Let’s talk light therapy. There is so much to learn and discover from light therapy whether it is led light, red light, infrared, near infrared, oh my word can it get confusing! Some are good, we all need Vitamin D from the sun, right? However, some are bad such as the UV lights that cause us wrinkles and sunspots. Now we are entering the world of LED lights and its popularity into the mainstream. You can go to spas or buy led modalities and use them at home while watching your favorite movies or tv shows (that’s what we do;-) Then you have far infrared saunas at hot yoga or hot Pilates studios, gyms, or even at spas. Let us today TAKE A PAUSE and a moment to learn about the magical healing power of lights, so grab your favorite tea or coffee and sip and enjoy!
Light therapy and all the lights explained
The benefits of light therapy that we are discovering are incredible! Here is a list of some of those from far infrared heat panels
- improvement of arthritis – this is done by reducing inflammation around the joints and soften those aches and pains.
- cancer reduction and healing – cancer cannot survive in hot environments. Therefore, research has shown that heating your body will help reduce pre-cancer cells in your body as well as have an impact on current cancer cells. Add some hot yoga or hot Pilates to your routine to incorporate both the heat and exercise simultaneously.
- sleep issues
- reduction of pain – healing muscle strains, helping with chronic pain issues. At the time I am writing this article, I have a level one strain in my abdominal muscle. I am using LED light panels every day to speed up the healing process and manage the pain. Even though this is for my face, I just position it over any part of my body!
- skin issues – I have used this LED light on my face to clear up my melasma as well as reduce my wrinkles and lift the skin around my eyes. The one I recommend and use every day is this one.
- cardiovascular health
- cellular reproduction
Just as plants absorb light, so do we! Scientists are discovering that as we absorb light, we can transform the energy to enhance repairing tissue, regenerating cells and improving cellular performance. It does this by utilizing 3 different types of wavelengths.
Blue and Red light are used for acne treatments and increasing collagen production. This also gives your face that glowing look.
Infrared lights (especially near infrared) penetrate below the skin’s surface. The near infrared lights are the ones that do not heat up your body. This is the kind that Lindsey and I use at home using LED lights. The Far infrared lights are the ones that are in a sauna, or a yoga studio designed to heat your body up so you will sweat.
LED Lights versus Far Infrared Lights
Heating your body to produce a sweat has been in the wellness arena since the times of the Mayans, 3000 years ago. This ancient culture used sweat houses for healing purposes and to purify the body by sweating out impurities. They used water to pour over hot rocks in their sweat lodges to raise the temperature. They used this method to provide a wet heat. Mayans used their sweat lodges/houses after giving birth, to heal the sick, or to recover from being wounded by a poisonous animal. Today’s version of this type of sweat lodge is through a steam room. It has high humidity and moist heat.
The other way to raise your body’s temperature is through a sauna. This is using dry heat. The sauna was born in Finland. The Finnish people believed that using dry heat would not only sweat out their impurities but also open up their lungs and allow for better breathing. They also used it as a way to relax. There are a variety of ways to create a sauna.
Electrical heating saunas are heat generated with an electrical heating system in the floor. This will raise the temperature of the space while keeping the humidity low.
Wood burning saunas are designed to create heat through a stove. The stove burns woods and heats the rocks on top of the stove. This is a more traditional set up compared to the electrical heating saunas. Same principal applies where they are low in humidity but high in heat.
Infrared saunas – these are known as FAR or FIRS. These saunas use lamps to heat the person’s body temperature not the entire room. They are designed to heat up your body in order to break a sweat. The sweat produced from being in these saunas are shown to excrete toxins not just water loss!
Benefits of saunas: All saunas are intended to raise your body’s temperature. This will allow your heart rate to increase and your blood vessels to widen as well as to increase your circulation. By increasing your circulation, this can help with arthritis pain, sore muscles, and joint movement. It also allows for deeper stretching with a lesser risk of injury. It can provide a relaxing feeling that can reduce stress and make you feel good.
Just to recap because this can get confusing! An infrared sauna uses light to generate heat. You may also hear this as a far-infrared sauna. “Far” tells you where the infrared waves fall on the spectrum of light. A regular sauna uses heat to make the air warm, this is how it warms your body. So, this is the difference in that an infrared sauna heats your body directly and not by warming the air around you.
LED lights do not get hot. Led stands for light emitting diode. This is a low-level light therapy used to address skin issues, hair loss and management of pain. Even though they don’t generate heat, they can increase the amount of energy stored in your cells! Think of it this way, your cells absorb light particles and transform that energy to help compromised cells! I like to use this one on a daily basis and therefore I love using LED light therapy at home. This type of light is known as near infrared. They can come in all different sizes and panels. The one us sisters use is so fantastic because it is so flexible you can place it on your body parts to get really close to the skin. We both use it on our face, neck, scalp and areas of our body where we want to either improve the skin or heal it from pain. I know it is designed for the face, but we use it everywhere!
The question then becomes when to use which one? Well, I like to use saunas for an all over detox and to help with the health of my body and then I like to use the LED lights at home to improve the look of my skin or pain management when either listening to a meditation or watching a movie or tv show. I really love it because it is getting to the ROOT CAUSE/ISSUE. It is improving my cellular health.
Here are some of the benefits of using at home led lights: increasing your circulation, accelerating your tissue repair, killing that pesky acne bacteria, decreasing inflammation, improving acne prone skin, helping with your skin tone (I used this to help with my melasma), helps with your texture, decreasing under eye wrinkles as well as easing muscle and joint pain, stiffness, spasm, and pain associated with arthritis. Now, you can understand why us sisters are huge advocates of using LED lights every day and everywhere on our body!
OH! Another use for this led light panel – I also use it for my knees and my hands. I am now using it to combat my wrinkly elbows and the wrinkles around my ankles. It’s truly incredible. Enjoy!
Beauty Smiles,
Lindsey and Ashley
For more skin care tips and secrets head to our podcast, Spa Skin and Beauty! New skincare episodes every Tuesday.
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