at once.
A reputable company will give this power density information to you. If the
company doesn’t give this information, it’s likely because they don’t want
to, because their device is sub-par.
The intensity of light used also impacts how long you need to use the

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device on the body. A device with only 1/5 th the irradiance of
another device will take 5 times longer to yield any positive
effects . And it still won’t be nearly as effective—especially for treating
deeper issues like muscles, bones, the brain, glands, organs, tendons, fat
cells, etc.—because the lower power light won’t penetrate nearly as deep
into your tissues as the more powerful light.
Again, you want to get an LED device with the power capacity of
at least 30mW/cm 2 and ideally close to 100mW/cm 2 (from close
distance, like 6” away).
In addition to whether the light has a high enough power density, it’s also
physically large enough to treat a large enough area of your body all at
once. That leads us to the next critical point …

How Big is the Light and How Much of Your

Body Can It Treat at Once
Most red and near-infrared light therapy devices have a very small
treatment area capability.
Most handheld devices and red lights sold online as skin improving/anti-
aging devices offer about 10mW/cm2 (and many of them offer far less than
even that!) and only treat about a 5-10 square inch area, meaning you’d
have to use the device, held right over your right cheek, for example, for
around 15-30 minutes, to achieve any benefits for anti-aging. Then you
could treat the other cheek for another 15-30 minutes. Then the forehead.
Yawn.
And to treat the full body? Impossible! Imagine the length of time it would
take to treat the belly, thighs, and derriere. No one has time for multi-hour
treatments each day.
But if you get a device with a high-power output that also treats
a large area at once, that’s where the magic is.
Higher powered devices, like the lights I recommend, deliver close to
100mW/cm2 at about 6» from the device and still have effective doses
(roughly 20-30mW/cm2 ) even a full 24” away! This is a huge benefit,
because now even a smaller light (say 15-20” long) can basically function
as though it is a full human body-sized light! In other words, a powerful
light that’s 15” long can be positioned 24” or even 36” away from your
body, and since light spreads out the more you move away from the
source, that light can now give an effective dose to nearly your entire front
or back of your body at once! (Note: This way of using it is not ideal for
deep tissues—it is ideal specifically for anti-aging and skin health
purposes. )

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So again, it can basically function the same as a light that is 3 times the
physical size (i.e. a light that is the size of your entire body).
Having a high-power light that is also large enough in size allows you to
treat large areas of your body at once in just a few minutes. You can treat
an area like the face, the whole torso or legs, or even do multiple
parts of the body and effectively, the entire body, in just a few
minutes!
I suggest thinking about long-term goals here and making a wise purchase.
Get a device that is powerful, cost-effective, and efficient so you can
conveniently do treatments for a large area of your body in just a few
minutes.
High-power lights are going to give you far more benefits in far less time,
are more effective (especially for deep tissues), and have more flexibility in
how you can use them.
I also strongly recommend getting a large panel light over a hand-held
device. Most people who purchase the small devices end up never using
them because it’s just too time consuming.

What is the Warranty and How Long Will

the Device Last?

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This one is very straightforward—buy from a company with a strong
warranty who stand by their lights. Otherwise, you’ll likely be throwing
money away and having to buy a replacement in 6 months to a year.
With a high-quality red/NIR light therapy device from a reputable
company, you will have it for many years without any problems
whatsoever. And if there is a problem, they’ll replace it.
If you’re going to spend hundreds of dollars on something, quality is key .

What is Your Purpose Using Red Light

Therapy? (And the Difference Between Red
and Near-Infrared Light)
As I mentioned earlier, red and near-infrared light work through
the same physiological mechanisms at the cellular level.
So then you might wonder, why distinguish between them at all? What
differences—if any—exist between red and near-infrared light?
Let’s briefly delve into the most significant differences to be aware of, and
then at the end of this section, I’ll provide a practical summary to help
make your decision easier.
There are basically four differences to be aware of:

1. Red light is visible to the human eye, while near-infrared is

almost entirely invisible.
This isn’t significant, other than the fact that you can see that
it’s working. Some people will get a near-infrared light and
think “Is this thing even on? Is it even doing anything?”
because it doesn’t emit light that is visible to the human eye.
So it can be a bit of a shock for some people to turn an LED
light “on” and not see any light.
Then we have the placebo effect. As with any therapy, part of
the effect always comes from the placebo effect. And certainly,
one’s ability to see and feel something working figures into the
placebo effect. So while there is no actual research testing this
theory, based on my experience working with people, I believe
that it is likely that red light has a superior placebo effect
compared with near-infrared light. Again, just because the
human eye cannot see the near-infrared light, it immediately
causes some people to wonder “Does this thing even do
anything—I can’t see or feel anything. What the heck did I just
buy—a light that doesn’t even emit any light?” In other words,

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 some people will have thoughts that create an ANTI-PLACEBO
EFFECT, which works against them (and causes them to send
me angry emails because they’re confused and think that they
just bought a non-functional light). To be blunt, part of the
reason I suggest a 50-50 mix of red and near-infrared over a
pure infrared device (most of the time) is simply to avoid
people getting confused and thinking that their light doesn’t
work.
2. Near-infrared (800-880nm) has significantly more power
output per LED bulb. Some estimates are about 30% more power
output. So the dose will be higher with near-infrared lamps
compared to red lamps of the same wattage, so you get a more
potent dose.
3. Near-infrared can be more expensive, depending on who
you purchase it from. Certain companies like Joovv charge
significantly more money for near-infrared compared to red.
4. Near-infrared penetrates a little deeper into the tissues
compared to red light (especially through the skull).
This is the much more important difference between red and
near-infrared light.
Red light from 630-680nm will not penetrate as deeply into
the human body, and therefore, is likely superior for treating
skin and other superficial issues like combatting hair loss,
since more of the light energy stays on the surface tissues.
The 800-880nm range (near-infrared) is better suited for
penetrating deeper to affect muscles, bones, tendons,
ligaments, organs, the brain, and hormone-producing glands
Particularly if you want to treat the brain, research indicates
the really only near-infrared will penetrate the skull to deliver
light to the brain. So if that is one of objectives, I recommend
getting a pure near-infrared light or mixed red and near-
infrared light.
If you primarily want the light for anti-aging purposes (e.g.
wrinkle reduction and combatting cellulite), red light may be a
better choice. (Arguably, that is nitpicking because near-
infrared probably has most if not all the same benefits.)
Whereas if you want to treat deeper tissues like muscle, bone,
tendons, glands, or the brain, near-infrared is a better choice.
(Keep in mind you can also get lights that have both
wavelengths, which is probably ideal for most people and
purposes.)

The most significant difference here worth noting is the penetration depth.

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It’s worth figuring out exactly what you intend to use the light for—either
more surface treatments or treating deeper tissues.
That said, please keep in mind that both red and near-infrared light have
the same effects on cells, and both essentially work for all purposes. Near-
infrared will still work great for anti-aging benefits on the skin, and red
light will still work for things like fat loss or muscle gain. But if you have
specific things that you want to treat, you can choose the light wavelengths
that will be best for your individual needs .
In most cases, we’re talking about a slight edge for one over the other for
specific uses. But in some cases (e.g. penetrating the skull), certain
wavelengths do have a clear advantage over other wavelengths.
Other than that, the only other distinction is that red light is visible to the
human eye while near-infrared is invisible to the human eye.
In fact, for most uses, research has shown that both red and near-infrared
light can be effective in providing benefits. For example, here is a list of
wavelengths proven effective for various conditions, so you can see for
yourself that both red and near-infrared are effective:

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The point of all that is only to illustrate that for pretty much all conditions,
both red and near-infrared light have proven to work. So you really don’t
need to worry too much about the differences between the wavelengths or
start thinking “oh no, I don’t have the right wavelength for fat loss… skin
health” etc. Again, for most things, either red or near-infrared will do the
trick!
My general recommendation is that if you want to treat deeper tissues,
prioritize near-infrared over red light. The more you want to treat skin
issues, prioritize red light. That’s a general principle you can use to tailor
your choice of a light to your unique needs keeping in mind that both types
of light will work for most purposes.
For most purposes, a large mixed LED panel with a mix of 660nm and

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850nm is the best choice.
But for specific issues, you may want to consider other options:

For skin issues and hair loss, it is possible that red light at 660nm
may be the most optimal. (Though near-infrared at 850nm will still
have most of the same benefits. It’s just a question of what is most
optimal.
If you only want to treat deeper organ, gland, joint, or
muscle/tendon issues (and NOT skin issues), then you may want to
go with a pure 850nm light device.
If you only want to treat your brain (e.g. for depression, anxiety,
cognitive performance, or neurological disease), then near-infrared
is best. (The VieLight Neuro is likely the best option for this specific
purpose. See the information on this device in the “Recommended
Devices” section later in this book.)
Again, let me emphasize that for most purposes and for most people,
the best choice is a combination of the 660nm and 850nm LEDs in a
large LED panel that will treat a large area of the body at once. This
option is best because it works for basically any and all purposes you
could possibly want it for. A combined red and near-infrared light
therapy device offering both 660nm and 850nm will allow you to do
anything you want on any given day—whether anti-aging treatments
on your skin, or healing an injury or lower back pain, or muscle
recovery and fat reduction.

Do Heat Lamps Work for Red/NIR Light

Therapy?
There are some companies who sell red heat lamp incandescent bulb
setups as either red/NIR therapy devices or as saunas, or a combination of
both—sometimes advertised as a “near-infrared sauna.” So I often get the
question if these are ideal for red/NIR light therapy.
There are various takes in articles online on this subject, with some LED
companies basically saying that they are not effective for red/NIR light
therapy, and some companies that make these heat lamp saunas saying
that they are effective.
Here’s my take on all this…
These red heat lamp bulbs can work to deliver the benefits of red/NIR
light therapy, but there are some challenges with trying to use these
devices for red/NIR light therapy:

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1. They are not pure red or pure near-infrared light sources as some
companies sometimes try to imply (some companies try to imply
that these bulbs emit pure red or pure near-infrared light, which is
not true) and much of the light emitted is not in the red/NIR
spectrum. They actually emit light across a broad spectrum of the
spectrum, from red light all the way up through far-infrared. I.e.
Instead of an LED panel, where, for example, 200W of light are
being emitted right at the specific therapeutic wavelength of 660nm
(or 850nm), you have 200W of light that is spread across a big
spectrum from roughly 600nm-3500nm+).
A. Roughly 14% of the overall irradiance is emitted in the
therapeutic band of 600nm-1000nm. And based on that,
roughly 1/3rd of that is in the part of the spectrum where most
red/NIR light research has been done—from 630nm-680nm
and 800nm-880nm. Stated differently: About 85% of the light
emitted from these bulbs is not in the red/NIR spectrum. So if
you have a bulb that is 250W, less than 40W is actually in the
red/NIR therapeutic window, and an even smaller amount is
in the specific bands of light commonly used for red/NIR light
therapy and that are known to most strongly stimulate
mitochondria.
B. The company that makes these heat lamp saunas with a canvas
tent around it (SaunaSpace) suggests that, because the sauna
uses 4 heat lamps (not just 1), these numbers go up
significantly and do reach therapeutic levels. This is true, and
it is likely the case that these lights can give some benefits of
red/NIR light therapy. But this 4-bulb setup is roughly $1,000
(roughly twice as much as the LED devices that I recommend),
or $3,000 for the sauna version which comes with a canvas
tent enclosure to create a heated room.
2. Dosing is a little complicated, because much of the light emitted is
outside of the most therapeutic bands (630-680nm and 800-
880nm). To demonstrate why, think of this scenario: Let’s say you’re
using an 850nm LED device that has an irradiance of 75mW/cm2,
and let’s say you’re using an incandescent bulb that has the same
irradiance of 75mW/cm2, but that light output is spread across 600-
1000nm instead of being concentrated at a known therapeutic
wavelength (like 850nm). Is the dosing the same? I don’t know if
anyone has a definitive answer to that. The power density is the
same, but the spread of the light output over different wavelengths is
very different. The answer is probably that time should be increased
somewhat, but it’s hard to know exactly by how much. Also, the fact
that there is virtually no scientific research on red/NIR light therapy
that uses these types of devices also makes it difficult to draw
conclusions about dosing guidelines.

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 3. The fact that it creates lots of heat makes it difficult to use it in a
targeted way on specific deep tissues from close distance (like you
can with LED panels) without overheating the tissues and
potentially causing burns. Ideally, you don’t want a red/NIR light
source that emits lots of heat, as it greatly limits how close you can
get to it, and therefore makes doing treatments on various areas
much more complicated and limited in what you can use it for. For
skin treatments, this is not an issue since you’re generally using it
from further away, but for doing targeted treatments on deep tissues
in specific areas, this is a significant factor.
A. Side note: For the sake of clarity (since some manufacturers of
the bulbs sometimes imply that their bulbs are pure red or
pure NIR light), I want to note that the heat is created from the
far-infrared rays, not from near-infrared rays. The heat one
feels from these devices (i.e. the fact that they get hot and heat
up your body and create a sauna environment if you do it in a
closed space) is not a result of red and near-infrared light—it’s
from all the far-infrared rays being emitted. Those create heat,
not the same therapeutic benefits of 630-680nm and 800-
880nm red/NIR light.
4. Finally, one further potentially complicating factor is that if you’re
using it as a sauna, the optimal treatment time for sitting in the
sauna (and getting hot, sweating, etc.) is generally not the same as
the optimal treatment times for red/NIR light therapy. In some
cases, depending on how you use it, there can be some overlap. But
in general, if you’re using it as a sauna to get hot and sweaty, then
you’re probably not using it in the very precise doses that are
optimal for red/NIR light therapy. E.g. Optimal doses for red/NIR
light therapy tend to be in the range of 2-10 minutes per area (maybe
a little longer if you’re relatively far away from the light source), and
optimal sauna use times are generally considerably longer than this.
But you could potentially get around this issue by rotating your body
to a new position (where the light is on a different part of your body)
every 5-10 minutes while in the sauna.

Overall, these heat lamp saunas can be used for red/NIR light therapy
(especially if you get SaunaSpace’s 4-bulb setups), but they do come with a
few issues that make red/NIR light therapy a little more complicated .

Other Types of Light Devices and Treatment

Options
In addition, there are other types of light devices one can get.

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Laser devices. These can range in price from $2,500-$30,000.
And as I quoted Hamblin previously, there is no strong evidence that
LED devices are inferior to laser devices. The research comparing
the two has shown similar outcomes. But there are still some
practitioners who believe that lasers are superior in their
effectiveness. Laser devices are generally purchased by health
practitioners for use in their clinics, and not by regular people. Since
this book is intended as a guide for regular people, and because I
assume most people don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on
their red/NIR light device, I am not discussing all the different laser
devices available for purchase. If you wish to purchase a laser device,
you can find a guide here: https://www.top5reviewed.com/cold-
therapy-lasers/
Hair-loss specific devices. There are several devices that are
marketed specifically for hair loss—e.g. combs and helmets, etc.
These devices are generally underpowered and overpriced. For hair
issues, I believe the LED devices I recommend are going to be
superior.
Facial anti-aging devices. There are also several devices that are
intended for facial beauty/anti-aging effects on skin. Some of these
devices appear decent, but most are also greatly underpowered and
overpriced, and inferior to the LED devices I recommend. There is
simply no need for face-specific products. You can just as easily use
the LED panels I recommend. Plus, they have the added versatility
to be used on many other areas of the body.
Joint-specific devices. There are several devices that are
marketed specifically as joint pain alleviators. I’ve even seen some
commercials on TV for one device. These devices are generally also
underpowered, and there is so much pseudoscience in the claims
some companies make about their product. As with the other body
areas above, for joint issues, I also believe the LED devices I
recommend are going to be superior.
Brain-specific devices. There is one brain-specific device from a
company called VieLight that I do recommend, and is likely the best
option for treating the brain. The LED devices I recommend can be
used to treat the brain on the forehead, or other areas of your head
where you don’t have thick hair, but they are limited by the presence
of hair in what parts of the head/brain they can deliver light to.
There is research showing, however, that treating the brain through
the forehead alone can be effective. Having said that, I still think the
VieLight Neuro is the best option for the brain specifically. I discuss
this device in more detail below.
Laser acupuncture and Photopuncture. Some people—like my
friend Kay Aubrey-Chimene of the Photonic Therapy Institute—do

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 something called “photopuncture.” This is using targeted high-
power red light “torches” specifically on acupuncture points, with
the idea that the light travels along the bodies energy “meridians.”
(This is a concept from Chinese Medicine.) Some people have
suggested that light can essentially work to rebalance the body’s
energy/meridian system with light just as well as needles. And the
Photonic Therapy Institute has reported great success using these
methods. There are several studies that have actually used red/NIR
light on meridian/acupuncture points and shown very exciting and
positive results. 377 There have been at least 18 studies done on this
over the last 20 years on conditions such as headaches and
myofascial pain, and most have shown positive effects. The only
issue here is that there is a paucity of data comparing treatments on
the acupuncture points vs. light treatments not on acupuncture
points. That makes it hard to know exactly how much the
acupuncture point-targeted aspect of the light treatment is actually a
major factor in the effectiveness. Without controlled studies, it’s not
possible to determine if shining the light on non-acupuncture points
would have the same effect. But again, there are positive studies that
have used these methods, so I’m interested to see studies that
explicitly test what role the focus on acupuncture points is playing in
the results. The Photonic Therapy Institute offers a 1-torch and 2-
torch light kit (along with instructional materials) for
Photopuncture. Based on the positive studies, this may very well be
worth experimenting with. I recently purchased it to experiment
myself and see what kind of effects I notice. I discuss this kit again
below in the recommended devices section.

Please note that my general dosing recommendations are for the LED
panel devices I recommend, not for specific devices like the Photopuncture
device or the VieLight Neuro. For those two devices, I suggest following
the dosing guidelines from those two companies.

377 Baxter, D. et al. (2008). Clinical Effectiveness of Laser Acupuncture: A Systematic Review.
Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies . Volume 1, Issue 2 , December 2008, Pages 65-
82.

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My Recommended Lights for Red/NIR Light
Therapy
I know all this information can feel overwhelming and confusing. So let me
break it down for you very simply, by giving you my top choices for devices
in each category from small to large.
You want to get a light device that gives spa-worthy treatment in your own
home. While treatments from health professionals and doctors using
red/NIR light therapy can cost hundreds of dollars, a wise one-time
investment in a high-quality light will allow you to do treatments at home
that would cost tens of thousands of dollars if you were to go to an anti-
aging clinic or doctor’s office for treatment.
By the way, I happen to know of some anti-aging clinics that use the exact
lights I’m recommending, but charge people $75-$150 for a single session
with the light. Now you know how to accomplish this in the privacy of your
own home, at your own convenience, while—after the initial purchase of
the light—only costing cents to use each day .
Here are my top choices for the light devices I recommend:

Best Small Red/NIR Light Device

I do not recommend the small devices, as they are extremely
underpowered and only irradiate a small portion of your body. In general,
I think it is much wiser to spend a little more and get a much bigger and
higher power device.
But if you must get a small device (or you only want to treat a very small
part of your body), the only small light that I recommend is this one from
Red Light Man. It’s 100 watts with LEDs split between 610nm, 630nm,
660nm, and 680nm. Or you can get it as solely a 670nm light. I
recommend doing the latter, because 670nm will active cytochrome c
oxidase in the mitochondria more effectively than lower wavelengths like
610nm. This light will have a good power density at about 4-5” away from
the light, but remember, it’s a small light, so light will only hit a small part
of your body.
To treat larger areas of your body at once—which I strongly
recommend doing for time-efficiency and to get greater
benefits, especially for general skin anti-aging uses—you’ll
definitely want to get a larger light.
In general, it’s best to spend your money (even if you have to

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save up) on a larger more powerful light rather than rushing to
get a small one .

Best Medium Sized Red/NIR Light Devices

These lights get into the optimal range for power output and size, so they
can treat a large portion of your body at once with a sufficient dose.
These devices generally cost upwards of $450 and deliver upwards of 120-
300 watts of power to large portion of your body (like large muscle groups
and a large portion of the torso at once). This is a huge time-saver when
compared with treating the same areas with a small device and will lead to
better results. Also, since some of the effects of the light are from
irradiating the blood and lowering inflammation, the larger lights will treat
more of the blood at once and will have better body-wide effects.
My top choices in medium size devices are as follows:
1. “Red Rush360” by RedTherapy.co.

It’s 360 watts (significantly higher power output than the other
lights in this category) and gives a solid power density of about
100mW/cm2 at 6” from the light. (That’s the actual light output, not
the claimed power output.)
It’s 16.3” tall by about 10.6” wide (slightly larger than the other lights
in this category).
It has 120 LEDs (twice as many as the Joovv).
It comes with a 50-50 split of 660nm and 850nm.
They’ve also developed new technology to nearly completely
eliminate EMF (electromagnetic fields) emission from their light
device, making it extremely safe to use even from very close
distances. (They are the only manufacturer to do this, to my
knowledge.)
The price is excellent at $449. (This is my overall top choice for a
light under $500.)
Given that it has the highest power output, the broadest coverage
area, the most LEDs, a very competitive price, and the lowest EMFs,
it is my top choice in this category.

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2. The “BIO-300” by Platinum Therapy Lights

It’s 300 watts (more than double the comparably sized Joovv, and
almost as much as the Red Rush), and gives a great power intensity
of about 100mW/cm2 at 6” from the light (almost as high as the Red
Rush360).
It’s 19” tall by about 9” wide (slightly larger than the Joovv, and
roughly the same size as the Red Rush, slightly longer just not as
wide).
It has 100 LEDs.
It’s available in the same options as the Joovv light—660nm, all in
850nm, or a 50-50 split of 660nm and 850nm.
The prices are excellent:
All 660nm = $449
50-50 split of 660 and 850nm = $449
All 850nm = $449

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3. The Joovv Light “Mini” by Joovv (Joovv is the brand that has
been around the longest and has a good reputation overall.)

It’s 120 watts, which is considerably less than the two lights
mentioned above. (Note: Their claimed power intensity is
110mW/cm2 at 6” from the light but this is based on the calculated
theoretical numbers on paper, not the actual measured light output.
I’ve measured it right next to the Platinum BIO-300 and Red
Rush360 and measurements show that it has significantly lower
light output than the other devices. At far distances like 24” or 36”
away, it has close to 50% less light output than the Red Rush360.
Note that is for the 50-50 mix of red and near-infrared. A pure red
device would be slightly lower than that, and a pure near-infrared
device would be slightly higher. Also be aware that the differences in
light intensity between these devices are even larger the further you
move away from the light device, as you can see in the photos in the
previous section of this book titled “Comparing Power Densities of
Light Devices from Popular Brands.”)
It’s 15” tall by about 8” wide (slightly smaller than the other 2 lights).
It has 60 LEDs, so considerably less coverage area than the other
two lights in this category.
It’s available with all in 660nm, all in 850nm, or a 50-50 split of
660nm and 850nm. The 850nm options are more expensive:
All 660nm = $495
50-50 split of 660 and 850nm = $595
All 850nm = $645

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Remember a high-powered light allows you to treat from further away and
thus treat a much larger area of your body at one time, while still
maintaining an effective dose. Whereas with the lower power lights, you’ll
have to be much closer to the device and thus can only treat much smaller
areas at one time.
These are all great options. (Of course, I suggest the lights that offer higher
power and are simultaneously lower cost, so options #1 and #2 are the
clear winners here.)
Now, if you want a large light to treat the whole front or whole back of your
body at once with high power density, I would strongly recommend
considering the larger and more powerful half-body units.

Best Half Body Red/NIR Light Devices

These units generally cost upwards of $700 to $2,500, with a couple great
options of large, high power effective lights for under $1,000.
There are much more expensive options available and full body devices
like tanning beds that can treat basically every inch of your body at once,
but these are far more expensive and unnecessary for most people. There
are a lot more expensive “luxury” red light options for those that want
them, but in my opinion, there is really no need to go beyond the lights in
this category. This is the category that provides all you need to get great
results at a very reasonable price. In my opinion, these half body devices
are a fraction of the price, and essentially offer the same benefits.

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Several of the devices in this category are much higher power (relative to
the medium-sized lights), from about 300 watts on the low end to 600
watts.
This is a great thing, especially when combined with being able to shine
light on a much larger area of your body at once, because this will
dramatically increase the overall number of photons hitting your body and
the dose you receive. Thus, the effects are stronger, and the benefits are
greater—especially if you want to treat deeper tissues in larger areas of
your body, for organ health, muscle gain, and fat loss, etc. And you can do
less treatment time per session.
Plus, if you want to treat deep tissues in large areas of your body at once,
it’s very time-efficient with sessions of just a few minutes, whereas with
smaller devices, it can be more time consuming by having to treat multiple
areas.
So if you’re looking for a large high-power device to do full body
treatments, this is ideal.
Here are the large high-power devices I recommend:
1. The BIO-600 by Platinum Therapy Lights:

It’s 600 watts (about double the power output of the comparably
sized lights from the other manufacturers mentioned below) and
gives a solid power intensity of over 100mW/cm2 at 6” from the
light. (This is the same power density as the medium-sized lights
from Red Therapy Co. and Platinum Therapy Lights, but here you
get it with a larger light that covers more of your body at once. So
you can do full-body treatments from closer distances.)
It’s 36” tall by about 8” wide (essentially the same dimensions as the
Joovv “Original” mentioned below).
You can also get this in all the same options as the Joovv Original
Light—either in 660nm, all in 850nm, or a 50-50 split of 660nm and
850nm.
The prices are wonderful:
All 660nm = $749
50-50 split of 660 and 850nm = $749
All 850nm = $749

2. The “Joovv Original Light” by Joovv:

It’s 300 watts (about half the power output of the option mentioned
above) and gives a power intensity of over 70mW/cm2 at 6” from the
light. (Note: Again, the actual measured power density is

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 significantly lower than what is claimed.)
It’s roughly the same dimensions as the Platinum BIO-600.
You can also get this in all the same options as the Platinum light—
either in 660nm, all in 850nm, or a 50-50 split of 660nm and
850nm.
The prices are considerably higher (about $50-$340 more,
depending on the specific light wavelengths you want):
All 660nm = $795
50-50 split of 660 and 850 nm = $995
All 850nm = $1,095

3. The “Combo Bodylight 2.0” by Red Light Man:

It’s 300 watts (half the power output of the comparably sized
Platinum light and about the same as the Joovv light).
It’s 4 feet long, so about a foot longer than the other lights.
It uses red and near-infrared light at the wavelengths of 620nm,
670nm, 760nm and 830nm.
You can also get this in all the same options as the Platinum light—
either in 660nm, all in 850nm, or a 50-50 split of 660nm and
850nm.
The price is $750
Is a nice light, but from my perspective, has two drawbacks:
It’s not as high power as other options in this category (in
particular the Platinum light).
Part of the light spectrum is at 760nm, which is not an ideal
choice in my opinion, as research generally indicates that the
wavelengths from 700nm-780nm are less effective. (That’s
why very few studies ever use these wavelengths.)
Overall, it can still be effective.

Note: With a larger light (around 36-48” long) that is this powerful, you
can effectively treat the entire front or back of your body—even the deeper
tissues—at once. So if that is something you’d like to do, this is a great
investment in your health .

Full Body Red/NIR Light Therapy Options

There is also the option of doing a light setup that will shine on the full
front or back of your body from head to toe.

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 Joovv has a very large device (the Joovv “Max”) that’s 960 watts and
4.5 feet tall by 16” wide. It comes with the same options of either
pure 660nm, pure 850nm, or a 50-50 mix of the two. This is an
excellent and very powerful light, but it’s far more expensive than
the lights mentioned above—you’ll have to pay between $2,400-
$3,000 to get it.
My personal favorite setup is simply two of the Red Rush360s or
Platinum BIO-300s (or one BIO-600 combined with a BIO-300 or
RedRush360). I lay them on their side on the ground and then I lay
down next to them and treat one full side of my body all at once in a
laying position instead of a standing position (which I prefer
anyway, because I find it more relaxing to use it in laying down
compared to standing up). In contrast to the $2,400-$3,000 light
setup mentioned above, this light setup can cost less than $1,000. So
it’s a way to get a full body treatment at a relatively low cost.

Deluxe Red/NIR Light Therapy Options

There are also a couple options for super high-end tanning bed-style red
light therapy units.
These are generally priced in excess of $15,000 with one well-known
brand selling their unit for upwards of $100,000!
I put these here in case you’re interested in very high-end devices (and
you’re doing well enough financially to entertain such purchases), but to
be honest, I really do not think such devices are necessary. I do not believe
that the benefits of these devices will be vastly superior to the other far
cheaper lights I recommend.
The main benefit here is being able to treat your entire body (front and
back, from head to toe) all at once while in a laying position. And perhaps
also that you have a pretty cool looking device in your home to impress
friends (which may be a real consideration for some people.)
Below I have listed possible full body options:

Mitogen Red Light Bed. This consists of 10,000 LEDs that are a mix
of 660nm and 850nm light (the same wavelengths as the RedRush,
Platinum light and Joovv. The power output is 15mW/cm2 .
Treatment times will generally be about 10-25 minutes.

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 A Full Body Red Light LED Tanning Bed by Mitogen Energy
Medicine

NovoThor (a well-known manufacturer of laser devices) also offers a

full-body tanning bed-style LED device. This one is a mix of 630nm,
660nm, and 850nm. It has a power density of 17mW/cm2. And it
costs over $100K. This is most likely an option either for extremely

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 wealthy people or a professional gym/spa/medical setting.

Note: These devices have relatively low power densities (below

20mW/cm2)—probably because if they had high power densities and
treated your entire body at once, it would quickly lead to too large of doses.
Treatment times might have to be cut off at 30 or 60 seconds if that were
the case. Also, research suggests that lower power densities are better for
skin anti-aging effects, and I suspect they were likely wanting to optimize
skin benefits and overall systemic effects through irradiating the
bloodstream. In my opinion, these power densities are more ideal for skin
anti-aging, but not necessarily for treating deep tissues.
To be clear, I am in NO WAY implying or suggesting that you
need to purchase these ultra-expensive devices.
Nor am I even suggesting that they are the most optimal way of doing
red/NIR light therapy. While I have heard positive things about these light
beds, I believe you can get all the benefits of red and near-infrared light
therapy with the previously recommended LED lights, which are a tiny
fraction of the price of these tanning bed-style units.
I mention these purely for the sake of presenting all the options on the
market, but again, this is not to be interpreted as me implying that you
should purchase these luxury red/NIR devices. I believe that you can get
all the benefits of red/NIR light therapy with the far less expensive LED
panels recommended above.

Sauna + Red/NIR Light Therapy Options

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There are a few sauna brands make far-infrared saunas that also add near-
infrared light into their sauna. This allows you to get all the benefits of
near-infrared light discussed in this book while also getting the benefits of
the sauna heat (sweating, detoxification, mitochondrial benefits, etc.) .
These are a great option, provided you have the money for it, as they are
considerably more expensive than the pure red/NIR devices.
Sunlighten saunas, ClearLight saunas and SunStream saunas all offer
excellent lines of top-notch wooden saunas with both far-infrared and
near-infrared that are extremely high quality. With this type of premium
sauna, you can enjoy all the benefits of both near-infrared therapy and a
traditional far-infrared sauna at the same time.
SaunaSpace manufactures the previously mentioned heat lamp saunas
that use 4 incandescent heat lamp bulbs. These will have far-infrared, red,
and near-infrared light. They come with a canvas tent (as opposed to a
wooden room), and thus are considerably less expensive than the wooden
saunas made by Sunlighten, SunStream and Clearlight.
All of these brands make very high quality full-spectrum saunas that
provide tremendous therapeutic value.
For those who can afford it, this is an excellent option. It’s also convenient
as it allows you to get your near-infrared treatment while doing a sauna
session.

Photopuncture
Some people have suggested that “photopuncture” (light on acupuncture
points) can essentially work to rebalance the body’s energy/meridian
system (a concept from Traditional Chinese Medicine) with light just as
needles are purported to work in acupuncture. There are several studies
that have actually used red/NIR light on meridian/acupuncture points and
have shown very exciting and positive results—mainly on conditions such
as headaches and myofascial pain. 378 As I mentioned previously, the only
issue here is the lack of data comparing treatments on the acupuncture
points vs. light treatments not on acupuncture points, which makes it hard
to know exactly how much the acupuncture point-targeted aspect is
affecting the result. But again, there are positive studies and Kay Aubrey-
Chimene (the owner of The Photonic Therapy Institute) has reported a lot
of amazing success in her treatment of horses using this system. The
Photonic Therapy Institute offers a 1-torch and 2-torch light kit (along
with instructional materials) for Photopuncture. It is possible that this
form of light therapy could be superior to standard treatments, but as of
now, without controlled studies directly testing the extent to which light on
the acupuncture points specifically is a key factor in the treatment success,

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it’s hard for me to draw conclusions.
I got the 2-torch kit to experiment with, and while I’m not yet sold on the
concept of “photopuncture”—I want to see more controlled research first—
I have to say that I enjoy using it for targeted treatments on specific small
areas (e.g. tendons and muscles). You can dig the tip of the light right into
the precise target tissue and get deep penetration in the targeted area. For
that purpose, it works extremely well.
If you’re interested in experimenting with “photopuncture,” (or using the
torches in the way I described how I use them), you can get her 1-torch or
2-torch Photopuncture Kit here:
https://www.photonictherapyinstitute.com/light-store /

Top Light for Use on the Brain

If you’re using light on the brain specifically—for either a brain health
issue or to improve mood or cognitive function—it’s important to get a
light with near-infrared, not just red light. Research has shown that near-
infrared is more effective in penetrating the skull than red light (which has
minimal to no penetration of the skull), so this is ideal for the brain.
The LED panel lights I recommend like the Red Rush360 and Platinum
Lights have near-infrared (either pure near-infrared or mixed near-
infrared with red) and are powerful enough to be used on the forehead and
will likely be effective in penetrating the skull with some light.
Nevertheless, if your main goal is to treat the brain, the best option is the
VieLight Neuro, which has multiple contact points on the head (that can be
worked into contact the scalp to allow light to penetrate through the hair)
and will likely have the best results for brain-specific issues. (Note: This
device is designed specifically to be worn on the head and thus, won’t work
well at all to treat other areas of the body.)

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Please note that they also sell intranasal devices that claim to target the
brain, but Michael Hamblin, PhD does not believe these devices actually
do reach the brain directly 379 , therefore, I do not advocate those devices.
Yet they do have some positive research. Hamblin believes that they don’t
work by directly irradiating the brain, but that they work through
irradiating the blood through the capillaries, which indirectly affects the
brain (and other systems of the body). Assuming he is correct, it really
does not make sense to use these low-power intranasal devices to treat the
blood—it would be much better to use a high power (and much larger)
LED device for that purpose.
Having said that, the VieLight Neuro has the head unit which likely does
effectively target the brain. And the VieLight Neuro may very well be the
best product for treating the brain specifically. We don’t know for sure, as
there are no studies comparing it directly to LED lights, but there is
research supporting the use of this product in treating dementia. 380

Other options:

Photopuncture Kit from The Photonic Therapy Institute.

https://www.photonictherapyinstitute.com/light-store/
REDjuvenator—https://catalyticcolor.com/redjuvenator-light-
therapy/ (Unclear information on wattage and power density of
lights.)

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 GembaRed—https://gembared.com/ (A small, low-power 45W
panel.)

Animal treatment devices:

Photopuncture Kit.
https://www.photonictherapyinstitute.com/light-store/
RevitaVet Wraps. LED wraps to lay on your animal.
https://photonictherapyinstitute.com/product-category/revitavet-
wraps/
LED wraps to lay on your animal, and many light therapy
accessories for dogs and horses.
http://equinelighttherapy.com/welcome-equine-canine-light-
therapy

Comparing the Top Red/NIR Devices

If all these stats are overwhelming for you, let me map it all out very
simply. Below you can see all the lights I just mentioned in descending
order of their power output , along with their size, price, and
warranty:

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Note: I was able to arrange discount codes with some of the
manufacturers. Pricing above is before discount. Info on these discounts
are in the next section.
I also want to give specific recommendations for what I think are the top 5
best choices of light devices.

My Top 5 Overall Lights

Here are my personal recommendations for the lights that are the most
powerful, cost-effective, and provide amazing bang for the buck:
Note that two of the brands listed have agreed to offer my readers a
discount .
1. Red Rush360 by Red Therapy Co. - $449
You can get this light at: https://redtherapy.co/products/redrush-360-
light
For a light this large and powerful (360 watts) to be under $500 is just
phenomenal. It’s nearly 3 times the wattage of the comparably sized Joovv,

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has much higher light output (especially at further distances away), and at
the same time, it costs less. It has 120 LEDs (the most of any light around
this size). Overall, this light is probably ideal for most people’s needs. Also,
because of its extra high-power density, you can use this light from 18”,
24”, or even 36” away and still have high enough light output to do
effective treatments—thus allowing you to treat a large area of your body
all at once. Basically, this allows it to function like a much larger light.
Overall, a wonderful option for almost all purposes.
In addition, they just developed EMF-blocking technology for their lights
that makes their devices ultra-low EMF. They are the only company on the
market to do this. This makes them the clear top choice in my opinion as
they have the highest power, lowest cost, and lowest EMFs of any device in
this size range.
Discount Code: They will give a $25 discount to readers of this book
bringing total cost down to $424. Just enter the discount code “energy
blueprint” when checking out.

2. Platinum Therapy Lights BIO-600 - $789 (Top Choice)

You can get this light at:
https://platinumtherapylights.com/products/bio-rlt
If you are in the market for an extra-large light to essentially treat the
entire front or back of your body at once, this is the light for you. If you’re
looking to go all out on a larger light without spending a ton of money, this
is the way to go.
Discount Code: They will give a $40 discount to readers of this book
bringing total cost down to $749. Just enter the discount code “energy
blueprint” when checking out.
3. Platinum Therapy Lights BIO-300 - $489 (Top Choice)
You can get this light at:
https://platinumtherapylights.com/products/bio-rlt
This light has similar dimensions to the Red Rush360 and is almost as
powerful. It’s slightly smaller, but still a wonderful choice relative to all the
other competitors.
Discount Code: They will give a $40 discount to readers of this book
bringing total cost down to $449. Just enter the discount code “energy
blueprint” when checking out.
4. Joovv Original - $795-$1,095
You can get this light at: https://joovv.com/products/joovv-light?
variant=39356431694

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This light has similar power output to the Red Rush360 and Platinum
BIO-300 while being larger in size (close to the same dimensions as the
BIO-600). It is also considerably more expensive, but overall, it’s a great
light that will allow you to treat a large area of your body at once.
Discount Code: They will give a $25 discount to readers of this book. Use
the discount code “ENERGY BLUEPRINT” when checking out (note: this
one is case sensitive, so you need to use all caps).
5. Joovv Mini - $495-$645
You can get this light at: https://joovv.com/products/joovv-light?
variant=39356431502
This light has similar dimensions to the Red Rush360 and BIO-300, but
has significantly lower light output (especially at further distances away).
Overall, it’s not as cost-effective as the above options, but it’s still a very
high quality light that can certainly provide therapeutic benefits.
Discount Code: They will give a $25 discount to readers of this book. Use
the discount code “ENERGY BLUEPRINT” when checking out (note: this
one is case sensitive, so you need to use all caps).
(Disclosure: As you can see, I have arranged discounts for you with many
of these manufacturers offering high quality devices. I was not able to
arrange discounts with all of the manufacturers listed here, but I tried to
do it with every manufacturer that was open to offering a discount to
readers of this book. Please be aware that I do get a small commission on
any of these lights or saunas that you purchase if you use my discount
code. If you appreciate the work I’ve done in writing this book, I would
appreciate you using my discount code and supporting my work. Please
know that this is at no expense to you. In fact, I have negotiated directly
with these manufacturers to get you discounts off the normal prices. In
short, everyone wins. But if you have any objection to this, please feel free
to order the lights without using the discount code. Please know that my
rankings of these devices are in no way influenced by this. I have no
ownership in any of these companies or vested financial interest in
promoting any one of them over another. My recommendations for which
light devices you should get are exactly the same whether you choose to
use the discount codes or not. Moreover, there are in fact many other
devices I could promote that offer much more generous commissions,
which I am actually not promoting because they don’t offer high quality
devices. I give you my word that all my rankings here are best on a purely
objective analysis of the power output, quality, and bang-for-the-buck of
all these devices. My #1 priority is making sure that you get the best device
for your needs. In addition to that, I have done my best to negotiate the
biggest discounts for you as possible with all of the manufacturers who
were open to giving discounts.)

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Best Sauna + Near-Infrared Option:
Sunlighten “mPulse” saunas, ClearLight “Sanctuary” sauna line, or Sun
Stream Saunas (with the NIR LED panel in the sauna) all offer sauna
options with both far-infrared and near-infrared. For someone looking to
get a sauna as well (which also provides a wide variety of amazing health
benefits) and a red/NIR light therapy unit, these are wonderful options.
These sauna options tend to be less flexible in the ways that you can do the
NIR light therapy (compared with the red/NIR LED devices), but they
compensate for that drawback by also giving you the benefits of far-
infrared sauna therapy (which you don’t get with red/NIR LED devices).
These “full spectrum infrared” saunas are great options for some people,
but the price can be an obstacle for many. If you can afford them, they’re
great .
Discount Code: I have also arranged discount codes for you to use with
Sunlighten, SaunaSpace and ClearLight—you can call any of these
companies directly and use the discount code “energyblueprint.” I was not
able to arrange a discount code with Sun Stream, but they also make
excellent far-infrared + near-infrared saunas. (Note: Sun Stream is located
in Canada, which makes them a great option to avoid huge
shipping/customs charges for those of you living in Canada.)
Contact info for these companies are:

Sunlighten: www.sunlighten.com and (877) 292-0020

ClearLight: www.infraredsauna.com and (877) 790-9368
SaunaSpace: www.saunaspace.com and (844) 999-5858
Sun Stream: http://www.infraredsaunacanada.ca/ and (250) 477-
2277

To be clear, it is not necessary to get an expensive multi-thousand dollar

sauna in order to get the benefits of red/NIR light therapy. The red/NIR
LED devices I mentioned previously (that are much lower cost than
saunas) are more than adequate for red/NIR light therapy. Again, these
full-spectrum infrared saunas are for those people who want both a far-
infrared sauna and red/NIR light therapy all in one package.
Best Brain Device:
VieLight Neuro Alpha or Neuro Gamma - $1,749 You can purchase
through their website here: https://vielight.com/neuro-alpha-gamma/
Discount code is “energy blueprint” which gets you 10% off, which equates
to $175 off the regular price. Note: I recommend the Neuro Alpha over the
Gamma.

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The clear winners are the Red Rush360 and Platinum Therapy Lights LED
panels, which simply offer far more power relative to other similar-sized
lights, and therefore, have the added benefit of actually being lower cost
than the comparable lights in those categories.
The full-spectrum saunas are also excellent, and the VieLight Neuro Alpha
is wonderful for anyone looking for brain-specific treatment.
Overall, for an all-purpose red/NIR light, it’s hard to beat the Red
Rush360 and Platinum lights in terms of the combination of overall power
and the pricing. Either one of those lights is a great choice by itself—and
will be perfectly adequate for most people—but if you want to go all out
and get a larger light setup that will cover your full body, I suggest getting
two of the smaller lights (i.e. two Red Rush360s or two BIO-300s), or one
BIO-600. Or you can combine a BIO-600 with either a BIO-300 or Red
Rush360. (This is what I personally use myself at my home.)
With these setups, you can get all the benefits of red and near-infrared
light therapy (that a clinic might charge over $100 per session for!) in the
comfort of your own home with unlimited sessions for less than $1,000
or even less than $500 .

Wrapping Up
If all of the complexity and science talk has you feeling overwhelmed, I
want to end with some simplicity. I’ve tried to cover the nuances of the
science on this topic in this book, but I don’t want you to get so caught up
in all the details that you feel overwhelmed and confused on how to get
started and actually do a red/NIR light therapy session. So let me
summarize the practical aspects of all this in a very simple way:

1. Go get yourself one of the recommended light devices.

2. Switch the light on.
3. Put your chosen body area in front of it for a few minutes (following
the dosing guidelines for different body areas and treatment goals).

That’s it. It’s really that simple.

Once you are comfortable with those basic three steps, then go through the
details of my recommended dosing guidelines to make sure you’re doing
optimal treatments for the specific body area (e.g. skin issues vs. deep
tissues). Then make sure to go through the specific strategies, tips, and
protocols I offer in the section titled “Practical Tips and Strategies for
Specific Goals” to get more specific detailed guidance on using the light for
specific goals you may have like brain enhancement, muscle/strength gain,
overcoming fatigue, improving mood, fat loss, sleep, or anti-aging.

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It’s that simple .

After you get one of these lights, you can immediately start
using it to:

Increase your energy

Make your skin healthier and get rid of cellulite
Speed up fat loss
Improve muscle recovery and athletic performance
Improve mood and cognitive function
Increase muscle size and strength
Speed healing from injury
Improve metabolic and hormonal health

You now know everything you need to know to start using this
powerful technology. Now go start using it and taking your
health, body and energy to new heights!

378 Baxter, D. et al. (2008). Clinical Effectiveness of Laser Acupuncture: A Systematic Review.
Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies . Volume 1, Issue 2 , December 2008, Pages 65-
82.
379 https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/interview-with-dr-michael-hamblin-harvard-professor-
and-infrared-therapy-expert/
380 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5568598/

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 Frequently Asked Questions
Q: My practitioner (chiropractor, naturopath, etc.) said that
only his/her laser will work and not the LED lights. Who is
right?
It is a myth that only lasers have these effects. It was thought by many
people for many years that only lasers had these effects (because they were
first discovered with laser devices), but more recently, it has been proven
that non-laser light (like from LED devices of the appropriate
wavelengths) essentially have the same effects.
There are over 250 studies using LED red and near-infrared light therapy
that have been done in just the last few years. The studies that compare
them have found basically the same benefits. And there is virtually nothing
to indicate that one needs lasers to generate these effects. Even some
companies (like Thor Laser) that have been producing laser technologies
for years are now producing LED products.
According to Harvard researcher Michael Hamblin, PhD (widely regarded
as the world’s top authority on red and near-infrared light therapy):
“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 .” 381
Q: You said that both red light and near-infrared light work
through the same physiological mechanisms at the cellular
level, so I’m confused on what exactly the difference is. Can you
explain?
See the section earlier in the book titled “What Purpose Do You Want to
Use Red Light Therapy For?” for a detailed explanation of differences.
Q: Are there any concerns of EMFs (electromagnetic fields) if
the device is very close to the body?
All electronic devices emit EMFs (electromagnetic fields) and the health
effects of EMFs are still debated. By the strictest safety standards from
Europe, you don’t want to regularly be exposed to more than 3mG
(milligauss).

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Just for comparable reference, please note that your cell phone emits
much more than this every few seconds , and if it’s in use, emits far
more than 3mG (upwards of 50mG and even close to 100mG). A
household blender emits upwards of 100mG.
I’ve measured EMF output of the Joovv, Red Rush360, and Platinum LED
lights and EMF output is moderate (on par with a typical computer or
laptop, and less than a cell phone) within 0-3 inches. As you move away by
5 inches or so, there are virtually no detectable EMFs. (Note: EMFs drop
off dramatically as you move away from the source). So by using it at least
6” away from your body, you can get a strong dose of light without any
concern at all over EMFs. Anywhere over roughly 3” away is going to be
very safe, but if you want to be extremely cautious and have no EMF
exposure at all , going over 6” is ideal. This will completely eliminate
your exposure to EMFs. (Note: I have already figured this fact into my
recommended treatment distances outlined in this book, so basically,
there are no detectable EMFs at the treatment distances I recommend so
EMF’s are a non-issue here.)
Note also that Red Therapy Co. (the Red Rush 360 light) has just come out
with a line of ultra-low EMF lights, so they are taking extra steps to ensure
the safety of their products, which I think is wonderful.
One more important point: One must also consider not just the strength of
the EMF emitted, but much more importantly, the frequency of the dose.
What I mean is that sitting with your hands on your laptop or having a
cellphone on your body for several hours each day (common practices for
most people in the Western world) is infinitely more of a concern for your
health than a 3- or 15-minute exposure to the red/NIR light done once a
day or every other day. So if you’re going to worry over EMFs, then I
suggest directing your attention to things like the cell phone you have on
your body or in your hand for maybe hours each day, your use of laptops
and iPads, etc. Those are much more real concerns.
Q: How far away should the light be for maximum effect?
The closer the light is, the stronger the dose. So “maximum effect” would
be with the LED light basically on your body, as close as possible.
However, because these electronic devices emit EMFs (electromagnetic
fields) and the health effects of EMFs are still debated, I recommend
minimizing EMF exposure by being at least 3” away from the device. As
explained above, going at least 6” away is ideal.
All my treatment distances recommended in this book are 6”, 12”, 18” or
24”.
As explained in the dosing section, for deeper tissues, treating from 6” or
12” is ideal. For skin and anti-aging effects, there is a benefit of moving the

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light further away to 12”, 18”, 24” or even 36”, which is that since light
spreads as you move away from the source, going further away allows you
to treat much larger body areas all at once.
See the dosing section of this book for more specific instructions on the
best distances and doses for different purposes.

Q: How long and how often should I do the red/NIR light

sessions?
As far as how long to do the treatment, please see the section on dosing.
As for frequency of use, there is no universal agreement on the dosing
frequency in the research, so I can only make a recommendation based on
what is most common in the research and based on my experiences with
thousands of people I’ve worked with. In general, I’ve found that more
than once per day is too much. For most people, the optimal frequency is
between 3-6x per week. (Daily or every other day.)
For an acute problem, like healing an injury, it may be ideal to do one
treatment per day. (E.g. You just sprained your ankle and you want it to
heal as fast as possible. )
I don’t recommend doing more than one treatment per day. Remember
the biphasic dose response explained earlier in this book. Doing too much
will give less beneficial results than doing the right amount.
Q: How deeply do these lights penetrate into the tissues of the
body?
See the section in the book “How Deep Does Red/NIR Light Penetrate Into
Our Body?”

Q: Is there a best time of day to do it? Or are there certain

recommended practices you have for using the light for specific
issues?
There are few points worth making here:

If you are using the light for cognitive enhancement, using it on your
head prior to the period you need to focus or perform is likely the
best approach. (E.g. In the morning before starting your work day).
If you are using the light to enhance performance during physical
activity, use the LED on the muscles that are going to be most active
5-60 minutes before the activity.
If you are using the light to enhance fat loss or muscle gain in
response to exercise, using it before or after exercise is ideal
(whatever time of day that is). (Note: Some studies use it before and
others after. I personally favor using it after, but there are some

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 studies that have shown good results with applying it before exercise
as well.)
If you are using it to speed recovery after exercise, using it right after
exercise or several hours later is ideal (whatever time of day that is).
For most purposes—e.g. anti-aging effects, boosting immunity,
decreasing inflammation—the time of day likely does not matter at
all. (It is theoretically possible that certain times might be slightly
better than others, but there is no research to indicate this.)
If you are using it for cellulite reduction, it may be beneficial to use
the light on the affected area right before doing exercise (whatever
time of day that is).
Even though red light doesn’t affect the circadian rhythm nearly as
much as other wavelengths (like blue or green light, or typical indoor
white house lighting, etc.), very bright red light like these high-
power LED lights will suppress melatonin release and disrupt sleep
if you use it too close to bedtime. So I would suggest not using it
within an hour of sleep. (NIR is likely much less of a problem than
visible red light in this regard.)

Q: Can you split into several small sessions for the same effect?
You can potentially do that, but I generally recommend that people stick
with no more than one session per day. I suggest doing one longer
treatment rather than multiple shorter treatments.
Q: I have the light and have done some treatments, but how do I
know that it’s actually working? How quickly will I see or feel
the effects?
Much like supplements or prescription drugs, you can’t always know just
based on your subjective feelings if something is working or not. For
example, consider a statin drug that lowers cholesterol. Can you feel that it
is working to lower your cholesterol? No, of course not. But if you get your
blood drawn and measure your blood lipids, you will see that it is lowering
your cholesterol.
As another example, if using it for muscle gain or fat loss, the research says
that, in general, red and near-infrared light therapy increase fat loss or
muscle gain by 30% beyond just doing the exercise alone. (That’s actually a
very large effect by the way). However, what that means in practical terms
is the difference between you losing 4 inches off your waist (without the
light) vs. 5.2 inches (with the light). Unless you were measuring it and
comparing your results to your identical twin doing the same exercise and
diet plan as you, you have no way of knowing that the light caused you to
lose an extra 1.2 inches of fat beyond what you would’ve lost without the
light. You are totally unaware of the amplification effect of the light on

180
your results. All you know is that you got results, but you don’t know how
much the light contributed to them, because it’s not as though you apply
the light and watch the fat melt off right before your eyes—it’s an effect
that is happening slowly over time, and is not something we can readily
see or feel happening instantly after the light treatments.
So in many cases, there’s no way of knowing with certainty whether it is
working or not based on casual observations (i.e. without tightly
controlling things and measuring things with vs. without the light).
But here’s the good news: You don’t really have to wonder if it is working,
because the actual science has tested these things and already proved that
it does work! In essence, trust the science! These scientists did far more
rigorous and tightly controlled experiments than you could ever do in your
own personal experience, so trust their work. What that means is this:
Simply DO IT, and then trust that you’re getting beneficial effects.
Now, there are of course, many instances where one will notice an effect.
For example:

If you are using it for pain relief, you will notice that there is an
immediate pain killing effect within 20 minutes.
If you regularly get cut or injured in some way, and you observe how
long it typically takes you to heal, and then you do it with the light,
you will notice it heals much faster.
If you are using it for hair loss and you take photos, you will likely
notice that over weeks or months, your pictures show improvement.
If you are using it for arthritis, you may notice after a few weeks or
months of treatment that your joints hurt a lot less and move better,
or you don’t get pain the day after exercise, etc.
If you are using it for cellulite reduction, take photos and observe
changes over a few months, and you’ll likely see significant
reduction.
If you are using it for wrinkle reduction and anti-aging purposes, you
will likely notice effects within a few weeks (and may even have
people complimenting you on how good you look).

Again, the key point is that you don’t have to second guess this or wonder
if it is doing anything, because the actual controlled research has already
shown that it does work. So just do it and know that you are doing
something which the science has already shown works. Trust the science,
and just do it!
Q: How can we be sure we are replicating the conditions in the
studies and what the key points we need to be mindful of during

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our sessions?
My recommended dosing ranges in this book are based on the research.
These general dosing guidelines are based on the bulk of the data. So by
following these dosing guidelines for your specific issues, you’ll be in line
with the research.
In essence, that’s really all you need to know, so don’t overthink it too
much.
Q: What are the relative benefits of 660nm (red light) and
850nm (NIR) and the pros and cons of combining these in one
unit?
As explained previously, red and near-infrared act through the same
mechanism. The major difference is the penetration depth. But see the
previous section on red vs. near-infrared for a more detailed discussion of
the differences.
Since both red and near-infrared work through the same mechanisms,
there really are no universal pros and cons—it’s dependent on how you
want to use it. If you want to use it to treat deeper tissues like glands,
muscles, or the brain, go for pure near-infrared or a 50-50 mix. If you
want to do anti-aging or heal things more in the surface tissues, red light
may have an advantage. But please keep in mind that BOTH red light and
near-infrared will work for both purposes. When we talk about these
differences, it’s just a matter of degrees of effectiveness, not that one works
for a specific purpose and the other doesn’t work at all. They both work for
pretty much all of these purposes, so don’t overthink it, or convince
yourself that the red light won’t work for treating muscles, glands, etc. The
one exception might be the brain, where it has been shown that near-
infrared penetrates much better through the skull than visible red light
does. So if you want to use it to enhance brain health, near-infrared is a
better choice.
Q: What is the risk to eyes? Any danger after cataract surgery?
How best to protect the eyes as a precaution? Any differences
between red vs. near-infrared here?
In general, the research indicates that red and near-infrared light are
extremely beneficial for eye health. While there is no official consensus
among researchers about this, I think it is likely that you do not need any
special protective eyewear as you would with many other types of light,
like UV light. Having said that, there is some research indicating that long-
duration exposure in the eyes may not be a good idea, and you may want to
keep the dose very low for the eyes (i.e. the eyes may not tolerate larger
doses as well as other body parts.) One researcher commented:

182
 “Eye safety: In a study by Merry et al (2016), 50-80 mW/cm2 of visible
red light appeared to improve vision, though in that study, subjects
kept their eyes closed while looking at the Warp10 treatment device
(670nm). Another scientific article on eye safety stated that 10 mW/cm2
would be a safe upper limit for a near-infrared exposure of long
duration.”
If you have any specific condition or eye health issue (e.g. post cataract
surgery), please talk to your doctor and make sure it’s okay for you .
I will also mention, importantly, that lasers are very different from LEDs.
You should NEVER shine lasers into your eyes!
But LEDs are much safer for light exposure in the eyes. Whether they are
100% perfectly safe for large doses is not yet clear. If you have any eye
health problems and you want to err on the side of caution, you may want
to:

1. Make sure that you only expose your eyes to low doses (less than 5
Joules is probably a good estimate). Much less than you would dose
all the other areas of your body.
2. Close your eyes or wear fabric (e.g. towel, shirt, blindfold, etc.)
around your eyes while using the light.

Until we have more conclusive data, it doesn’t hurt to err on the side of
caution.
(Remember to consult your doctor if you have any specific issues—these
statements are not intended as medical advice or claims to treat or cure
any specific eye condition).
The one other difference here is simply eye sensitivity. Some people find
the brightness of a powerful red LED light to be hard on the eyes (in the
sense that any bright light will be). So if you are sensitive to the light, feel
free to close your eyes or use some sort of fabric or blindfold to cover your
eyes. Note that the near-infrared light is not visible to the human eye, so
you won’t have any bright light that your eyes are sensitive to with near-
infrared .
Q: What if you have certain problematic tissues like tumors or
cysts? Are there any risk factors when shining it over an area
where one has polycystic ovaries or perhaps a benign cyst on a
breast etc.? Should these areas be covered when treating?
(Standard Disclaimer: As always, for any specific medical condition, please
consult your doctor before using red or near-infrared light. Nothing I say
here should be construed as medical advice or as a claim to treat or cure
any condition.

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In general, red and near-infrared light will be stimulating to tissues that
you shine it on, so it is reasonable to speculate (even though we don’t have
much data to go on) that shining it on cancerous tumors would probably
not be a good idea. Though Michael Hamblin said that overall, the
research shows improved outcomes in cancer when red/NIR light is used
on OTHER PARTS of the body (i.e. not the tumor itself).
Regarding benign cysts or polycystic ovaries, there is really no research on
this. But as a precautionary principle, I would suggest not shining it on any
tissues that you don’t want to potentially stimulate.
I believe that I am being excessively cautious in my recommendations
here, but I think it’s smart to do so until we have more research to base
recommendations on .

Q: Will it help decrease fat and cellulite and in what way does it
help do so? Is it only by the way of losing fat or purely by shining
on area of skin?
As far as cellulite is concerned, it reduces cellulite primarily by enhancing
the structural integrity of the collagen networks. (It also may work by
helping to stimulate fat loss.)
For fat loss, red/NIR light by itself (i.e. in the absence of nutrition and
lifestyle interventions) likely won’t do much to help you lose fat. Where it’s
really going to shine is if you are actually engaged in a nutrition and
lifestyle routine that is driving overall fat loss. In that scenario, it will
amplify the effects and allow you to lose a lot more fat. But again, by itself,
just doing the red/NIR light without nutrition and lifestyle changes, you
will not notice much benefit on fat loss. It’s not a magic pill, but rather a
key lifestyle strategy that amplifies the benefits of other lifestyle strategies.
Q: What makes the red light therapeutic—is it the amount of
nm? I found a different light that is 660nm and it’s only $50 or
$100 or $150. Do I really need to get the ones that are $400 and
up?
It’s not just the wavelength that matters. For example, I can give you a
little LED device with 10 bulbs of 3 watts each that is a 660nm device and
it might only cost $14, but it’s basically worthless because it’s way too
underpowered, and it’s not going to illuminate a significant portion of your
body.
The dose (power of the light combined with the distance away from your
body), along with being a sizable light, along with being at the right
wavelength are all key factors .
Any light that you’ve found that is cheap is almost certainly missing one or
more of those three factors.

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If you don’t have a light that can give an effective dose to your body (and
the right amount of your body), you have a device that is mostly worthless.
Take my word for it, it is a HUGE mistake not to listen to my advice in this
book about getting a device with adequate power. You can buy some of the
devices on the market that are 30 watts or 60 watts for $100 or $300 or
$400, but you will have just wasted your money, because those devices
can’t give you an effective dose. So do NOT buy the cheaper devices, and
save your money to get one of the devices from the brands I am
recommending here. It’s the difference between getting results and not
getting results.
And remember that the devices I recommend that are $449-$1,000 dollars
are actually incredibly cheap compared to getting a laser ($5,000-
$30,000) or going to a clinic to get treatments ($75+ per treatment).

Q: I am confused by all these different terms like

photobiomodulation (PBM) and Low-Level Laser Therapy
(LLLT). What are these and how do they differ from red/NIR
light therapy?
In short, these are all basically interchangeable terms. So don’t get
confused by quotes or various people who use terms like
“photobiomodulation” or LLLT? Even “LLLT” itself doesn’t always mean
the same thing—some people write it as “low-level laser therapy” and
others as “low-level light therapy. ”
Historically speaking, it was thought that lasers (coherent light beams) had
unique effects that were totally different from regular sources of light like
lamps or LEDs. Thus, the bulk of the research has been done with lasers
and uses the term “low-level laser therapy” or LLLT for short.
To make things even more complicated, many other terms have been put
into use by some people like “cold laser,” “therapeutic laser,”
“photobiotherapy,” etc.
(Side note: There is also the broad term “light therapy” which people use
to mean many different things unrelated to red/NIR light therapy, like
therapy for the eyes, or sleep issues, or using a SAD light for seasonal
affective disorder, and other uses.)
But back to red and near-infrared light therapy…
In recent years, it has become accepted that lasers don’t have the unique
effects once thought, and that it’s just light at these wavelengths in the
right intensity (not specifically laser beams) that produce these effects.
So now there have been hundreds of studies on red/NIR light therapy that
use regular LED panels (not lasers). This is sometimes referred to

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specifically as LEDT (LED therapy) or more broadly as still LLLT, but now
defined as “low-level light therapy” (rather than laser therapy).
Since it has been found that it’s not only lasers that produce these effects,
most researchers now use the broad and all-encompassing terms “low-
level light therapy” (still with LLLT) or the better term, “
photobiomodulation” (which means literally the changing of biology with
light).
But again, don’t get confused by these different terms. For our purposes
here, all of these terms are interchangeable with “red and near-
infrared light therapy .”
Q: Do red light devices emit UV light?
No, they do not. UV light is another part of the light spectrum entirely
separate from red and near-infrared. The light devices I recommend do
not emit any UV light.

Q: Can I use any red light to get the benefits?

No. As I explained in the section on choosing a device, you need a device
that has enough power (wattage), is of good size for what you want to use it
for, and has the proper wavelengths of light.
Q: Does red light therapy tan you or burn the skin?
No. Tanning and sun burns come from UV rays. These devices do not emit
UV light.
Q: Do you get Vitamin D from red light?
No. Our body synthesizes vitamin D from exposure to UVB light. These
devices do not emit UV light.
If you are looking to synthesize vitamin D, you need exposure to either
sunlight or a specialty UV lamp. (I suggest the Sperti UVB lamp for this
purpose. )
Q: Can I get the benefits of red/NIR light therapy by standing in
the sun?
Yes and no. It’s a bit of a nuanced answer…
First, the truth is that if you were spending hours every day outdoors with
the sun on your skin (like our ancestors did), then you probably don’t need
a red/NIR light device.
But since most of us do not spend hours a day with the sun on our body,
we end up deficient in the nutrient of red/NIR light. So getting a red/NIR
light device is a very smart move.

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I should mention that the sun has benefits that red/NIR light devices do
not have. The sun emits UV light, which we use for several purposes, like
synthesizing vitamin D. It’s also going to be better for setting circadian
rhythm in the morning.
But red/NIR lights also have some advantages over the sun…
One is convenience and access. Not everyone lives in a place that is sunny
all year-round. And not everyone has the ability to get outdoors in the sun
every day during the time of day where it’s warm and sunny (and you’d
want to have your skin exposed).
In addition, for very targeted treatments of specific issues, the sun is not
going to give you the precision targeting of a light device that you can shine
specifically on the thyroid gland or on a specific wound site with the
precise light intensity and dose that will lead to the best effects.
Also, the spectrum differs in important ways that affect some goals. In
particular, for skin anti-aging (on the face for example), many people
would want to avoid getting lots of UV on their face from the sun (which
may accelerate skin damage and skin aging), but get the benefits of
red/NIR. The sun doesn’t give you the ability to do this—with the sun, you
get the whole spectrum of red, near-infrared, far-infrared, blue, and UV.
But with a red/NIR light device, you can get the therapeutic benefits on
your skin while avoiding the potentially counterproductive wavelengths
entirely.
To be clear, red/NIR light devices are not a replacement for sunlight. We
still need plenty of sun exposure to be healthy. But red/NIR light devices
can make up for our lack of sun exposure and give us several targeted
benefits in a way that we can’t get from the sun.
Q: Does red/NIR light work as a light for treating Seasonal
Affective Disorder (i.e. a “SAD light”)?
No. SAD lights are used by people who live in places that have poor
sunlight in the winter months to avoid/treat Seasonal Affective Disorder.
They are meant to keep circadian rhythm strong during the periods where
there is little sun. Red and near-infrared lights do not work for this
purpose because it is specifically blue light (light in the blue wavelengths)
that affects the circadian “clock” in our brain. Thus, you need specifically
blue light of ample intensity to affect SAD.
Note that many of the SAD lights actually use “white light” which is a
mixture of blue and many other colors (such that it appears “white”).
One other thing to note here is that blue light in isolation may be harmful
to the eyes—even while it benefits SAD or circadian rhythm. Some
researchers believe that the red/NIR parts of the spectrum emitted by the

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sun help to counterbalance some of the potential harms of blue light. Yet
with SAD lights, we get high power blue light separate from the red/NIR
light that we’d normally get from the sun. So I personally think it’s wise to
also include some red/NIR light—using the red/NIR lights I recommend at
a distance of 3-5ft away—while using the SAD light. This is what I advise to
members of my Energy Blueprint program (who use SAD lights) to help
protect their eyes.
Q: I see some people using blue lights in their devices, what are
the differences between blue and red lights?
Companies that do this are misguided, in my opinion. Blue light does not
have the same physiological effects as red/NIR light, and in fact, has some
effects which oppose red/NIR light.
To be clear, blue light is necessary and vital to our health because blue
light entering our eyes feeds into our circadian rhythm/clock in the brain,
which regulates numerous hormones and neurotransmitters, and many
vital functions. So I am not saying that blue light is bad—to the contrary,
we need blue light to be healthy (especially blue light entering our eyes).
There are also some other potential uses of blue light like whitening teeth
or treating acne.
But blue light directly on the skin, or on wound/injury sites, muscle tissue
(or anything where one might use red/NIR light) is a bad idea. The blue
light isn’t doing anything beneficial in that case, and may even be
detracting from the benefits of red/NIR light. In the case of anti-aging
treatments on the skin specifically, it is almost guaranteed to be counter-
productive, as blue light can actually damage skin cells.
Moreover, we all spend huge amounts of time indoors under fluorescent or
LED indoor lamps that have tons of blue light. Our personal devices like
phones, computers, iPads, etc. also emit a lot of blue light.
So most of us are being bathed in blue light all the time, while being
massively deficient in red/NIR. Again, blue light does not stimulate the
same physiological benefits as red/NIR light.
Q: Does red/NIR light therapy work through clothes?
The short answer is no. But if the clothing is very thin and light can
penetrate it well, then maybe to some extent. How do you know if red light
can penetrate it? Simply hold the fabric up next to the light while it’s on
and see how much light gets through. You can literally observe it with your
naked eye.
Now, with most clothes, they will block at least 50% and more like 80%+
of the light, so if that is the case, just realize that it is massively lowering
the dose of the light.

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In summary, I wouldn’t recommend trying to do any light treatments
through clothing. For best results, do it on bare skin.
Q: What about red/NIR light therapy with animals?
There are many companies who manufacture red/NIR light therapy
devices specifically for animals. It is a common practice in some veterinary
clinics, and among race horses in particular .

Q: Does red/NIR light therapy work through clear plastic or

glass?
In general, I would say yes. While plastic or glass does block some parts of
the light spectrum (like parts of the UV spectrum), it should not interfere
too much with red or near-infrared. But it is possible that certain types of
plastic or glass could block some wavelengths. To know for certain, you’d
have to test it with and without a PAR meter (using the specific piece of
plastic or glass you’re referring to) to see if it blocks any of the light output.
Q: What is the difference between these red/NIR light devices
and plant grow lights that some plant growers use, or lights on
coral reef aquariums?
Plant and coral growing lights use lights with many different parts of the
spectrum—blue, UV, green, red, orange, etc. (There are a few lights for
plant growing that are purely red, but are generally extremely
underpowered, and don’t have optimal beam angles.) Red and near-
infrared lights use LEDs that specifically emit only red and/or near-
infrared light at the specific therapeutic wavelengths, and at the right
power output for therapeutic effects.
So the short answer is no, you can’t use plant growing lights or aquarium
lights as red/NIR light therapy devices. They are totally different. If you
want to do red/NIR light therapy, get the right kind of light device
specifically designed for that purpose.
Q: Can it be used while pregnant?
There is no data on this, so we cannot say for sure. I will say that humans
get red/NIR light exposure from the sun—so this occurs all the time
whenever a pregnant woman is sunbathing. But it is feasible that red/NIR
devices could differ in some way that has unexpected effects. Thus, since
we do not have the data on this, I will stick with my precautionary
recommendations and advise you to err on the side of caution and don’t do
anything which we don’t know the effects of.
This article has more nuanced recommendations and speaks of some
relevant research that suggests that using it on other parts of the body
(away from the belly) is likely perfectly safe:

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https://www.chiroeco.com/lllt-not-recommended-during-pregnancy/
But again, consult your doctor first and always err on the side of caution.
Q: Can you clarify dosage on a particular area of the body
compared to total session dosage? In other words, if max dosage
is 20 mins can I do 20 mins on each area or 20 minutes max for
all areas combined (i.e. if 2 areas 10 mins each)?
Max dosage is the maximum total treatment time for all areas treated.
That means that you can either do 20 minutes (potentially) on one area of
the body, or divide that 20 minutes over multiple areas. It does NOT mean
20 minutes on each area.
Note: 20 minutes is the maximum dosage (with the lights I recommend).
Remember that doing the maximum isn’t necessarily the best. Most people
will notice better effects with lower doses than the maximum doses in the
recommended dosing range. And especially people who are in very poor
health will NEED to start with much smaller doses at the very bottom (or
below) the recommended dosing range .
If you do a longer treatment time like 15-20 minutes, I strongly suggest
doing it on more than one area of the body (e.g. 2-4 areas), rather than the
whole 20 minutes just on one area. 20 minutes on one area will almost
certainly be too strong of a dose on that area of the body.

Total Treatment Dose/Time: To calculate the total dose more

precisely, please see the earlier sections that went over on power
density numbers (e.g. 100mW/cm2 ) and how that relates to the
amount of Joules. I suggest that total treatment dose for all areas of
the body should be no more than roughly 120J. So assuming the
light is 6” or 12” away from your body, that means no more than
roughly 15-20 total minutes of time with the light shining
on your body .

Q: Here is a study saying that near-infrared light could

potentially be harmful to the eyes. What do you think?
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nikolaos_Kourkoumelis/publication/50291066_
Safety-Related-to-Near-Infrared-Radiation-Exposure-to-Biometric-
Devices.pdf
They are mainly saying:

1. LASER light (coherent light) can damage eye health. I agree with
that completely. You MUST always protect your eyes from laser
light! So if you are using a laser device, then yes, it can damage your
eyes.

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 2. They are speculating that it might be possible that VERY bright
LEDs could potentially be hazardous to eye health, but more
research is needed.

Keep in mind that there is actually research showing that it can BENEFIT
eye health. See the many studies on this in the section of this book on eye
health.
But if you have any eye health problems and you want to err on the side of
caution, you may want to:

1. Make sure that you only expose your eyes to low doses (less than 5
Joules is probably a good estimate). Much lower doses than you
would do for any other area of your body.
2. Close your eyes or wear fabric (e.g. towel, shirt, blindfold, etc.)
around your eyes while using the light.

Until we have more conclusive data, it doesn’t hurt to err on the side of
caution.
Q: Is there a reliable way of calculating the appropriate duration
for effective treatment with a LED device, if you know the
power/wattage of the specific device, the size of the area being
treated, and the distance between the light and the surface of
the area being treated?
Yes, please see the section of the book titled “Guide to Red Light Therapy
Dosing.” But also note, that the calculations on paper (about the
theoretical power output of a device based on their specifications) often do
not match up with actual power output. Many devices emit 30-50% LESS
light than they claim. So the only real way to know for sure is to actually
get the light and measure the light output with a PAR meter.
Q: If you have weird and intense vision effects after your eyes
are exposed to either the red or near-infrared LED lights, how
can you determine if it is still safe to expose your eyes?
As a general rule, if you notice any negative effect, lower the dose. As far as
this visual effect specifically, first, it’s fairly normal to see spots after being
exposed to any bright light. If you feel your vision is altered in some
profound way or you don’t like any visual effects that it causes, feel free to
cover your eyes (or simple close them) while using the light.

Q: You gave significant ranges for treatment times, so how do I

know whether I should do for example, 1 minute vs. 10 minutes?
There is no universal way of dosing here, because it differs between
individuals. If you are in poor health or are severely fatigued, I always

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recommend starting with smaller doses, and some people in very poor
health can feel fatigued from doing too much (in much the same way that
they might from over exercising). So in the first few treatments, use times
at the lower end of my recommended doses. If you ever feel fatigued after
using it, that means you overdid the dose. Therefore, lower the dose on
your next session.
To make it simple: I suggest starting with smaller doses, and then working
up to the higher ends of my recommended treatment times over the course
of a couple weeks. Then, if you feel fatigued, back off the dose a bit and
you’ve found your ideal dose. Or feel free to continue using the doses at the
higher end of my recommended doses if you have no adverse reaction to it
and you feel good from it (as most healthy people will).

Q: How does this red light “heal” the body so well? My son had
tried everything to get rid of plantar warts and within 2 weeks of
consistent daily usage of the red light LED, they completely
disappeared! Totally amazing and remarkable results!
It’s hard to say why it helps get rid of plantar warts. Red/NIR light does
seem to have differential effects in certain types of cells. And it may have
an effect on cells infected with viruses (like wart tissues) that help to kill
off the virus or kill the tissues, or activate the immune system cells in the
area to help combat the virus. There is research to suggest red/NIR can
help in combating other viral issues that affect the skin like herpes simplex
virus 382 , so it’s not unreasonable that it would also benefit a condition like
plantar warts.
Q: Can you explain the difference between the LED lights
available to the general public and the more expensive laser
devices only available to medical professionals? Is there solid
research to demonstrate that they have comparable effects?
How do you determine the parameters of treatment using an
LED device that would be comparable to the parameters of
treatment used in a study using a laser device?
Yes, there is plenty of research to show that they have comparable effects.
Please see the quote from the world’s foremost expert on this subject,
Michael Hamblin, PhD, earlier in this book where he explicitly says that
they have basically the same effects. It is also worth noting that he himself
uses an LED device, not a laser device. (He uses it on his forehead in the
mornings to enhance brain/cognitive function.)
As far as the parameters of treatment using a laser vs. an LED device, you
do this by calculating the total dose they used and using the same dose
with the LED. (Remember, it’s just a function of total energy delivered, so
it can be calculated with a laser or LED device just fine.) To simplify this,
just follow my dosing guidelines.

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Q: When using it for the brain, are there big differences between
red vs. near-infrared light? And does the light penetrate
through hair and skull?
NIR will get through the skull more effectively, so for the brain specifically,
near-infrared is going to be superior.
Neither near-infrared nor red light will penetrate effectively through hair,
so you don’t want to shine it on the hairy parts of your head, but the
forehead, back of the neck, and ear areas are all good.
Also, it’s worth noting that certain devices are meant to target the brain
specifically. VieLight is one company that makes these brain-specific
devices. They sell intranasal devices that are claimed to target the brain,
but Michael Hamblin, PhD does not believe these devices actually do reach
the brain directly, but rather they work through irradiating the blood in
the capillaries, which indirectly affects the brain (and other systems of the
body). Assuming he is correct, it really does not make sense to use these
low-power intranasal devices to treat the blood—it would be much better
to use a high power (and much larger) LED device for that purpose.
Having said that, VieLight also makes a product called VieLight Neuro
which is a much higher power device with multiple light points around the
skull. (It can be placed to emit light through the hair follicles directly on
the skin, so the hair doesn’t block the light). The VieLight Neuro may very
well be the best product for treating the brain specifically. We don’t know
for sure, as there are no studies comparing it to LED lights, but it looks to
be a great product.

Q: Are there any recommendations on how to use the light

differently during the different seasons?
This is an interesting question. We don’t have any data on this, so my
answer will be speculative. With UV lights, we know that this is pretty
straightforward: Obviously you use UV light on your skin to help
synthesize more vitamin D during the time of the year where you get less
sun—the winter. In the case of red/NIR light, we are not concerned with
vitamin D specifically, but I would say follow the same principle of doing
much more in the winter (as with using a UV light) to make up for lack of
sun exposure in winter. This is especially true for anyone who lives in a
place where they don’t get much sun exposure during the winter months.

Q: Are there any side effects of using a red/NIR light device?

Can you do too much?
Remember that red/NIR light has a “biphasic dose response” (I wrote
about this earlier in the book). That means that at very low doses, you will
get little to no effect. At the right dose, you’ll get good effects. And if you do

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much more than that, you will go back to having little to no effect .
So please do follow the recommended dosing guidelines and be aware that
doing more than that can lead to counterproductive results.
As far as specific side effects, in most cases for most people, there is little
to no risk of side effects. The main concern is simply doing too big of a
dose, in which case, you would likely experience less benefits rather than
terrible side effects.
In contrast to say, use of UV light (e.g. tanning beds)—where there is a
huge risk of cell damage by overdoing it—red/NIR light is extraordinarily
safe and has little risk of negative side effects.
Having said that, a small percentage of people will experience side effects
from doing too much. The main side effects are headaches and
fatigue/exhaustion (it can require a significant amount of energy to deal
with the healing and mitochondria-stimulating properties of red/NIR
light).
Also, potential source of side effects is from the EMFs from the device.
Some people are extremely sensitive to EMFs (you know if you are,
because your cell phone and laptop/tablet cause major symptoms for you).
In the same way, the EMFs from a light can be problematic if you decide to
put the light device right on your body and don’t leave several inches of
space between your body and the light. (See my recommendations on
keeping the light at least 3” away, and I’d suggest at least 6” for anyone
who is EMF sensitive. At 6” there will be little to no detectable EMFs.)
Another potential side effect is poor sleep in those who use the light right
before bedtime. This is because even though red colored light doesn’t
generally suppress melatonin production (melatonin is necessary for good
sleep), if the light is high enough intensity/power, it will still suppress
melatonin—much like light from your TV or cell phone will. This is why it’s
best not to use the light within an hour of bedtime.
One more thing worth mentioning here is that certain people seem to be
far more sensitive than others to the effects of red/NIR light. The dose that
is optimal for one person may be far lower than that of another. In general,
I’ve found that people with severe health problems are sometimes very
sensitive to the effects of the light and need MUCH lower doses. Some
people in this situation may experience fatigue/exhaustion or headaches
even from relatively low doses. This is likely due to the differences in
overall redox balance in cells. Specifically, people in poor health or those
with various chronic diseases may have extremely elevated levels of
oxidative stress (excess free radicals) in their body, and the hormetic
effects of things like exercise or red light therapy may be tough for their
cells to handle. So just as over-exercising can cause exhaustion/fatigue in

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these people, so too can overdoing the red/NIR light treatment.
The solution to this is relatively simple: If you are in poor health or are
severely fatigued, I always recommend starting with smaller doses. In the
beginning, use times at the very low end of (or below) my recommended
doses. Then slowly increase the dose on subsequent treatment sessions
(within my recommended dose range) to find your maximal dose below
the threshold of any side effects. If you feel fatigued after using it, that
means you overdid the dose. Therefore, lower the dose on your next
session .

Q: I did my first treatment and felt very fatigued for hours after
or even the next day. Why did this happen and what should I
do?
If you ever feel fatigued after using it, that just means you overdid the
dose. Similar to exercise or doing other healthy things like using a sauna, if
you overdo it, you will feel fatigued. That doesn’t mean exercise is bad, or
that using a sauna is bad—in fact, research shows they are amazing for
health—it means that you overdid it and you need to decrease the dose.
Simply lower the dose on your next session to the very low end (or below)
my recommended dose range, and then—assuming you don’t have a
negative reaction anymore, which you shouldn’t—then slowly work up to
within the recommended dose range and find the dose at the upper limit of
what you can tolerate before you experience negative effects. Then simply
lower the dose by 30 seconds or a couple minutes or so below that upper
limit, and that’s the right dose for you.
Be aware that people in poor health or with chronic fatigue can be very
sensitive to the light (just the same as they will be sensitive to overdoing
exercise and feel bad effects from that). So please be conservative with the
dosing and always err on the side of doing too little rather than too much.
Start with low doses and build from there rather than trying to rush in to
doing larger doses.
Q: I’ve heard of far-infrared saunas, so what’s the difference
between near-infrared and far-infrared?
Far-infrared are the higher wavelengths in the infrared region. There is a
very big difference here, because far-infrared is felt by us as HEAT. It heats
up our body. That’s why it is used in saunas. The thing heating the sauna is
the far-infrared energy. Near-infrared emits no heat and does not heat our
body.
It is also unclear if far-infrared has any of the same effects at the cellular
and mitochondrial level as red and near-infrared light. In general, think of
far-infrared as HEAT, which can increase circulation and promote

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sweating (like in a sauna).
Basically, you can think of this as two categories:

1. Red/NIR light—emits no heat, and acts on the mitochondria

2. Far-infrared—heats up our body

These are not the same, and a far-infrared sauna (or far-infrared
heater/mat of any type) does not give the same benefits as red/NIR light
therapy.
Q: I’ve heard of NEAR-infrared saunas. What do you think of
these?
This is a misnomer. There are some companies using this sort of
misleading statement (“near-infrared sauna”). There is really no such
thing as a purely near-infrared sauna—i.e. a sauna that only emits near-
infrared and no far-infrared. If a sauna did that, it would not be a sauna at
all, because it wouldn’t be hot (it would be room temperature). All it would
be is you sitting inside a box with an invisible light source (remember,
near-infrared is not visible to the human eye) at room temperature. No
sweating, no heat, and just an invisible light. In other words, a truly “near-
infrared sauna” would not be a sauna at all.
What these companies who are selling “near-infrared saunas” are actually
selling is far-infrared (i.e. heat) that also includes a source of near-infrared
light (for example, the heat bulbs I discussed earlier in this book). There
are also some wooden saunas that advertise themselves as “near-infrared
saunas” that are also a mix of far-infrared and near-infrared.
There are sauna options which do include near-infrared and truly do act as
sauna and get hot. Of these options, the top choices are Sunlighten’s
mPulse saunas, Clearlight’s full spectrum saunas and the SaunaSpace
Pocket Sauna. So if you have the money, this is a wonderful option, as you
can get the benefits of far-infrared (sweating and benefits of heat
hormesis) while also getting the benefits of near-infrared talked about in
this book. In this case, you wouldn’t need to buy a red/NIR light device
separately, as you would be getting your near-infrared therapy in your
sauna. Remember, it’s quite a bit more expensive to get one of these
saunas (roughly 10x more money) compared to just a red/NIR light device,
so I generally don’t push for people to go purchase a home sauna, let alone
a higher priced home sauna (that generally costs $4,000-$10,000).

Q: What device do I personally use?

I have both a Red Rush360 and a Platinum BIO600. Both are excellent
lights that I highly recommend.

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I’ve also had many other light devices that I purchased and didn’t realize
that they were underpowered or not ideal wavelengths, so they sit unused
in my garage.
Using these two powerful lights simultaneously, I can basically treat my
entire body (or any area I want to treat) in less than 5 minutes.
Typically, I use these two lights while lying on the ground and have one on
either side of me at 6”-24” away. I either lay on my back or my side, and
this way, I can treat both sides of my body at once or the front and back of
my body at once. I typically use it for anti-aging purposes on the skin,
enhancing the effects of exercise (muscle gain, performance, and
recovery), fat loss, preventing hair loss, as well as treating any injuries that
I get from living a very active outdoor lifestyle.
Both are excellent, high-quality lights that I’ve had for a long time now and
they still work perfectly well, while providing amazing therapeutic
benefits.
Any of the lights I recommended are going to be excellent. But these are
the two I personally think are best, which is why I bought them. And
having bought close to a dozen different devices, these are by far the best I
have seen and used (perhaps with the exception of Thor’s $100K light bed,
which I have no plans of purchasing any time soon).

381 Freitas de Freitas et al. (2016). Proposed Mechanisms of Photobiomodulation or Low Level
Light Therapy .
382 Hamblin, M et al. (2013). Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) in skin: stimulating,
healing, restoring .

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 About the Author

Ari Whitten is a #1 best-selling author and the creator of the Energy

Blueprint system. He is an energy and fatigue specialist who focuses on
taking an evidence-based approach to energy enhancement. He is also a
nutrition and lifestyle expert with a Bachelor of Science from San Diego
State University in Kinesiology. He holds two advanced certifications from
the National Academy of Sports Medicine and recently completed
coursework for his PhD in Clinical Psychology, an education which rounds
out all aspects—nutrition, fitness, and psychology—of his approach to
optimal health. Ari is a tireless researcher who has obsessively devoted the
last two decades of his life to the pursuit of being on the cutting-edge of the
science on health, fitness, and energy enhancement. For the last four
years, he’s been working with the most brilliant scientists and physicians
on the planet to develop the most comprehensive program in the world on
the science of overcoming fatigue and increasing energy -- The Energy
Blueprint.

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He also hosts The Energy Blueprint Podcast , where he interviews many
world-renowned physicians, scientists and health practitioners to uncover
secrets to overcoming fatigue, optimizing health, and increasing energy
levels. His podcast is quickly becoming one of the most popular health
podcasts on iTunes.
If you’re interested in overcoming chronic fatigue or just taking your
energy levels to new heights, you can learn more about his work at
www.theenergyblueprint.com . He offers a 60-day Energy Blueprint
program designed specifically for people struggling with chronic fatigue
and low energy to help them get their energy (and their life) back.
You can view testimonials from people on his Energy Blueprint program
here: https://www.theenergyblueprint.com/reviews/
You can listen to or watch his weekly podcast here:
https://www.theenergyblueprint.com/category/podcast/
(Make sure to enter your name and email when on the site so that you can
receive notifications of new podcast releases each week.)
Fin ally, you can get access to his free “Double Your Energy Masterclass”
training (value - $199) at www.theenergyblueprint.com/virtual-training

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