Where to begin with Red Light Therapy? A GembaRed Story.
Many people are just learning about light therapy and are wondering where to start. While the GembaRed Groove is a wonderfully priced red light therapy product that is a great way to begin your journey, some may still be on the fence about spending the money. Here are a few simple steps to take to realize the power of Red Light Therapy.
1. Filter out the Blue:
The eyes are the most important photo-receptor and can be damaged by the large percentage of blue-light in indoor lighting, cell phone screens, and computer monitors.
While natural blue-light from the sun is important to wake us up, the blue-rich lights through the day and evening will stress our eyes and our bodies, and keep us up at night.
There are many blue-light filters to install on your devices such as f.lux or Iris. Many cell phones now have the built-in night mode or blue light filter in the settings too. You will notice that your screens will now have an orange-red tint - the first step of your red light journey!
Blue-blocking glasses are key when you cannot control the lights around you or as extra protection. There are now many categories of blue blockers that range from clear, yellow, amber, orange, and red! Each of these progressively block more of the blue and green spectrum and favor letting more red light into your eyes. By wearing the red tinted glasses a few hours before bed, it will help bring back our natural melatonin cycle.
2. Catch the Sun:
Like we mentioned in our last blog post, the Sun is the ultimate photobiomodulation tool! The sun at dawn and dusk offer more in the red and infrared spectrum, while midday sun is important to absorb the UV for Vitamin D production.
When we align our biological clocks with the sun; we can wake up with more energy and fall asleep easier at night. The Vitamin D and energy is important to stimulate our immune function and many hormonal functions in our body.
3. Light it up with powerful lamps:
If the sun is unavailable or we spend a lot of time indoors, some simple lamps can help stimulate us with light.
Halogen Lamps, like those found on work-sites, are powerful white lights with a wide spectrum of frequencies. By illuminating ourselves with powerful lights in the morning will help signal us to wake-up and energize for the day. Just be careful not to stare directly into the light!
Heat Lamps, like those found in chicken coops, are red-tinted incandescent lamps that produce a lot of heat, as well as red and near-infrared light. These can be used to aim at localized areas on the body, just be careful as they get rather hot!
Your local gym, fitness studio, spa, or tanning salon may now be offering red light therapy booths! For a small fee, you may be able to try several sessions with thier red light bed.
4. Switch up the fluorescent and bright-white LEDs for better lights.
The fluorescent and new bright-white LEDs used for indoor lighting can be rather harsh on the eyes and body. Part of the reason is that they are rich in blue-light without the full compliment of red and infrared wavelengths.
By switching back to incandescent, or using tinted amber bulbs can help us reduce the strain on our eyes and body. Of course the blue-blocking glasses from Step 1 will help if you cannot control the lights in your environment!
Finally:
By making some simple and low-cost changes to the lights in your eyes, environment, and getting more sun you should start to feel the benefits of light therapy - for minimal cost! It could be as subtle as better sleep, waking with more energy, having more focus, and recovery.
We know that once you experience the benefits with biohacking with light, you will want to trade-up those heat-producing lamps for more targeted wavelengths of red and near-infrared LED light therapy. Or long term savings and convience versus paying for sessions at the gym. The next inevitable step will be to add a GembaRed product in your wellness routine!
Our Story:
The steps that are outlined above are the same journey that I went through to discover the power of biohacking with light. For my whole life I have been very sensitive to light, particularly at night. I was unable to fall asleep with a TV or device on, was a very light sleeper, and would wake up restlessly with low energy.
When I heard about blue-blockers I immediately purchased a pair of orange safety-glasses for only 10 dollars, and would wear it a few hours before bed every night. I switched all of my devices over to f.lux. I started falling asleep easier and earlier.
I searched for a low-cost wake-up light. I found that a halogen work-lamp emitted plenty of light energy at a very affordable price. I would blast my kitchen with light while making my Bulletproof coffee in the morning, usually shirtless. I would take my first sips of coffee standing outside looking at the sun. My mornings started to have more energy.
During lunchtime at work I would try to eat my lunch outside on a picnic table. Or If I am working through lunch, I would at least take a midday walk around the building to catch some sun.
I wanted to try red and infrared light for my lower back pain, particularly flared up after driving. So I bought a heat-lamp and simple aluminum mounting for it. The heat seemed to relax the pain in my back. This combined with a Far-Infrared Biomat managed my back pain for years.
After following these steps, I was convinced that light therapy is a powerful biohacking tool, and started researching red and near-infrared LED therapy. I think you will be convinced too after following these low-cost steps. Then purchasing the GembaRed Groove will be easily justified!
Thanks For Reading!
-Andrew
*Disclaimer – the information provided in this article is meant for educational purposes only and are the expression only of the personal opinion of its author. We encourage consulting a certified wellness practitioner if you think Red Light Therapy, Light Therapy, Halogen Lamps, or Heat-Lamps would be helpful to your wellness goals.