Near Infrared Light Therapy: The Benefits You Didn't Know You Were Missing out On

Infrared light is all around us, everything that radiates heat emits infrared waves. This type of light is invisible to human eyes, but we can experience it as heat, like the warmth we feel from the sun (which is also infrared). Infrared falls on the electromagnetic spectrum; radio waves, visible light, and ultraviolet all fall under the same spectrum.

When Sir William Herschel discovered infrared light in 1800, he did it out of curiosity to find out the temperature differences of colors in the visible spectrum. Infrared light/waves are right between microwaves and red visible light, which earned it its name of 'infrared'. There are other wavelengths within infrared, subcategories if you will, which are called: Far, Mid, and Near infrared. Near infrared is the shortest of all 3 subsections of infrared light. You’ve encountered this wavelength when you switched channels since remote controllers use it.

Besides being present in your household appliances and devices, near infrared light is also therapeutic. Near infrared therapy is already used to help with certain health conditions, like acne [1] and pain [2]. By incorporating it into personal infrared saunas, its therapeutic properties became available to a wider population. Here are some of the benefits you didn’t know you were missing out on that come with incorporating near infrared light therapy in your daily life.

Near Infrared Light Therapy Can Enhance Your Physical Health

In recent years, the medical community has stressed over and over the importance of caring for physical health. This especially comes as a response to an alarming number of people spending most of their time in a sedentary position, suffering from obesity, or avoiding any form of physical activity. These three can be the main causes, or at least contribute to the onset, of serious conditions, some of which can have fatal outcomes.

couple getting a running exercise in early morning

Getting your daily dose of exercise as recommended by eminent medical institutions, like the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization, can help you become fit and improve your overall health. Based on these institutions, you should practice at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. If you pair that with near infrared therapy you can lose more weight [3] and boost your health [4].

Some personal infrared saunas, like JNH Lifestyles’ ProSeriess 200 Full Spectrum Sauna, can give you the near infrared benefits along with heat therapy, increasing the health effects. When exposed to heat therapy, blood vessels can expand, leading to better circulation, lower blood pressure and more oxygen to the organs. This can decrease cardiovascular risks, helping you avoid a heart attack, stroke, and other life-threatening conditions [5]. If you decide to take advantage of near infrared, you'll also get a good sweat in since the ProSeries 200 also employs far/mid infrared, eliminating toxins from your skin. This can aid with the whole detoxification process in the body performed by the kidney's and liver [6].

Mental Benefits From Near Infrared Light Therapy

While physical and mental benefits can be connected, sometimes the positive psychological effects can outweigh the physical. Allow me to explain: losing weight and lessening acne can boost someone's self-esteem and make them more confident (psychological). So, near infrared sauna therapy can help with treating depression and anxiety, especially when a person is worried about how others perceive their appearance. Near infrared waves have also been shown to help said appearance by reducing fine lines, wrinkles, and other signs of aging [7].

Finding an infrared sauna that offers near infrared therapy is easy; it's finding a high-quality infrared sauna at a reasonable cost that is difficult. That's why JNH Lifestyles offers full spectrum infrared saunas that provide a practical, affordable and comfortable solution that can improve your overall health. The takeaway? Try to be more proactive and take your health into your own hands by doing everything that you can to enhance it, like having a personal infrared sauna in your home.

Near Infrared Benefits -Near infrared (NIR) can help with certain health conditions, particularly acne, wrinkles and fine lines -With NIR helping to remove/lessen skin blemishes, most experience a side-effect of confidence -NIR can be obtained through a full spectrum infrared sauna

 

Resources:

[1] Pei, Susan, Inamadar, Arun C, et al. (2015). “Light-based therapies in acne treatment.” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, National Center for Biotechnology Information, May 2015, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4439741/#ref64.

[2] Gale, George D, et al. (2006). “Infrared therapy for chronic low back pain: A randomized, controlled trial.” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2006, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2539004/.

[3] Kim, Sungwoon, et al. (2017). “Does treadmill walking with near-infrared light applied to the abdominal area reduce local adiposity and body weight?” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, National Center for Biotechnology Information, October 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5684004/.

[4] Tsai, S, et al. (2017). “Biological effects and medical applications of infrared radiation.” sciencedirect.com, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, Volume 170, May 2017, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1011134416311691.

[5] Brunt, V. E, et al. (2016). ”Passive heat therapy improves endothelial function, arterial stiffness and blood pressure in sedentary humans.” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, National Center for Biotechnology Information, June 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27270841.

[6] Genuis, Stephen J, et al. (2010). “Blood, Urine, and Sweat (BUS) Study: Monitoring and Elimination of Bioaccumulated Toxic Elements.” link.springer.com, Springer Nature, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, November 2010, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00244-010-9611-5.

[7] Wunsch, A, Matuschka K. (2014) “A Controlled Trial to Determine the Efficacy of Red and Near-Infrared Light Treatment in Patient Satisfaction, Reduction of Fine Lines, Wrinkles, Skin Roughness, and Intradermal Collagen Density Increase.” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, National Center for Biotechnology Information, February 2014, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3926176/.