Red Light Rising

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Red Light Therapy for pain alleviation happens to be one of the key Red LED Light Therapy benefits! To explore health more benefits, visit the Blog section on our website!

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How to Recover Quicker from Workouts?

Do you want to reach your athletic potential?

In the last Olympics, you might have noticed more and more athletes using light therapy devices around the Olympic Village and stadium.  You can get huge benefits from putting red and near-infrared light on your muscles.

There are 2 main ways athletes can benefit from Photobiomodulation (Red Light Therapy) devices, in particular red and near-infrared wavelengths.  The first is through preconditioning before an event. It has been proven that time to exhaustion is extended with such light therapy.  Secondly there is after an event, or training session, as Red Light Therapy helps assist recovery and delayed onset of muscle soreness (or the dreaded DOMS as you might know it).

According to Dr Joseph Mercola, red and near-infrared therapy will:

Increase microcirculation in the tissues

Increase tissue oxygenation

Stimulate mitochondria and improve energy production in damaged cells

World-class athletes (Tiger Woods is one of them) have been using phototherapy to speed up recovery from sports injuries for years now.  According to many studies, cells (including muscle cells) exposed to near-infrared light from LEDs grow 150-200% faster than cells not stimulated by this light. These statistics represent so much more than just marginal gains!

How is this super healing power achieved?

As previously mentioned in other articles, NASA has known about the benefits of Red Light Therapy since 1998 and have been using it to benefit their high-performance teams since then.

Near-infrared wavelengths have the ability to penetrate the cells 5cm below the skin, and that is why you are able to generate healing and recovery deep into your muscles.  This is the unique power of the Red Light Therapy technology.

The near-infrared wavelengths increase microcirculation and the formation of new capillaries.  This results in the area receiving more oxygen and nutrients to assist with the natural healing process.  This means that pain can be relieved, muscles will stop aching and recover faster, and inflamed joints will loosen up and improve in mobility.

The visible red and near-infrared light energy induce the same process in the targeted cells. Through the absorption of the light photons, the photochemical reaction eventually causes the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the fuel of all cells in your body.

This causes increased synthesis of procollagen in fibroblasts which causes cells to rebuild and regenerate.  The end result of this being increased collagen and elastin synthesis, with the healing and strengthening of damaged tissue.

Due to the energy systems being stimulated in the blood as well, LED phototherapy has a systemic effect on inflammatory or immune cells in nonadjacent tissues to the target area, as well as those cells in the targeted area.  This means that the benefits and energy created will not be limited to the treated area, but will travel to nearby cells as well.

How will this improve my training performance?

Your muscles are full of mitochondria.  Therefore, the stimulation of ATP in your mitochondria will give your muscles more energy to perform, improving physical performance, extending the elapsed time and total number of repetitions to fatigue.  It has also shown to improve the clearance of blood lactate immediately after exercise.

There are studies recorded that support the use of Red Light Therapy to enhance muscle hypertrophy and strength.  Although these were relatively small studies, the potential to improve muscle gains by over 50% compared to a controlled group without the Red Light Therapy over an 8-week training program is incredible.

Yet more studies point to evidence that phototherapy administered before resistance exercise has consistently been found to delay DOMS, reduce fatigue response, and improve post exercise recovery and protecting the cells from exercise-induced damage.  There were decreases in markers of inflammation and muscle atrophy, while protein synthesis and oxidative stress defense were up-regulated.

Recovery plays a huge role in the training cycle.  Through using light therapy, and stimulating mitochondrial action and turning stem cells into healthy muscle tissue, the growth of new muscle cells is stimulated and the repair process following muscle tears incurred through training is enhanced.

Increased collagen and elastin synthesis will speed up muscle repair and therefore muscle growth post workout.   Through the increased blood flow, muscle scarring will be reduced, decreasing the risk of future injuries and immobility.

What intensity matters for maximum results?

Previously we have touched on the intensity of the light, and also the depths that red and near-infrared wavelengths can penetrate.

In order to penetrate deeper into the muscles, 780-850nm wavelengths are advised to have the most effective benefit.  These can penetrate 5cm beneath the skin.

Evidence also recommends the appropriate intensity required for maximal benefit.  Power outputs between 30 and 200mW/cm2 are most effective, with doses of 5 and 6 Joules per treatment area.  Therefore, at 150cm from our Full Stack, this would generate 20mW/cm2 intensity, meaning you would require 6 minutes treatment to accumulate the recommend energy (of 6 Joules) from these studies.  Alternatively at 20cm you would be receiving 100mW/cm2 intensity and require a 1 minute treatment time to accumulate 6 Joules of energy

Other benefits…

Other benefits from a training angle include enhanced circadium rhythm and therefore increased deep sleep, which all athletes will know is imperative to recovery.

Also, for the training males, near-infrared light has been shown to increase levels of testosterone, which is used in increasing muscle size, strength and overall performance. More information on this in a later article though.

In Summary...

Red Light Therapy brings a natural healing mechanism with results that you would only expect from Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs)!  It is a non-invasive treatment that can form an important part of your training and lifestyle routing.

We have enough evidence to demonstrate reduced muscle damage, pain and atrophy, while increasing muscle mass, recovery and athletic performance!

If you are looking to maximize your athletic performance, or just enhance your gains, then a Red Light Therapy device can be just the thing you are looking to include in your daily routine to optimize your performance.

If you have any shots of you preparing for your next big session, or as you’re recovering ‘like a beast’, please share these with us on social media and we will give you a shout out!

As always, if you have any questions, thoughts or feedback, please reach out to us through Social Media or our Contact Us page.

Thanks again for supporting us, get out there and enjoy the light!

Kind Regards,

The Red Light Rising Team

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Buy The Stealth Full Stack Red Light

This is our most powerful light therapy device. This is our most powerful light therapy device, and one of the most powerful available on the market, shortening required treatment times and allowing full penetration deep into your tissues and muscles with closer application. 

Buy This Device From https://redlightrising.co.uk/collection/red-light-therapy

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It's all about Intensity!

How much light do you need?

In our previous article, we touched on the light wavelengths that brought healing powers and health benefits to our bodies and mitochondria.

We are now going to look into what Intensity and time frame is required to realise the healing powers of Red Light Therapy.  Intensity is the measure of the light photons hitting our body’s surface at a moment in time.  This is also referred to as the power of the light.  This is usually measured in watts (or millwatts) per cm2 (mW/cm2).

As you apply light to the surface area for a period of time, the energy applied during this is known as the dose.  This is also the number of photons delivered to the skin’s surface over that period of time which can be referred to as the Joules(energy).

Which Intensity works best?

A bell curve best demonstrates the expected response to the intensity of the Red Light Therapy at a cellular level.  Research has shown that too little energy (or intensity) of Red Light Therapy and you may not get the benefit you are looking for, and similarly if the energy threshold is crossed too far then the stimulation disappears and no benefit happens.

Dr Alexander Wunsch and Dr Joseph Mercola recommend an intensity of 10-20 mW/cm2 as ideal, there are other multiple studies which recommend an intensity closer to 100mW/cm2.  It is also important to consider the condition you are targeting when identifying the intensity required as the higher intensity has the potential to penetrate a little deeper beneath the skin into your joints and muscle tissue.

Red Light Therapy devices usually detail the intensity at varying distances from the light source.  The first reading is normally the intensity at source i.e. right in front of the light.  You also want to ensure you know the intensity at varying distances from the light, which can help you calculate your treatment time.  This is important if you want to sit up close with your face in the light to shorten treatment time, or at a comfortable distance away to meditate or sip your morning coffee, both of these situations will require different treatment times. 

How much dose?

The dose, or total energy applied to the surface, is our next focus.  This is normally measured in Joules.  The following calculation supports the calculation of the dose...or the second formula will help you work out the time required if you know the intensity of the light.

Or simply put:  Intensity x Time = Energy

NASA supported research (plus other research studies since this study was completed) has stated that a dose delivered to the body of 4-6 Joules/cm2 is the amount of energy required for optimal results from Red Light Therapy.

Therefore, if you have a Red Light Therapy device with an intensity of 100mW/cm2 (which is the intensity achieved on the Full Stack Device at a distance of 20cm from the device), applying the formula above it would take 60 seconds to equal 6 Joules of energy [(100 x 60s)/1000 = 6 ].

If you want to follow Mercola and Dr Wunsch’s research study recommendations and have an intensity of 20mW/cm2, this intensity can be achieved by sitting or standing 150cm away from the Full Stack device.  This would then require 5 minutes of exposure to achieve the same 6 Joules of energy [(6x1000)/20 = 300 seconds].

In Summary...

It is important to understand the intensity strength of your Red Light Therapy device, which will dictate the time required to achieve the dose you need for your Red Light Therapy goal/condition.

The red light you chose to buy should list the intensity it discharges at varying distances from the light so you can perform this calculation.  If these figures are not known, you cannot determine the dose you are receiving for optimal performance.

Other considerations are that some of the smaller Red Light Therapy LED units can only deliver < 100mW/cm2 which is considered too low for some of the prescribed conditions (eg oral health, bone repair, muscle recovery), but perfect for others like skin conditions.

The key is to do your research, and ensure you have access to the appropriate information to make the correct decision for you and your situation.

If you have any questions, please feel free to send them through to our Contact Us page and we will happily help where we can!

In our next article….

...it is good news for those passionate about beauty as we are taking a deeper dive into the regenerative benefits for the skin and how the beauty industry is using Red Light Therapy.

We love hearing from others passionate about their red lights, we are growing in numbers every day.  We are going to start doing a features section on how people use their lights day to day so please share your story through Social Media or our Contact Us page, and it doesn’t even have to be one of our lights - we love all red light!

Kind Regards,

The Red Light Rising Team

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Take a look into what is the intensity of Red Light. Learn about what time frame is required to realise the healing powers of Red Light Therapy with Red Light Rising!

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The Visible Light Spectrum explained- learn the basics of Photobiomodulation Therapy with Red Light Rising. Know how a red LED bulb unlocks multiple health benefits!

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Read about the benefits of Red LED Light for skin with Red Light Rising. Visit our the Blog section on our website to learn more about Infrared Light Therapy for face!

As we age, we produce less collagen, which is what results in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, due to thin and dry skin.

LED red light penetrates deep into the dermis layer of the skin.  It delivers energy in the form of light photons into the skin cells.  This stimulates the skin cell structure, which boosts blood circulation, bringing more blood and nutrients to your skin, and more importantly increases the formation of collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid and assists in skin repair.  The increased collagen production smooths the skin and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

It provides a natural method of skin rejuvenation, and accelerates the body’s own ability to repair its tissues, which can also promote wound healing.

Read More...

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Having trouble figuring out which wavelengths work best for you? Find out with Red Light Rising. Vsit Blog section to read about best wavelength for Red Light Therapy.

For those who are impassioned about beauty, you would have heard about ‘red light facials’ that are offered at spas. You now have the potential to have a spa quality facial from the comfort of your home, at your own leisure.  This is achieved through enhanced regeneration in the cells of your face, which can fade fine lines and wrinkles amongst other things.  We'll be taking a slightly deeper dive into this in future articles...

Anyone who loves the gym, the benefits allow improved recovery, getting you back ready for the next session quicker and safer than most alternatives.  These benefits are through the stimulation of stem cells, increased muscle blood flow plus reducing scarring, and increased speed of regeneration in ligaments and tendons.  What are you waiting for!

Read More...

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Have control over Rosacea with an easier solution by Red Light Rising! Read about LED Light Therapy for Rosacea & other Infrared Light Therapy benefits on our Blog section.

1 in 20 people in the USA are suffering from Rosacea, that’s roughly 14 million people. Anyone who has experienced Rosacea, will know how frustrating it can be. There is the daily suffering from sometimes burning, redness, pimples, swelling and even superficial dilated blood vessels in your skin. The medical industry is quick to prescribe a combination of topical medications and oral drugs, sponsored by the large Pharma companies. Laser treatment has proven to be effective, using intense pulsed light to shrink the visible blood vessels. The procedure can be uncomfortable and cause some pain, bruising, crusting of the skin, swelling and tenderness. What if you could start controlling your Rosacea with an easier, less invasive solution from the comfort of your own home. A simpler way to heal is Red Light Therapy. Read More:

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Red Light Therapy for pain alleviation happens to be one of the key Red LED Light Therapy benefits! To explore health more benefits, visit the Blog section on our website!

Red Light Therapy for pain alleviation happens to be one of the key Red LED Light Therapy benefits! To explore health more benefits, visit the Blog section on our website!

There are 2 significant ways in which athletes can benefit from Photobiomodulation (Red Light Therapy) devices, in particular red and near-infrared wavelengths.  

The first is through preconditioning before an event. It has been proven that time to exhaustion is extended with Red Light Therapy.  

Secondly there is after an event, or training session, as Red Light Therapy helps assist recovery and delayed onset of muscle soreness (or the dreaded DOMS as you might know it).

Read More:

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While counter intuitive, the science demonstrates that red light therapy may boost fat loss 2-3-fold. Here’s how to apply red light therapy for the best results.

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Red light therapy is the next big thing for recovering as quickly as humanly possible from workouts and injuries. Here’s why.

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Good news for the men (and women) out there that may be experiencing androgenetic alopecia - baldness or thinning of the hair for short. There are many studies out there that purport that treatments with red light therapy can encourage better regrowth of hair in areas of the scalp that are displaying signs of balding or thinning. Red Light Therapy brings a potenital solution to those looking to re-grow hair, or thicken their hair, where there were not many before. The results shown increased hair growth speed and hair count.

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Infrared light therapy could prevent the toxic build within these connections leading to a significant drop in the symptoms of the disease. Infrared light appears capable of triggering systemic protective mechanisms; this presumably involves as yet unidentified circulating cellular or humoral factors that can transduce protective effects to the brain. There is much to do in further developing this treatment, but the therapeutic possibilities are many and the potential outcomes very exciting. We await the outcomes of major clinical trials using infrared light therapy on these patients with much anticipation.