Light therapy – also known as “photobiomodulaiton” or “red-light therapy” – is a powerful, non-invasive treatment that can improve your cells’ abilities to produce energy and heal. In light therapy, a device delivers concentrated wavelengths of light to the skin and underlying tissues.
Red-Light Therapy has become a popular treatment in recent years due to evidence that it enhances the health of skin, muscles, joints, the skeletal system, improves sleep quality and even fights pain & inflammation.
Light isn’t usually included in the story when we are taught about the benefits of nutrition, exercise or overall healthy lifestyle. Conventional wisdom doesn’t say anything about the effects of the light our bodies receive on our health.
Modern Life Has a Light Problem
Most people don’t realize it, but America has a light problem.
In our modern world, many people are now exposed to more artificial light that natural light. It’s so extreme that surveys are finding the average American spends over 90% of their time indoors.
This is a serious health risk. When inventing artificial light, our ancestors didn’t stop to wonder if these artificial light sources would have the healthiest wavelengths our bodies need, or if some wavelengths of light might actually be bad for us. But we now know that our bodies need natural light every day, just like we need water and food.
Scientists took natural light for granted. They assumed it was not important to our health, and attributed health problems that arose with the movement of modern life indoors solely to other factors such as diet and physical activity.
A chronic deficiency of natural light can have a profoundly negative impact on the body, especially on our sleep, mental health, and energy levels. To make matters worse, it’s not just that people don’t get enough natural light; it’s that they’re also getting way too much artificial blue light.
Our cell phones, tablets, television and computer screens are extremely bright, and contain substantially more blue light than daytime sun. They can be difficult to escape these days, and too much blue light, especially after dark, is a primary reason so many people struggle with sleep. This artificial blue light from screens and bulbs effectively “tells” our cells it’s a bright daytime afternoon, even long after the Sun has set.
For countless generations, human biology developed around an abundance of natural light. Our routines and technology have radically changed in the last fifty years, but our biology has not. Humans, like all animals, still need natural light to be healthy and make energy.
Natural light is necessary every day to sleep well, heal and stay in shape. We’ll explore the clinical evidence for this need – and how we can use our cells’ light-based mechanisms to bio-hack our healing and our lifestyles in our next article. Stay tuned… *
For more information on the many benefits of Red-Light Therapy or to schedule a red-light session, reach out to our knowledgeable team at Spa 247 at 256-203-2178.