How Red Light Therapy from NASA Is Revolutionizing in Healing and Wellness
Red light therapy prevents from undergoing surgeries and keeps the treatments completely natural. The history of red light therapy started when NASA discovered its benefits. In 1898, the Danish doctor Niels Ryberg Finsen used bright electric light. Many doctors were involved in treating different conditions with electric light.
In 1967, Hungarian Endre Mester became the first to get the first low-active experiment laser based on Davis radiotherapy in medicine.
Later, the scientist discovered and registered red light's therapeutic effect on human wound healing. Based on these data, the first low-active laser photodynamic therapy device was made, its effectiveness was proven, and it received FDA approval in 2002.
Insights Into Red Light Therapy
RLT is a non-invasive therapy method that uses low-level wavelengths of red light to get through the skin.
Red light therapy Helps With:
- Cellular mitochondria
- Collagen synthesis
- Increase in blood circulation
- The anti-inflammatory properties
- wound healing
- musculoskeletal tissue reparation
- healthy aging
Although RLT has been used for skin problems such as wrinkles, acne, scars, and psoriasis.
How RLT Is Helping in Wellness and Healing?
Here are the top 10 ways red light therapy has brought a whole new revolution to healing and wellness.
1. Anti-Aging and Skin Health
Without question, RLT has come up as a highly effective treatment for different skin conditions, including psoriasis. This non-invasive treatment improves scarring which has been there for years. It does this by healing and assisting your skin regeneration.
As an all-natural method, RLT gives a gentle approach to prevent surgical procedures and strong drug intakes. The RLT treatment has become popular among those looking for natural light-based treatments to maintain their looks and skin texture.
2. Pain Relief
RLT helps develop the body’s antioxidants, which inactivate free radicals. Muscle memory for exhaustion and pain will be faster, which will assist them in regaining strength quickly. These factors have recently transformed pre-exercise red light into a widespread non-invasive technique.
3. Inflammation Reduction
Red or near-infrared light therapy works wonders at the cellular level in the mitochondria. It drives cells to produce antioxidants faster and lowers inflammatory markers.
This natural boost in cellular activity can be useful against conditions like osteoarthritis and tendinitis. By increasing the production of antioxidants faster, red light therapy fights the harmful effects of free radicals.
4. Injury Recovery
Exposure to red light before a workout or a game will help you greatly reduce oxidative stress due to vigorous exercise.
RLT stimulates the skin’s intrinsic antioxidant pathways, effectively countering the damage from free radicals. It can mitigate muscle exhaustion or ache and speed up post-exercise regeneration.
Moreover, red light therapy helps athletes deliver better results by facilitating speedy and remarkable muscle restoration. This treatment also helps a lot with inflammation reduction.
RLT also aids in strengthening your muscle mass. To get the most out of these therapy methods, consistency is non-negotiable.
5. Wound Healing
By enhancing the body’s natural antioxidant response, red light therapy helps defend against injuries during exercise. This implies less muscle tiredness and soreness and a faster return to workouts.
According to NASA research, wavelengths of red light trigger the skin’s healing mechanisms to reproduce fresh skin tissue. It also promotes the development of the highly organized blood vessel systems required to transport oxygen and nourishment to the injury site.
This is ideal for those suffering from thick-to-heal persistent wounds, such as diabetic ulcers and bedsores.
6. Dental Health
Red light therapy is quite beneficial for patients with periodontitis, a severe infection of the gums. By reducing inflammation, RLT stimulates the healthy tissue of the gum with less associated pain, resulting in faster healing and less inflammation.
7. Anxiety and Depression
RLT comes with certain benefits for mental health. This is possible because of the low-intensity light on these devices. Moreover, there is evidence that RLT makes decent levels of GAD symptoms.
As a result, sleep improves, and anxiety levels decrease. GAD patients find great relief in reduced anxiety levels due to the calming effect of red light. Better mental health would lead to better socialization and improved relationships.
8. Herpes Cold Sore Prevention
Red light therapy helps to prevent and cure outbreaks of cold sores caused by the herpes simplex virus. Consistent Use Of red light therapy decreases the frequency and the degree of cold sore outbreaks. The therapy works at a cellular level to suppress the viral action and quicken the healing process in already-developed sores.
9. Alzheimer's Disease
This is effective for brain health by breaking down formaldehyde. Red light therapy could help improve cognitive function. Formaldehyde buildup in the brain is associated with various cognitive issues, including memory impairment.
10. in General Wellness
Considering the working mechanism of red light therapy’s impact, it can be said that it successfully supports the body's natural healing processes.
Thus, red light therapy positively influences every person’s health and lifestyle. Using certain predetermined wavelengths of red light, the treatment triggers cellular repair and regeneration, which have many benefits.
Among the most common advantages of red light therapy are reducing inflammation, alleviating pain, and rejuvenating the skin condition.
However, the impact goes far beyond these dimensions, helping to stimulate circulation and strengthen the body’s self-healing capabilities.
Red light therapy helps people improve their physical and emotional state, promoting tissue repair and reducing oxidative stress. It is without question one of the natural methods for improving health holistically.
Check Out the Timeline for Red Light Therapy
Year | Event |
---|---|
1960s | The development of the first lasers laid the foundation for future light-based therapies. |
1990s | NASA begins research on the benefits of LEDs, especially for plant growth in space. |
1995 | NASA discovers red light and near-infrared potential to stimulate cell repair and growth. |
2000s | Clinical studies on RLT’s effects on tissue repair and wound healing. |
2003 | FDA approves the first RLT devices for wound healing and pain relief. |
2010s | RLT's expansion includes skin health, mental health, and pain management. |
2014 | Studies begin exploring the good sides of RLT for cognitive function. |
2015 | Increased use of RLT in different sports medicine enhances recovery and performance. |
2017 | Research shows remarkable results for red light therapy in treating conditions like tendinitis and arthritis. |
2020 | Widespread use of RLT in dermatology for treating acne, promoting skin rejuvenation, and psoriasis. |
2022 | Further exploration of RLT benefits for dental health, including inflammation and reducing pain. |
2023 | Ongoing studies explore new applications and refine the already present treatments using RLT. |
Red Light Therapy Has Come a Long Way!
In the late 1990s, NASA scientists had to search for ways to create efficient systems supporting astronauts’ health and condition during long space flights.
In space, astronauts face many health problems, including:
- poor wound healing
- ulcerations
- muscular atrophy and adiposis caused by microgravity
- loss of bone density
Such factors forced NASA to think about potential countermeasures to increase astronauts’ health outlay on the space station.
Initially, scientists had inquired about light-emitting diodes to enhance plant growth possibly. While discovering, the scientists defined that specific red and near-infrared light wavelengths enhanced plant growth.
Therefore, due to these observations in 1995, NASA researchers proceeded with their clinical studies.
Studies at the Marshall Space Flight Center exposed that red and near-infrared light accelerated the healing of wounds and burns many times over.
It turned out that using these light spectra makes it possible to penetrate deeply into the tissues and make them restore cells and regenerate – mitochondrial privatization.
Thus, NASA decided to conduct joint research with medical institutions and conduct experimental studies.
These trials have shown how, using red light therapy, scientists can stimulate wound healing, and reduce skin inflammatory reactions, and pain sensation.