Light Therapy Can Help Many Health Issues

Light therapy, or phototherapy is very popular.  Especially in skin treatments.  Different hues of light have different benefits.  Depending on what you are trying to achieve will depend on what light you want to use.  The nice thing about light therapy is it can be done at home with a light box, or specific lamps, instead of having to always be done at a doctor’s office or spa.  Though you can go to the doctor’s office or spa to have light therapy sessions done.  Light can have a huge affect on your circadian rhythm, your skin, and even your moodiness.  

Light Therapy Helps A Wide Range Of Health Issues

Light therapy is commonly known for helping with seasonal affective disorder, depression, jet lag, sleep disorders, dementia and skin treatments.  Light therapy can help with acne, dermatitis, dull skin, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, scarring, sprinkles, sun damage, and wound healing. 

The goal of getting the results that you want is knowing how intense of light you need, how long you should sit in front of the light, and how often you should be doing light therapy.  If you have any pre-existing skin conditions, such as a dermatitis you will want to check with your doctor before doing light therapy on your skin because too much could cause irritation. 

Light Therapy Treatment & Risks

Light therapy is very easy to use and has very few risks.  The key is to know the correct intensity, duration, and time for each session so you don’t cause overexposure.  This will also help with getting the results you want in making sure you are getting enough exposure. 

If you start to experience eye strain, headaches, nausea, irritability, or mania from having bipolar disorder you will want to stop your treatments.  Symptoms can be mild so you can usually work through the symptoms. 

You can also reduce your treatment time or the intensity of the light.  Changing when you do the treatment can also be beneficial in reducing risks.  

The Different Colors Of Light Therapy

Red and Blue lights are the most common forms of light therapy.  Green light therapy though has been showing signs of being useful in reducing chronic pain.  Green light can also help with treating migraines or headaches.  The green light reduces inflammation and helps produce hormones that help decrease chronic pain.

Red light is helpful in skin care as well as other health benefits.  Red light can help you wind down before bed.  The red light signals in your brain night time and can help with melatonin production.  If you do one to five minutes of red light therapy before you exercise it has shown to help improve your workout as well as boost strength and prevent soreness afterwards.  If you do it on your skin it can help improve scarring, signs of aging and reduce skin inflammation.  

Blue light is very effective in reducing side effects of depression, and seasonal depression.  Blue light mimics sunlight, improving your circadian rhythm, your alertness, and your energy.  Blue light in skin care can help produce less oils on your skin, improving acne symptoms.  There have also been studies showing blue light can help in the healing process of burns.  Blue light can help with your reaction time, focus and productivity during the day as well.  It can also be helpful when a person is a night shift worker and is able to be awake for their shift.  

Light Therapy Application

There are different devices that allow you to do light therapy at your home.  It can be sitting next to a blue light box, or having specific colored LED bulbs in your lamps.  There are masks that emit blue and red lights from them that you can wear for skin benefits. 

Before you switch to light therapy you should try to get natural light when possible.  This can be going on a walk in the morning, or sitting by a bright window. 

If you have a skin condition or end up having one of the side effects after a session of light therapy speak with your doctor.  Knowing the best intensity, duration, and timing is key to getting the results you want.  Also make sure you are consistent. 

There are very few risks or long term negative effects of doing light therapy.  Light therapy has shown to be able to help some people who have to take medications for depression or migraines to be able to decrease the amount of medication they need if not eliminate it altogether.