Most people associate sunlight with Ultra violet (UV) and a suntan or sunburn if we have too much of it. However, UV is only a small part of the spectrum of wavelengths in sunlight. A much bigger part of sunshine is in the Infra Red (IR)-both visible and invisible Near Infra Red (NIR). Most obviously, Infra Red light is responsible for us feeling the warmth from sunshine. Infra Red light penetrates our body tissues whereas Ultra-Violet doesn’t go further than our skin where it produces melanin (suntan) and vitamin D from the cholesterol under our skin. Visible Infrared Red can penetrate body tissue 2-3 centimetres whereas Near Infra Red light can penetrate much further depending on the intensity. Sadly, many of us spend 95% of our life inside so we hardly see any sunlight (UV or IR) -although the body is designed to be outside and enjoy the health giving benefits of sunshine. When you add modern artificial lighting which tends towards blue in colour, we are deprived of virtually all of the health giving Infra Red as well as the ultra violet part of sunshine. As a result, we are missing the protective benefits of sunlight and our immune systems can become sub optimal. For this reason, many people are aware of the need to supplement with Vitamin D to compensate for a lack of UV. Unfortunately, there is no equivalent supplement to replace a lack of IR.
So why is Infra Red light so important?
Our bodies are made up of some 43 trillion cells and every cell has smaller cells inside called mitochondria. The mitochondria are responsible for generating energy for every cell in the body, regardless if it’s a muscle, brain, bone or a blood cell. When mitochondria are working well the cell has plenty of energy to perform its function. To work well, a cell requires fuel (glucose), oxygen and vitally, some electrical energy (electrons). Glucose comes from the food we eat, oxygen we breath but electrical energy is best obtained from sunlight which creates free electrons when it interacts with our cells. If any of these requirements are unavailable or depleted the cell will not be working optimally. This can reflect on how we feel overall and can lead to chronic conditions, some serious such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Infra red light can bring some profound changes to our cellular health and particularly the mitochondria. Infra Red light, helps bring oxygen into the cell and stimulates the mitochondria to make energy. When mitochondria are working well, they produce cellular Melatonin inside the cell- as distinct from melatonin which is in general circulation made by the Pineal gland. This is very significant because the metabolism in the cell (burning glucose for energy) does produce some reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS can be troublesome if they build up and is the reason many people take anti-oxidants. It turns out that melatonin is a very powerful ant-oxidant-and it’s produced right in the cell where the ROS is created. So Infra Red light stimulates the mitochondria to make energy and at the same time creates cellular melatonin- a major antioxidant. The cellular Melatonin deactivates ROS right at the point of its production i.e. in the actual cell. Melatonin can deactivate rogue cells including cancer cells. Ironically it is also part of the bodies defence against sunburn! Damage! NB.Some people have tried to supplement with melatonin (OTC) but this works differently than melatonin from NIR which produces cellular melatonin.
Supplementing sunshine with Infra Red light
At the Health Hub we are proud to have the only full length IR light bed in Scotland – a Theralight 360!
The Theralight 360 is ‘state of the art’ technology and uses some 4500 LEDs of different wavelengths in the IR/NIR range (650-950nm) . The clamshell design allows the entire body to be bathed in Infra Red light. It takes 20 minutes or less to gain the beneficial effects which are cumulative with repeated use. The NIR even penetrates the skull so can enhance neural function so helpful for people with Parkinsons or Alzheimer symptoms. Red Light therapy is a key part of our Cancer Support Programme, together with oxygen and Pulsed magnetic stimulation therapy. Benefits include relaxation, pain relief, increased physical energy, better sleep, better uptake of oxygen in the cells, improved circulation, improved immunity, mood improvement, weight loss, stronger hair growth, and quicker healing.
