Well, it seems that red light may also have an impact on your sleep. By being exposed to many electronic devices during the day, you must’ve known by now that blue light can hinder your sleep patterns. But what about red light?
Does it have the same effect as blue light, or might it help you improve your sleep quality and your overall circadian rhythm?
If we’ve caught your attention and you are still interested in how red light helps you sleep, we’ve got the answer. This article will examine the effects of RLT on sleep and how you can improve your sleep quality.
Source:boncharge.com
How Red Light Helps You Sleep?
There’s a theory that the red light wavelengths used in RLT increase melatonin at night. We know that as the sun sets, our brains increase melatonin production, a hormone our brain produces in response to darkness, helping with the timing of circadian rhythm.
But as we become more exposed to blue light emission from the electronic devices that surround us, the light affects our biological clock and makes for irregular sleep cycles. Natural light is essential to a healthy circadian rhythm and restful sleep. Luckily, red light therapy simulates natural sunlight without UV rays, excessive heat, or the need for sunny conditions.
Its cool color temperature has a calming effect on the body and is the light wavelength that is best for promoting restful sleep. Red light therapy might make your body enter its sleep cycle more naturally at night or in the evenings.
Your cells will receive an extra boost of natural light during red light therapy treatments, enabling them to produce more ATP (adenosine triphosphate) energy. Your body might function more effectively, heal more quickly, and produce more melatonin naturally.
In a variety of peer-reviewed clinical studies, red light therapy treatments have produced excellent sleep results. A two-week course of red light therapy in the evening improved players’ short-term sleep quality, according to a study on the sleeping habits of professional basketball players.
Red Light Therapy for Sleep
Red light therapy offers a variety of additional advantages, including improved sleep. To improve your circadian rhythm, there are many RLT devices for sleep that emits harmless visible light between 620 nanometers and 700 nanometers.
Red light has a shorter wavelength than other colors, which allows it to penetrate the skin more deeply and have cellular-level effects. It has been demonstrated to lessen pain, reduce inflammation, and accelerate tissue and cell healing.
What is this related to sleep? Your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep is affected by your physical health.
On a physical as well as an emotional level, lowering pain and inflammation and accelerating the healing process may aid in promoting restful sleep. Sleep comes more easily when you’re pain-free!
Sleeping Disorders and Red Light Therapy
Red light therapy and sleep have received very favorable results from the available clinical research.
According to recent research on sleep disorders in people who suffer from migraines, red light therapy was the only treatment that reduced the frequency of migraine attacks in addition to treating patients’ sleep disorders.
In a study on cognitive function and traumatic brain injury (TBI) published in 2014, participants reported significantly fewer PTSD episodes and better sleep.
A 2013 sleep study that examined patients’ electrical brain activity concluded that red light therapy was particularly successful at assisting those with sleep disorders to fall asleep.
Blue Light and Sleep
Just as red light promotes better sleep, morning exposure to blue light may boost alertness and enhance performance. In contrast, exposure to bright blue light at night suppresses the secretion of melatonin, as we stated, a hormone that promotes sleep.
For instance, a study conducted by scientists from the University of Arizona discovered that healthy adults who were exposed to blue light for 30 minutes during the daytime performed better in terms of alertness and working memory.
Short-wavelength blue light during the daytime improved processing speed, working memory, and other learning abilities in college-aged students who were sleep-restricted, according to another study by Harvard University researchers.
Light therapy glasses and other lighting options may boost energy in people who are shift workers, have jet lag, or both.
Besides disrupting people’s patterns, blue light can have adverse health effects, and people that are exposed to blue light at night may have to deal with obesity, diabetes, and increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Weight gain
Getting too little sleep is strongly correlated with weight gain. Short sleep cycles are also strongly associated with type 2 diabetes, according to a substantial body of clinical evidence.
Leptin, a crucial appetite suppressor that helps to regulate body weight, has been shown that leptin levels fall and ghrelin levels increase due to disruption in the sleep cycles. It is more difficult to control appetite when leptin, our internal fuel gauge, is thrown off by abnormal sleep patterns.
Inflammation
People who experience sleep disturbances and/or excessively long sleep periods have been found to have higher levels of inflammatory markers.
This emphasizes the idea that inflammation can result from both too little and too much sleep.
Mental impairment
Experts generally agree that insufficient sleep contributes to slower reaction times, diminished alertness, and increased performance variability.
It makes sense to anyone who has experienced fatigue and irritability due to lack of sleep that recent research suggests sleep deprivation may particularly affect cognitive functions that depend on emotional data.
Read More: What Color LED Light Helps You Sleep Besides Red?
Conclusion
This is it! This was all about how red light helps you sleep and its effectiveness.
While the early research on red light therapy for sleep seems promising, we can positively say that red light therapy definitely doesn’t disrupt your sleep, but it may only increase and improve your sleep patterns.
Before attempting red light therapies, limiting your exposure to bright light for three hours before bed might be a good idea.
Hello! I’m Nicky Rodgers.
Almost a decade ago, I got excited about the idea of employing alternative methods like red light therapy to create a healthier life.
To learn more about it, I did my Certified Light Therapist course from Photonic Therapy Institute and started looking into the intricacies of how light therapy influences several bodily processes. Before I knew it, my interest had become an obsession which resulted in this extensive blog.
Here, I offer countless well-researched articles to help you understand the benefits and uses of light therapy. I hope this information gives you a head start in your wellness journey.