Red light therapy offers numerous advantages, from improving skin health and relieving pain to speeding wound healing and speeding recovery time. But in order to see optimal results from its usage, what frequency should it be utilized?
Answering that question depends on several variables, including your intensity of treatment and severity of illness. This article will assist in finding out the ideal frequency for red light therapy.
The intensity of the light
Higher intensity light devices emit more energy, which may stimulate cell growth and improve skin conditions. But excessive exposure to intense light can be harmful; to determine if your intensity level is suitable, start out slowly at first before gradually increasing as your body adjusts.
Red light therapy is a noninvasive therapy designed to heal the body at a cellular level. The process accelerates wound healing, lowers pain levels, increases collagen production and treats conditions like acne, psoriasis and rosacea – while helping people lose weight, tone up their muscles and increase overall circulation.
Red light therapy sessions depend on several factors, including individual health goals and severity of condition. It is generally advised to schedule one every day for 20 minutes. This frequency will ensure maximum benefits from red light therapy.
Red and near-infrared (NIR) light interact with our cells differently, so selecting an appropriate wavelength depends on your personal needs. The visible spectrum includes violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red colors with each having their own specific wavelengths; red light’s short wavelengths (620-670nm) penetrate shallowly, stimulating skin regeneration and reducing wrinkles while NIR light can penetrate deeper into muscle and connective tissues, helping reduce inflammation while improving joint flexibility.
Frequency (Hz) refers to how often your panel lights up and deactivates in one second. A higher Hz may cause more stress on the nervous system, yet will not change its effectiveness as red light therapy treatment.
Red light therapy has several applications in cosmetic treatments, chronic pain management, inflammatory conditions and skin health improvement. Red light therapy can assist with acne, eczema and rosacea by killing bacteria, reducing inflammation and stimulating cell growth. Psoriasis plaque can also be destroyed while tissue repair occurs faster; and lastly red light therapy helps with tightening and tightening the skin by increasing collagen levels, and stimulating elastin production while simultaneously decreasing body fat accumulation by stimulating its production.
Your individual health goals
Red light therapy has been demonstrated to boost cellular energy levels and enhance circulation, which in turn relieves pain and inflammation. Furthermore, red light therapy stimulates production of serotonin and endorphins – neurotransmitters known to enhance mood – making it a fantastic therapy tool for individuals suffering from depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
But the amount of red light required to achieve results varies, and it is essential not to overdo it. To find your optimal frequency for treatment purposes, it is advisable to speak to a health professional.
They will be able to offer tailored recommendations based on your unique condition and circumstances, including whether it is best used at home or within a professional spa setting – depending on what works for your preferences and schedule. Red light therapy may also be performed by medical practitioners outside of healthcare providers’ offices as a complementary form of treatment.
Red light therapy is safe and non-invasive, meaning you can utilize this method without risk of side effects or discomfort.
Considerations when scheduling red light therapy sessions should include intensity. You should aim for 60 Joules per square centimeter (cm2) of light intensity; most types of red light therapy devices recommend this dose. Calculating this dosage using “Formal Energy Density (J/cm2) = Body Surface Area (BSA) x Acceleration (in m/s2)” is best.
Your equipment selection also plays an integral part. Some devices feature pulsing capabilities that may provide additional benefits; however, its efficacy has yet to be thoroughly researched, potentially leading to fatigue, brain fog or even epileptic attacks in some people. Therefore, most patients should avoid this form of therapy.
The severity of your condition
Red light therapy is a fantastic way to stimulate cytochrome C oxidase, an energy producing protein found in your cells that breaks down nitric oxide and converts it to Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), the energy source for your body cells. By optimizing this production of energy sources your body can heal itself more efficiently.
Red-light therapy may also have the ability to decrease muscle and joint pain by increasing blood flow and encouraging new tissue formation, helping alleviate conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, and chronic back pain. Furthermore, it can reduce fine lines and wrinkles as well as improving skin texture and tone.
Red light therapy should be performed according to its intended use; for instance, acne treatments often need multiple sessions per week until skin clears. After which point, sessions can gradually reduce in frequency until treatment no longer needs to be ongoing.
Not only should your frequency of red light therapy sessions matter when determining their duration, but so too should the severity of your condition; more intense the symptoms, the more sessions will likely be required before seeing results.
An effective way of deciding how many red light therapy sessions you need is consulting with a doctor. They will be able to offer tailored advice based on your unique situation and desired health goals.
Red light therapy sessions depend heavily on the equipment you choose; handheld devices tend to require more regular sessions than full-body panels; also, devices featuring pulsing may be more effective because pulsing allows more light penetration without heating up tissues as much.
To ensure maximum effectiveness during red light therapy sessions, make sure your device is placed appropriately. For best results, place it no closer than six inches from your skin; additionally, wear protective eyewear if your device uses pulsing frequencies.
The type of equipment
Equipment used during red light therapy is another factor that can determine its benefits. Many people utilize multifunction light therapy devices that combine various functions into one device – body panel, handheld device and facial mask for instance – while these multitasking solutions may make your sessions more convenient they may not provide as many results as specialized machinery designed specifically for this task.
When purchasing red light therapy devices, it’s essential to pay close attention to their irradiance (measured in milliwatts per square centimeter) and wavelengths. The latter factor is particularly crucial as different wavelengths offer differing levels of intensity and effectiveness; longer wavelengths, like those found in red light therapy treatments, contain more photon energy per photon which enables deeper penetration into muscle tissues and joints.
If your device features a pulsing feature, its frequency (measured in Hertz) should also be taken into consideration. This refers to how often red light therapy is activated and deactivated per second – for instance if it pulses at 40 Hertz this means activation/deactivation takes place 40 times each second.
Pulsed red light therapy may work in harmony with our bodies’ natural brainwave frequencies to provide benefits such as pain reduction, cognitive function improvement, mood elevation and inflammation reduction by matching its frequency to that of our own natural brainwave rhythms. More research must be completed before definitive proof can be given of this theory’s efficacy.
Glamour Editor-in-Chief Samantha Barry highly endorses Therabody’s multitasking device due to its gentle percussive therapy and interchangeable treatment rings, including face massager, firming head for cellulite reduction and LED ring that uses three specific wavelengths for acne/fine lines treatment. Consumer Reports’ Matt Sinicropi gave it three stars out of five for ease of use and lower irradiance than similar products available but its price makes it easy to use at home.
