How Red Light Therapy Can Improve Your Sleep

In our fast-paced, technology-centric world, sleep feels as if it has shifted from a necessity to a luxury. The demands of work, family, and a social life cut into our precious sleep, and the effects are hard to ignore.

Studies show that 50-70 million Americans have sleep disorders or chronic sleep deprivation. And, as you can imagine, this is taking a toll on our physical and mental health.

Some people turn to more traditional sleep aids such as medication, which may provide temporary relief. But, these only address the symptoms rather than the root of the problem, and they often come with several side effects.

Over the last few years, a new approach to improving sleep has emerged: red light therapy. Red light therapy is a non-invasive treatment that exposes you to different wavelengths of light. This treatment uses the power of natural light to boost sleep quality and length. And the best part? It helps more than just your sleep.

Research shows red light therapy has a profound impact on a variety of psychological processes, including mitochondria production, hormone regulation, and the reduction of inflammation. By targeting these things, red light therapy can aid with sleep issues and help promote the sleep your brain and body need.

Let’s take a look at the science behind red light therapy and its potential benefits for sleep. We will dive into how red light therapy can regulate your circadian rhythm, reduce inflammation, and, as a result, improve your sleep.

Why sleep is important

Sleep is at the root of our health and well-being. During the time that our bodies are at rest, they undergo key restorative processes. These include things like repairing damaged tissues and even consolidating memories.When we regularly deprive ourselves of sleep, the consequences can be vast.

In the short-term, a lack of sleep often leads to difficulty concentrating, struggling to problem solve, and a rise in irritability.

But over time, chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to a range of health problems including:

These issues show the importance of a good night’s sleep.

The science behind sleep

To better understand the impact of sleep deprivation on the brain and body, let’s look at how the sleep cycle works.

It consists of two main phases:

Rapid eye movement (REM): This sleep is key for the brain. It helps with cognitive function and accounts for about 20-25% of your total sleep.
Non-rapid eye movement (NREM): This sleep is key for the body and makes up about 75-80% of your total sleep time.

A full, normal sleep cycle takes you through four stages of NREM sleep and one cycle of REM sleep.

In order for these cycles to occur as they should, a couple of vital hormones need to be doing their part as well: melatonin and cortisol.

Melatonin is the sleep hormone, and it’s produced naturally by the pineal gland as a response to darkness. This hormone helps induce sleep and regulate your body’s internal clock.

Cortisol, the stress hormone, is usually seen as negative, but it is a key part of your sleep cycle. Your cortisol levels peak in the morning, which helps you wake up and feel alert. But the timing of this hormone is important. If your cortisol is high at the wrong time (i.e. nighttime), it can make it difficult to sleep and may lead to insomnia.

The connection between inflammation and sleep

Another factor that can contribute to sleep struggles is chronic inflammation.

When your body is in a constant state of inflammation, it releases cytokines. These cytokines can interfere with your sleep cycle and make it hard to fall asleep and wake up early.

In addition to that, chronic inflammation can make sleep disorders like sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome even worse. This, in turn, can increase inflammation in the body, creating a vicious cycle that negatively affects your health in many ways.

The power of red light therapy

In order to understand how red light therapy can help with sleep issues, it’s important to understand some basics of how red light therapy works.

Red light therapy exposes you to wavelengths of light in the red and near-infrared spectrum. When these wavelengths hit your skin, they penetrate it and interact with your cells, which is where you get the myriad of benefits.

Red light therapy and cellular health

Central to the body’s cellular energy production is the mitochondria, a.k.a. the powerhouse of the cell.

Mitochondria are responsible for converting nutrients in your body into energy. Research shows that red light therapy stimulates mitochondria activity, which means it increases the production of cellular energy.

Why is this energy important? Because it can boost all kinds of bodily functions including:

Cellular repair
Tissue regeneration
Hormone regulation

All of the above are key to sleep.

How red light therapy can improve your sleep

There are a few different reasons why red light therapy may be the answer to your sleep struggles.

1. It regulates your circadian rhythm

Your body’s internal clock is a delicate balance. When that balance is off, your sleep suffers. In the short term, this can leave you feeling tired and less cognitively aware. But, over time, it can lead to serious health issues.

Enter: red light therapy. We talked about melatonin earlier: the key hormone in your body that promotes sleep. As it turns out, red light therapy can boost the body’s production of melatonin, which regulates your body’s circadian rhythm.

Exposure to wavelengths of red light (especially at night) signals to your body that it’s time to wind down and prepare for sleep. This boosts your melatonin production while simultaneously suppressing your nighttime cortisol production. Remember — we want that cortisol in the morning to help us wake up, not at night when we are trying to sleep.

2. It reduces inflammation (and thus, improves your sleep)

As we shared earlier, chronic inflammation is linked to a number of health problems, including sleep disorders. And, when your body is in a state of chronic inflammation, it releases the cytokines that interfere with your sleep.

Red light therapy helps to reduce inflammation by stimulating the repair and regeneration of your body’s cells. By decreasing inflammation, red light therapy helps improve your sleep.

3. It addresses some sleep disorders

It’s no secret that sleep disorders wreak havoc on the body. But red light therapy has shown promise in aiding with specific sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and insomnia.

Sleep apnea happens when your breathing starts and stops over and over while you sleep. This may result in a lack of sufficient oxygen, which makes it a potentially serious disorder. Studies show that red light therapy may help to reduce the inflammation associated with the irregular breathing patterns. This means it can improve your ability to breathe, and thus, improve your sleep.

When it comes to insomnia, red light therapy has been shown to help with the symptoms that contribute to insomnia. This includes red light’s ability to:

Regulate sleep patterns
Improve sleep quality
Reduce the amount of time it takes to fall asleep

4. It helps shift workers and those with jet lag

Night shifts and jeg lag are notorious for their negative effects on your sleep patterns. However, red light therapy sessions (when timed right), can help reset your circadian rhythm.

This can help relieve the symptoms associated with jet lag and irregular sleep times that can lead to fatigue, insomnia, and a decline in cognitive function.

How to use red light therapy for optimal sleep

Follow these steps to get the best sleep results.

Step 1: Choose your device

The first step in using red light therapy to improve your sleep is to ensure you’ve got the right device.

You want one that is made for therapeutic purposes and has the right stats to back it. Many of the inexpensive devices sold on Amazon claim to be “the most powerful.” But when it comes to red light therapy, that’s not what you want. Too much power can actually cancel out the benefits.

Instead, opt for a device like the Vital Pro, which has the maximum therapeutic power that ensures you get all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks. All of our Vital Red Light devices pass a rigorous 19-day testing period prior to being sold as well as industry-leading stringent third-party testing. They follow strict medical standards and are equivalent to what is used in clinical studies.

Step 2: Create a peaceful sleep environment

In order to promote better sleep, you want to have an environment to support you. Here are ways you can do that:

Dim the lights: As the sun goes down, dim the lights in your room. Steer clear of bright lights, especially blue lights from screens. This blue light can suppress melatonin production.
Keep it cool: Set the temperature in your home to be on the cooler side to promote a deeper sleep.
Reduce screen time: Try to avoid blue screens at least an hour before bed. This helps prepare your body for rest.
Quiet the noise: Use ear plugs or a white noise machine to help cut out noise, espeically if you live in a city.

Step 3: Add red light therapy to your daily routine

To get the most out of red light therapy, try to incorporate it into your routine daily. Consistency is key to achieving results that will make a difference in your sleep and your overall health.

Aim for at least 3-5 red light therapy sessions of 10-15 minutes per week. And if time allows, 10-15 minutes per day is better.

The best time to use your red light therapy device depends on your needs. However, most people find it best to use it in the morning upon waking and/or in the evening before going to sleep.

In review

Red light therapy offers a natural approach to improving sleep quality that is quick, easy, and has no negative side effects.

You can harness the power of red light therapy to regulate your circadian rhythm, reduce inflammation, and promote mitochondria. This results in better sleep.

But know that red light therapy is just one piece of the sleep puzzle. It’s important to ensure you’re incorporating other healthy habits in your life to get the best sleep possible.

These include: