[HN Gopher] 670nm red light exposure improved aged mitochondrial...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       670nm red light exposure improved aged mitochondrial function,
       colour vision
        
       Author : walterbell
       Score  : 304 points
       Date   : 2025-02-16 08:33 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nature.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nature.com)
        
       | ankitml wrote:
       | There are more than 1000 similar papers on red and near infrared.
       | All pointing to its impact on mitochondria. Near Infrared (NIR)
       | penetrates few cm, leading to its mitochondrial impact in muscle
       | cells too.
       | 
       | https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&q=near+i...
        
         | nwienert wrote:
         | I've looked into red light at least a handful of nights, I
         | never can come away with a conclusion. It seems like it helps,
         | but it also seems super likely it doesn't do much. I've added
         | the super high intensity arrays to my cart even, before reading
         | into various studies and anecdotes and just not being
         | convinced.
         | 
         | What's the most convincing argument for it?
        
           | theoreticalmal wrote:
           | You seem like you're hoping someone will convince you to try
           | it. Why don't you get a cheap one and give it a shot and see
           | if you feel any different?
        
             | nwienert wrote:
             | I typically don't buy things unless I feel they have some
             | utility, and it seems the cheap ones likely don't do enough
             | to notice.
        
               | its-summertime wrote:
               | Light is light.
        
               | ben_w wrote:
               | Some wavelengths don't penetrate so deep, and not all
               | bulbs are the same brightness.
               | 
               | I've seen obvious lies on some product descriptions on
               | internet listings, therefore I wouldn't trust a
               | specification claim like "x nm" or "y lumen", and unless
               | I had tools to measure them I would not rely on them
               | meeting those specifications.
        
               | PeterStuer wrote:
               | Lumen does not measure much red light.
        
               | ben_w wrote:
               | Lumens being perceputual brightness means any package
               | listing it for IR is definitely lying; but that only
               | makes it a first-pass filter, "no false positives" does
               | not mean "no false negatives".
               | 
               | e.g. even when it's about visible light, well, do you
               | trust this claim of 500,000 lumen?:
               | https://www.amazon.de/Shadowhawk-Rechargeable-Extremely-
               | Wate...
        
               | zimpenfish wrote:
               | > do you trust this claim of 500,000 lumen?
               | 
               | Having watched Torque Test Channel test[0] these[1]
               | kinds[2] of claims, no, no I do not.
               | 
               | [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp8dumORMA0
               | 
               | [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBPQKeeYTfo
               | 
               | [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceA5xL6ggEw
        
               | its-summertime wrote:
               | Yeah but like, don't buy from temu or something, buy from
               | digikey etc and just wire it yourself, its cheap enough
               | to be able to fail 20 times without costing more than a
               | burger.
        
               | bethekind wrote:
               | Build your own. But direct from Alibaba or mouser or
               | digikey.
               | 
               | The main science behind it is to hit the absorption peaks
               | of a mitochondrial enzyme. You can make em bright, but be
               | limited on how long you can use it, or dim and be forced
               | to use it constantly for the same effect.
               | 
               | Pulse width modulation is very important in this for
               | penetration. High intensity allows for deeper
               | penetration, but heats up cells causing stress. The ideal
               | scenario is a really strong light, run at a really low
               | duty cycle, allowing for both intensity AND low average
               | wattage, this lessening thermal issues
               | 
               | There might be other mechanisms of actions, as there are
               | so many papers that say "light good", but until they can
               | give a mechanism of action, I'm sticking with what I know
        
             | Fethbita wrote:
             | I have been wanting one of these and on multiple occasions
             | tried to find some good quality lights. I have not been
             | able to find one that I feel is trustworthy. Do you have
             | any EU based recommendations?
        
           | kenjackson wrote:
           | I've used it for a while now on my knees and ankles. Seems
           | like it works. But honestly its hard for me to tell if
           | anything works. I even question Tylenol. All of it seems like
           | it may work some, but its not something I feel has a very
           | acute impact at all.
           | 
           | Without a controlled study, as an individual, how can I tell
           | if my sprain got better in 6 days but would've taken 9 days
           | otherwise???
        
             | anon84873628 wrote:
             | You might want to look into BPC-157
        
               | andreareina wrote:
               | BPC 157 has little to no reliable data to say it works.
               | 
               | https://open.spotify.com/episode/6WLUUia6qZjVredWBuOlr6
        
               | cjbgkagh wrote:
               | A fair amount of anecdotal data though, it has helped me
               | and others that I know. While the effect is pretty mild
               | it is positive. Having a lifelong chronic condition I'm
               | very sensitive to changes and have no discernible placebo
               | effect. I've tried so many things that my prior belief
               | when trying something new is that it wont work, so it's a
               | nice unexpected surprise when it does.
        
               | BobaFloutist wrote:
               | Ghosts have a fair amount of anecdotal data. Homeopathy
               | has a fair amount of anecdotal data.
        
               | cjbgkagh wrote:
               | I am aware of survivorship bias but for that to apply
               | BPC157 would have to be killing people, this peptide is
               | widely used so if it was killing people we would know due
               | to investigations into their deaths.
               | 
               | People usually hear about this stuff peer to peer and
               | they report back to their peers if it helped or not, so
               | there is a before and after, and for those people there
               | isn't a selection criteria biased on success. If people
               | don't report back then others become very interested in
               | why.
        
             | monero-xmr wrote:
             | Sleep on a firm mattress. Stretch daily. Lift weights 3x a
             | week, for 2x upper body focus and 1x leg day. Cardio 3x a
             | week on days you don't lift. High protein and low fat every
             | day. Low sugar and carbs.
             | 
             | Pain comes as you age. It isn't unique to modern man, other
             | than we typically live longer than ancient man.
             | 
             | If you do this plan you can still cheat. Drink, party, eat
             | whatever. You invest effort so you can enjoy life when the
             | moment arises.
        
               | raffraffraff wrote:
               | Actually the "drink plenty" thing, if you're referring to
               | alcohol, isn't something I can do. I quit (or cut down to
               | insignificant levels) after observing is effect on me via
               | my Garmin stats. Everything goes bad: HRV drops, resting
               | heart rate goes up and sleep scores is _terrible_. One
               | beer or one glass of white wine with a meal around 6pm is
               | ok. But a night out with the guys makes me look like a
               | very sick 80 year old. Heart rate barely drops below 80
               | while I 'm asleep. Normally it's 48-54 BPM through the
               | night. And if I go for a light run the day after having
               | two or three beers, my heart rate is at least 20 BPM
               | higher. So I made a rule: no exertion after alcohol, no
               | alcohol when I'm already compromised (eg: unwell, when
               | those stats are already bad)
        
               | beagle3 wrote:
               | Which Garmin model do you use? Do you know if the
               | measurements provided by an Apple Watch are as
               | informative?
               | 
               | Trying to decide which one to get.
        
               | cyberpunk wrote:
               | The accuracy isn't as important as the trend. Don't
               | expect hospital grade ecg results but either can
               | certainly tell you if things are better or worse since
               | you're wearing the same sensor.
               | 
               | I've got the AW Ultra and I'm quite fond of it, ability
               | to use it without carrying my phone (even audible
               | audiobooks) is the killer for me.
        
               | zanybear wrote:
               | I get the same values and trend after a glass of wine or
               | rye and ginger. I have an Apple Watch.
        
               | wright-goes wrote:
               | I switched from a Garmin Instinct (several years ago)
               | after having used Garmin GPS devices and watches while in
               | the military to an Apple Watch Ultra now. The quantified
               | scientist channel on youtube had some views that helped
               | me decide (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVhmzxpw5Gg).
               | 
               | Hardware-wise they're largely similar, with some
               | additional edge use cases (depending on who you are ofc)
               | for fitness and outdoors with Garmin.
               | 
               | On the Garmin side for software, one thing I really
               | appreciated on Garmin was the "body battery", or estimate
               | of your energy, as well as health trends, etc. Apple has
               | caught up with many of the features in the last year, and
               | has a little ways to go. Apps like Athlytic do a good job
               | filling the gap, but Apple really is making that gap
               | quite small. Garmin locks your workout data down to its
               | garden somewhat limiting your exports and has it more
               | readily cloud accessible than I'd prefer; I felt the
               | Apple privacy protections were better after reading the
               | TOCs and looking at how the data is stored on each
               | service.
               | 
               | What ultimately made me decide to go with Apple Watch is
               | the above data consideration, the smooth functionality
               | and integration with my iPhone, and the rapid pace of
               | development Apple has had. Also, the cellular, texting
               | (not saying it's the preferred method), Apple pay, etc.
               | are all great to have on the Apple Watch and I can go for
               | a run with only that.
               | 
               | After I paid more attention to my body metrics, I also
               | changed my habits and started focusing on hydration more,
               | when I drank alcohol and how much, and I was able to make
               | good choices that help me feel much better to tackle the
               | next day.
        
               | eitally wrote:
               | I have a Garmin Epix Pro. I highly recommend the
               | Epix/Fenix line, and these measurements / metrics are far
               | superior to what you get with an Apple Watch (my wife has
               | an Ultra). The differences become even starker if you are
               | an avid athlete and use your Garmin to track your
               | workouts/performances.
        
               | Etheryte wrote:
               | Ah yes, nothing like giving unsolicited advice without
               | even knowing what medical condition the other person has.
               | You mean well, but it's a crude oversimplification to
               | think every problem is just a matter of just work out the
               | same way I do. For some reason, this phenomenon seems to
               | be common in people who found sports a bit later in life,
               | I'm guessing it's had a big positive impact and they want
               | everyone to experience the same. Coaches and athletes
               | tend to be much less quick to give shotgun advice, as
               | they understand there's considerable depth to the
               | problem.
        
               | PcChip wrote:
               | Suggesting that people work out a few times a week and
               | eat well is not the bad thing you are making it out to be
        
               | Etheryte wrote:
               | Suggesting lifting weights three times a week when all
               | you know is the person has a problem with their joints is
               | not only unhelpful, it can be downright detrimental to
               | their health. It's like recommending someone morbidly
               | obese go for a run. It might be fine, but it might also
               | destroy their joints for the rest of their life, and you
               | can't know which it is without knowing more about their
               | situation and condition.
        
               | cthalupa wrote:
               | A wide variety of joint issues are improved by performing
               | a slow and steady progressive overload with lifting
               | weights. Not all of them, of course, and yes there are
               | some issues that preclude lifting, but this seems rather
               | pedantic. There are a trillion things that most humans
               | can do with no detrimental impact that a small subset
               | can't. Trying to couch every suggestion based on edge
               | cases is silly.
               | 
               | The overwhelming majority of people would benefit from
               | doing resistance training 3x a week, cardio 3x a week,
               | and shifting their diet towards more protein and less
               | carbs and fat. People who fall outside of the large
               | majority due to specific medical conditions need to
               | understand their medical conditions and how they impact
               | their daily life, because expecting everyone else to
               | always take into account these issues is unreasonable and
               | unproductive.
        
               | noah_buddy wrote:
               | > It's like recommending someone morbidly obese go for a
               | run
               | 
               | To be frank, this is a dumb point. The morbidly obese
               | person probably can't even run for 30 seconds. It won't
               | destroy their joints for the rest of their life.
               | Suggesting activity over inactivity is good advice for
               | basically every human alive.
        
               | Etheryte wrote:
               | Hardly so. I worked as a coach when I was younger and the
               | number of people who hurt themselves this way is
               | considerable, likewise for many completely preventable
               | injuries at the gym. Usually people only turn to
               | professional help once some damage is already done. To
               | exemplify my point, the average BMI in the US is roughly
               | between overweight and obese. If someone in that weight
               | range decides that the treadmill is the way to turn their
               | life around, they will most likely come away with serious
               | injuries if they keep it up.
               | 
               | Suggesting activity is good, yes, but suggesting someone
               | should start with lifting specifically when they have
               | issues with their joints without any further context is
               | moronic.
        
               | maeil wrote:
               | You're framing a very opinionated (and hotly contested)
               | take "high protein, low fat, low carb" presented as
               | universal truth as just "suggesting to eat well".
        
               | throwway120385 wrote:
               | Actually sleeping on a softer mattress leads to more
               | restful sleep for me. I used to sleep on a firm but my
               | partner tries to get the softest mattress she can and
               | I've found that it works a lot better for me than my old
               | firm mattress did. The moveable bases, when adjusted
               | correctly, also allow me to completely relax when I'm
               | asleep and I rest a lot better under those conditions. I
               | notice the difference now whenever I'm traveling because
               | the hotel beds are usually rock hard. Mattress
               | salespeople actually do know what they're talking about
               | some of the time.
        
               | codethief wrote:
               | I don't know. Humans have slept on the ground for
               | hundreds of thousands of years and now soft mattresses
               | are supposed to be better? Call me unconvinced.
               | 
               | (FWIW, to counter your personal experience with some of
               | my own anecdotal evidence, I always sleep much better on
               | firm mattresses.)
        
               | jjk166 wrote:
               | Humans suffered colds without antibiotics for hundreds of
               | thousands of years. Just because we can endure certain
               | circumstances does not make them optimal. Our ancestors
               | certainly didn't avoid softer sleeping spots because of
               | some benefit the firmness of the ground provided.
        
             | 14 wrote:
             | Tylenol is a pain reliever so may help with pain. Something
             | like ibuprofen may be a better option, speak to your
             | doctor, as it not only helps with pain but acts as an anti-
             | inflammatory. The important thing to note is that it's
             | effects do not happen instantly but something like several
             | days later so if you have a knee issue, taking it regularly
             | as directed by doctor or manufacturers instructions and not
             | just when your knee hurts can really speed up recovery.
             | 
             | As for your question well you basically just have to trust
             | the science. At some point a rat in a lab probably was
             | intentionally injured next to another rat in the same
             | position and one would get the treatment and the other not.
             | They would then see who healed faster. Things like
             | Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen have been around a long time
             | and studied extensively so they have a good understanding
             | of it's efficacy.
             | 
             | Lastly placebo effect seems to be a real effect so if you
             | do something and you think it might help it might help.
        
               | lazide wrote:
               | Ibuprofen has some well known (and negative) side
               | effects, including ulcers, increased risk of stroke and
               | heart attack, and even significantly increased malformed
               | sperm production [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a
               | rticle/abs/pii/S00456...]
               | 
               | Vitamin I is not, well, _actually_ a vitamin.
        
               | LoganDark wrote:
               | poor rat :(
        
             | tristramb wrote:
             | You need to sprain both knees or ankles at the same time
             | and then use one as the control.
        
               | differentView wrote:
               | Both most people favor one side of their body, so the
               | wear and tear would already be uneven.
        
               | jjk166 wrote:
               | Sprain both knees _and_ ankles and red light treat
               | opposite ones (ie randomly select right ankle + left knee
               | or the opposite pair).
        
               | Ruthalas wrote:
               | You may also have trouble applying the Aspirin to only
               | one location.
        
               | aghilmort wrote:
               | most useful comment in thread like that H.pylori ulcer
               | discovery
        
           | unclad5968 wrote:
           | Just go outside, there is lots of IR out there. If it feels
           | good then get whatever gadget you want to emulate it inside.
        
           | bethekind wrote:
           | Most of the stuff online is overpriced and beyond the
           | mitochondrial enzyme absorption spectrum, I can't find any
           | reasonable mechanism for action.
           | 
           | I think your hesitance is valid
        
         | cowsaymoo wrote:
         | A family member of mine is involved in research into using
         | red/NIR light to improve brain injuries outcomes. Apparently it
         | can also irradiate passing blood which then circulates with the
         | same mitochondrial clean up signals, so it has some secondary
         | effects on non-penetrated areas.
         | 
         | I got to try a prototype LED helmet that blasts 90 watts of
         | lensed, circumspaced NIR beams through the skull for 4 minutes.
         | I can say that an hour later it leaves me feeling mildly
         | buzzed. The main effect I can identify is a mild and general
         | sense of stamina/energy. I used it before/after an all-nighter
         | and didn't feel as impacted as I should have; analogous to how
         | you feel the next morning after drinking at age 20 vs. age 30.
         | All anecdotal of course.
         | 
         | They took the helmet away to give to a kid with an recent brain
         | injury, but swapped it with a hefty 2-foot, 1800W panel. It
         | comes with tanning goggles and instructions saying to be nude
         | and 12 inches away from it for 20 minutes per day--so a bit
         | quacky. But it's apparently big in professional sports clinics
         | for speeding tissue and joint healing.
        
           | prododev wrote:
           | I mean, it is kinda quacky to treat someone with that until
           | it's demonstrated by science. I'm open to the idea that light
           | is an important regulator, but that effect should be easily
           | observable if it's truly effective.
        
             | Etheryte wrote:
             | The topmost comment in this comment thread starts with the
             | fact that there are over a thousand studies on this
             | already, no? Even if the whole effect isn't well
             | understood, it seems like there is some science behind
             | this.
        
               | 0xEF wrote:
               | One could argue that the research goes all the way back
               | to Dr Frederick Cook aboard the Belgica during an
               | Antarctic expedition I which they became trapped by the
               | sea ice. The men suffered from multiple maladies, scurvy
               | included, with one of the prescribed treatments being to
               | stand nude near a blazing fire for an hour. If his notes
               | are to be believed, the men saw some immediate changed in
               | their overall health beyond simply getting warm. By some
               | accounts, he became a bit of a fanatic about how much we
               | humans need the sun, after that.
        
               | Angostura wrote:
               | Or it could be vitamin D, or sunlight killing ticks, or
               | fungal pathogens, or it could be the release of
               | endorphins due to mild sun burn, or any number of other
               | things.
        
               | 0xEF wrote:
               | I'd say it's all those things, likely in different
               | combinations based on the circumstances. Cook's notes
               | indicate that he may have considered it a panacea of
               | sorts, triggering a bunch of different stuff that helped
               | overall health, but keep in mind this was something to
               | tune of 150 years ago, so the information he was working
               | with may have limited the scope of his understanding. For
               | all his otherwise infamous reputation, his work aboard
               | the Belgica was nothing short of pioneering for the time.
               | His life after that expedition over-shadows any positive
               | contributions to science he made, unfortunately.
        
               | relaxing wrote:
               | As placebos go, feeling toasty warm has to be way up
               | there.
        
               | Angostura wrote:
               | There maybe a thousand studies.
               | 
               | How many well-designed double-blind studies in humans?
               | That's the question
        
             | cowsaymoo wrote:
             | I'm no expert but my gist is that light interacts with an
             | enzyme in the electron transport chain (cytochrome c
             | oxidase). CCO is embedded in the inner membrane of
             | mitochondria, and nitric oxide binds to CCO which
             | temporarily inhibits cellular respiration as a natural
             | metabolic regulation to control oxidative stress. Red and
             | NIR light can photodissociate NO from CCO with the right
             | intensity and wavelength, which restarts cellular
             | respiration and ATP production. The release of NO into the
             | bloodstream can secondarily trigger other chemical pathways
             | involved in vasodilation and reactive oxygen species
             | management.
             | 
             | Edit: found a wiki with more details:
             | 
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-
             | emitting_diode_therapy#P...
        
               | BobaFloutist wrote:
               | In general, with a very few exceptions, if the body has a
               | regulatory mechanism there's at least some reason for it,
               | and tinkering with it without understanding it can have
               | unpredictable downsides.
               | 
               | >as a natural metabolic regulation to control oxidative
               | stress
               | 
               | That sounds like something I'd be very wary of
               | manipulating without a good deal of clinical trials.
               | Isn't oxidative stress one of like three primary
               | hypothesized mechanisms of aging?
        
               | nine_k wrote:
               | The body has regulatory mechanisms formed 100k to 1000k
               | years ago, and some even older. The life was a bit
               | different then, as was humans' mental capacity and
               | knowledge.
               | 
               | This is why humans have to actively overcome and
               | sometimes subvert various mechanisms that presume the
               | need to conserve the energy: they hit a gym which the
               | body doesn't like, they limit sugars and fats which the
               | body craves, they consume caffeine, nicotine, or even
               | cocaine to trick the body into working harder and
               | complaining less.
               | 
               | Compared to that, hitting the body with some NIR
               | radiation seems very benign. You can get a lot of that
               | just by walking in the sun, and there are no known
               | adverse effects of that, unlike, say the use of the
               | chemical substances. If anything, it's a promising field
               | of research.
        
               | BobaFloutist wrote:
               | >You can get a lot of that just by walking in the sun,
               | and there are no known adverse effects of that
               | 
               | Other than sunburn and skin cancer?
        
               | nine_k wrote:
               | Sunburns and skin cancer are induced by UV, not NIR
               | light. Put on the protective cream.
        
           | bethekind wrote:
           | I have so many questions about both apparatuses. 90W input or
           | irradiated? Pulse width modulated/dimmed? Lasers? LEDs?
           | 850nm? 830nm? 810nm?
           | 
           | For the panel, 1800W is a LOT of power to put through 2 feet.
           | Is it actually 1800W? What wavelengths? PWM?
           | 
           | I've been using a NIR belt flipped inside out on my pillow
           | the last few weeks. It's only 6W of 850nm, but I've been
           | feeling less dumb recently. Not sure if it's correlated, but
           | until I settle it for sure, I'm going to keep on using it.
        
             | cowsaymoo wrote:
             | The prototype came with a power supply that is set at 24V,
             | 5A and consumes 90W when running. Not sure how the control
             | circuits work but its pretty simply operated with a 3P2T
             | switch for 650nm/Off/850nm. Each module contains a fan
             | cooled array of LEDs behind a plastic lens. I think it has
             | some thermal shut off protection circuit as well.
             | 
             | I just dug out the spec sheet for the other device and
             | you're right. It says "LED Power Class 1800W", but lists
             | power consumption as 350W.
             | 
             | I really like it's potential to improve the right kind of
             | symptoms when applied correctly and I'm also wary of people
             | with bottom line incentives filling in any scientific
             | uncertainty with miracle cures. But I agree, it's
             | definitely worth using. It's a one time purchase with no
             | side effects, so the worst case risk is just
             | disappointment.
        
               | bbarnett wrote:
               | Can light penetrate the skull bones though?
        
               | energy123 wrote:
               | Yes
        
               | CyberDildonics wrote:
               | Light is anything in the spectrum visible to people, with
               | the exception of infrared being called light. What
               | evidence do you have that this is true?
        
               | Filligree wrote:
               | Radio waves do with no trouble. Blue does not at all.
               | Everything between is on a sliding scale; there are no
               | qualitative changes until you get to ionising radiation.
               | 
               | Though there's a bit in the middle where it matches the
               | resonant frequency of water molecules, yes.
        
               | lukeinator42 wrote:
               | yes, and you can even use infrared spectroscopy to infer
               | brain activity via the bold signal:
               | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_near-
               | infrared_spect...
        
               | throwway120385 wrote:
               | It would probably be 1800W continuously but is pulsed and
               | the duty cycle probably limits the power to 350W.
        
           | energy123 wrote:
           | What is the distance of the LED from the scalp? I want to
           | approximate the amount of irradiance (mW/squared area).
        
             | cowsaymoo wrote:
             | It sits right on the head with a ~1 inch foam spacer. The
             | lens might change the fluence, which I think was a key part
             | of the pending patent. Also 90W is the power draw for all
             | the modules in the helmet. I can ask though what the
             | targeted mW/area is and reply if I can get an answer.
        
       | mlhpdx wrote:
       | I have to wonder if sitting by a fire at night is analogous.
        
         | inciampati wrote:
         | Weirdly they didn't test nighttime exposure as an intervention.
         | OK, "weird" means probably it was costly/hard to get people
         | into a lab setting at 9pm... But it does make you wonder!
        
           | hollerith wrote:
           | A different study found that red light helps only if it
           | precedes exposure to blue light, blue light and UV light
           | being the main sources of (oxidative) stress on the retina.
           | Knowing that is probably why they didn't bother testing
           | night-time exposure.
           | 
           | Some believe that the reason red light helps is that
           | cytochrome C oxidase can use the red light to convert
           | serotonin to melatonin and that melatonin is the most
           | important anti-oxidant in the human body. (Under this model,
           | melatonin cannot get into the mitochondria, but serotonin
           | can.)
        
             | 6510 wrote:
             | A few decades ago I had this mysterious sunny morning with
             | colors 10 times brighter than usual. I never managed to
             | figure it out, now the only things I remember are that the
             | curtains were open, the sun came in, I had a dark red box
             | next to my bed that I must have looked at for 20-30 seconds
             | because the color was so absurdly vivid, then I looked at a
             | gold lamp on top and thought woah! The effect persisted for
             | a while, everything in my house looked different. I've also
             | noticed changes in my vision when sleeping in different
             | places.
             | 
             | What little I remember it sure fits your description. I
             | might try hooking up a red heat lamp to a timer as an alarm
             | clock to see what happens.
        
               | zarzavat wrote:
               | Sounds like Chimerical colors https://en.wikipedia.org/wi
               | ki/Impossible_color#Chimerical_co...
        
         | yazaddaruvala wrote:
         | Not exactly a scientific experiment, but based on this video it
         | seems like fire would have significantly less visible intensity
         | for it to make a meaningful difference.
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBL3NdIK4DI
        
         | selcuka wrote:
         | I remember reading somewhere that it is analogous to closing
         | your eyes under the sun, as your eyelids only allow some
         | wavelengths of sunlight. Not sure if that's accurate.
        
           | mk_stjames wrote:
           | The transmittance of light through the human eyelid is about
           | two orders of magnitude greater at the start of the near-IR
           | (~700) nm than it is at 450nm. [1]
           | 
           | [1] "Measuring and predicting eyelid spectral transmittance"
           | Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 16, Issue 6, 067011 (June
           | 2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3593151
        
           | bethekind wrote:
           | It's quite analogous, especially for ideal intensity
           | 
           | Bright enough to warm the body, but not thermally stress the
           | cells.
           | 
           | And yeah, closing your eyelids would block UV light from
           | getting in and cross linking proteins and causing cataracts,
           | while still allowing for NIR light to get in and speed up the
           | mitochondria.
           | 
           | Analogous for sure
        
             | HumblyTossed wrote:
             | So, to replicate the results of this study how long would a
             | person have to do this each (morning?)?
        
         | pier25 wrote:
         | what about the sun?
        
           | dexwiz wrote:
           | I don't think people realize how much brighter the sun is
           | than almost all other light sources in their life.
        
             | fecal_henge wrote:
             | What is sun?
        
             | throitallaway wrote:
             | LED headlights in some vehicles are a close second.
        
           | bethekind wrote:
           | Sun is good, but has limitations
           | 
           | It has UV, which stresses out the cells You can't PWM the
           | sun, it's hard to get full naked coverage in front of it.
           | Doesn't perfectly target NIR or NIR-II biological windows.
           | 
           | But for a base/starter, it can't be beat.
           | 
           | Simply put, light is better than no light.
        
         | bethekind wrote:
         | I bought an infrared parabolic heater to test this out once, as
         | a friend made a comment insinuating that more time in front of
         | fire meant a better sleep. I ran it for a few days, but the
         | results were mixed and inconclusive.
         | 
         | I suspect because the longer IR wavelengths just heat the body
         | up, it's hard to get enough of the more "useful" wavelengths
         | without overheating
        
         | tt7792 wrote:
         | From my experience, fire infrared light can be stronger than
         | the sun. I used to
         | 
         | have occasional pain in my left knee, but resolved it by one or
         | two really hot
         | 
         | sessions at the chimney(I nearly burned myself lol so it has to
         | be really hot in
         | 
         | order to get rid of chronical pain). Knee pain is gone now. I
         | have read a theory
         | 
         | of the vagus nerve sending harmful substances produced by the
         | microbiome in the
         | 
         | bowels to the knee to prevent it going to the brain. The useful
         | compounds get
         | 
         | teleported to the brain(we got no clue how the vagus nerve does
         | it, but if you
         | 
         | lack a functioning vagus nerve the transportation ceases).
        
       | bluechair wrote:
       | Anecdotal, so take this with a grain of salt: I've used a pair of
       | red light glasses from a Dr in the UK and saw noticeably improved
       | vision.
        
         | cenamus wrote:
         | With those the same amount of red light would have hit your
         | retinas anyways, no?
        
           | AnthonBerg wrote:
           | Yes, pretty much I'd think--but less of the other
           | wavelengths.
           | 
           | I imagine that this could serve as different enough input to
           | matter. With the eyes being a very expensive and highly-
           | strung instrument and all?
        
           | alexey-salmin wrote:
           | Probably the pupils dilate due to overall decrease in light
           | intensity
        
       | m463 wrote:
       | I remember reading about this wrt red light improving healing of
       | burn victims.
        
       | jensenbox wrote:
       | Can I do this with an LED strip and maybe home assistant in my
       | office?
        
       | trhway wrote:
       | >A single 3 min 670 nm morning exposure to the eye at energy
       | levels approximately a log unit greater than found in
       | environmental light
       | 
       | it sounds like getting up early and getting out like for a run
       | can be beneficial in one more way.
       | 
       | https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Early-morning-6-am-relat... :
       | 
       | "Early morning (6 am) relative irradiance of the sun is higher in
       | the visible and NIR spectrum compared to midday exposure (noon)"
        
         | mitjam wrote:
         | Yes and before reading HN on a screen which is my habit,
         | unfortunately.
        
           | imp0cat wrote:
           | Just need to redshift the screen. But the intensity will not
           | be enough, unfortunately.
        
         | khafra wrote:
         | A single 3min 670nm morning exposure may be more valuable in
         | latitudes where the sun does not rise until after 8AM.
        
       | RomanPushkin wrote:
       | I don't know wether it's true or not, but I liked the red light,
       | and my spouse too. It helps - improves mood, heals minor pain,
       | calms you down, and warms you up. It also helps with falling
       | taking naps if needed, I fell asleep faster. Lots of joy for $70.
       | I found vintage Kenmore red lamp with red bulb on eBay. I find it
       | better than LEDs, since it emits heat as well.
        
         | dr_kiszonka wrote:
         | I use a 10,000 LUX light therapy lamp in the morning and it
         | does wonders for my mood. When I started, colleagues commented
         | on my better mood without knowing about the lamp (obviously).
         | It is amazing how large of an effect light has on us.
        
           | imp0cat wrote:
           | Is that a red one? Or one of those "simulate the sun" full-
           | spectrum ones?
        
             | dr_kiszonka wrote:
             | It is the full-spectrum one, not red. I should have been
             | clearer in my comment.
        
           | bethekind wrote:
           | This is basically a mini grow light right?
        
             | dr_kiszonka wrote:
             | Yes, I think so.
        
       | taraparo wrote:
       | I have one of those https://www.eye-power.co.uk/
       | 
       | While I like the sensation using it I don't feel any noticeable
       | effect.
        
         | zanybear wrote:
         | How old are you? What drove you to buy these?
        
       | voisin wrote:
       | Looks really interesting. Wondering if I would need special
       | equipment like they describe in order to hit the intensity they
       | describe specifically on the cornea or if it would be effective
       | enough to buy a 670nm red light bulb and sit near it in an
       | otherwise dark room in the morning?
        
       | zellyn wrote:
       | My head canon is that sitting around drinking tea and watching
       | the sunset is what humans need most...
        
         | riversflow wrote:
         | for whatever it's worth, I have found a lot of meaning in
         | sunset runs.
        
       | ziofill wrote:
       | Is this true only for vision? Mitochondria are in other places
       | too
        
         | crystaln wrote:
         | There is a large amount of evidence for red light therapy for
         | all parts of the body.
        
           | pbmonster wrote:
           | A large amount of mostly inconclusive evidence!
           | 
           | I don't know why the people running red light studies hate
           | control groups so much. If you do that many studies, varying
           | wave length and intensity for some of them should be trivial.
           | Yet somehow they almost never do that.
           | 
           | So: 90W mask or 1500W panel? Infrared, red light, or does
           | yellow work just as well, maybe?
           | 
           | The people doing near-UV therapy for skin conditions managed
           | to do all that. There's a know effective wave length (it's
           | always 311nm), there's dosage plans. There's licenced medical
           | devices doing the irradiation. IR people seem less interested
           | in all that.
        
       | pjs_ wrote:
       | I like to read book in the dark with the red LED on my headtorch
       | (so as not to bother gf) before I go to sleep. It's prob 630nm
       | not 670 but I get about two pages in and fall instantly asleep.
       | Can recommend
        
         | profsummergig wrote:
         | Could you please link to the product. I have trouble sleeping.
         | Am interested in trying this technique. Thanks in advance.
        
           | pjs_ wrote:
           | Here is the recipe. Don't skip any steps
           | 
           | - Your room must be cold. If you stand around in the room you
           | should feel kind of chilly
           | 
           | - Your room should be quiet. If you have loud A/C which turns
           | on and off that's a problem c.f. step 1 -- think hard about
           | how to meet both requirements given your personal
           | situation/constraints
           | 
           | - Your room must be dark. Not necessarily pitch black but
           | dark. No blinking LEDs.
           | 
           | - A couple hours before bed, remind your brain that it is
           | soon time to sleep
           | 
           | - Your phone must not be in the room with you. Your phone
           | sleeps in the kitchen. I cannot emphasize this enough. It's
           | OK you are going to have a nice book to read instead
           | 
           | - You need a real physical book. Books are cheap and make you
           | more sexy and smarter. No Kindle
           | 
           | - Here's the book I'm reading: https://www.abebooks.com/book-
           | search/title/gormenghast/
           | 
           | - This is the headlamp I use: https://www.pelican.com/us/en/p
           | roduct/flashlights/headlamp/2...
           | 
           | - There's nothing special about that headtorch -- there are
           | hundreds of head torches you can buy with a red ~630nm LED.
           | it's the standard red color LED. It would be interesting to
           | swap it out for the 670nm wavelength described in the article
           | though!
           | 
           | - Actually that model is pretty heavy and just happens to be
           | the one I bought for camping -- you could do a lot
           | better/smaller/lighter e.g. Nitecore NU25, Black Diamond Spot
           | 350
           | 
           | - You will feel like a clown when you put the headtorch on.
           | That's okay -- you read books and sleep well, making you very
           | attractive in the daytime. It's OK to look like a clown at
           | nighttime
           | 
           | - You are going to sleep on your back. You can do this, I
           | believe in you. You are going to sleep positioned like
           | Tutankhamun and for nearly as long
           | 
           | - You need a reasonably firm pillow and you need to set it up
           | right. It needs to support your neck and stop you rolling on
           | your side. None of this foam bullshit it needs to have
           | feathers in it. You are a human being not a cellphone. You
           | don't sleep on plastic
           | 
           | - OK let's get this bread. You lie down you turn off all the
           | lights and you turn on your cool little headtorch. You get
           | your head very well positioned on the pillow. You are about
           | to sleep like a boss, you're going to sleep like Genghis
           | Khan. You better get those covers tight because it's fucking
           | cold in your room. Then you start reading. Hell yeah this
           | book is so good. It feels so natural and rewarding and you
           | remember that people used to write in ways that are outside
           | our grasp today, no LLM or modern author can touch it. Within
           | a couple of pages your eyes are shut. You find yourself
           | holding the book with your eyes closed, barely awake. At that
           | moment boom you put down the book, ideally switch off the
           | headtorch, and disappear
        
             | profsummergig wrote:
             | Thanks.
             | 
             | I found this: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Red-670nm-
             | Wavelength-Flashlight/...
        
               | pjs_ wrote:
               | Cool
        
               | profsummergig wrote:
               | I can't seem to find any 670nm headlamps.
               | 
               | Question: do you know how you know that the headlamp you
               | own is 630nm? Thanks.
        
       | energy123 wrote:
       | Relevant comment about 850nm light:
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21042852
        
         | walterbell wrote:
         | Thanks for the pointer!
        
         | dr_kiszonka wrote:
         | Someone there links to this, surprisingly affordable, product:
         | https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075F7NV56
        
           | energy123 wrote:
           | Are there any valid safety concerns with this? Or is it just
           | the simple check: "as long as the wattage is low enough, it's
           | fine."
        
             | dr_kiszonka wrote:
             | My experience with evaluating consumer medical devices
             | ("lifestyle" and "fitness") is that what is on the box is
             | often not what the device actually does. Besides wavelength
             | and wattage, you would probably need to check for
             | consistency, whether there aren't any spikes, etc. I don't
             | know how much IR light is dangerous for the brain / what
             | tolerances are acceptable.
        
             | cowsaymoo wrote:
             | More is not better. Research suggests optimal mJ/c^2/s
             | dosages for each wavelength. Stuff on amazon is not going
             | to be calibrated at all to dosage or even wavelength. Aside
             | from being ineffective, there aren't dangerous side effects
             | except prolonged exposure if staring into high intensity
             | NIR.
        
               | energy123 wrote:
               | Can you explain more about optimal dosages and which
               | products deliver those dosages? We get about 0.05 J/cm2/s
               | of infrared irradiance from natural sunlight, so we'd
               | probably want to be at that level, or above but less than
               | an order of magnitude above it?
               | 
               | One challenge is the irradiance drops off as a square a
               | distance. So like 5 inch away vs 1 inch away is a
               | difference of 25x irradiance.
        
             | ulnarkressty wrote:
             | I would not use it without proper eye protection for that
             | particular wavelength. Staring into an infrared light will
             | probably negatively affect your eyesight. As the eyes
             | cannot see it, your pupil will not react and you also can't
             | judge how bright it is.
        
               | energy123 wrote:
               | What about putting it to the side at a 60 degree angle?
        
               | itishappy wrote:
               | The FOV of your eyes is insane, you have usable retina
               | more than 90 degrees off center. If you want to avoid
               | illuminating your eyes, you need to avoid illuminating
               | your face.
        
         | moe091 wrote:
         | My wife has a "Dr Dennis Gross Red Light Mask" that has a
         | setting for 650nm + 850nm red light. Supposed to help with
         | aging or something but the specs match up perfectly.
         | 
         | Probably way too expensive for people to buy for this
         | purpose(probably too expensive for skin care too, it's just a
         | mask with red LED's, if I knew that's what she was buying I
         | probably would've just made one. That's probably why she didn't
         | tell me). Anyway, for anyone out there looking to buy a
         | product, it's worth checking if your wife/gf already has
         | something. Lots of products like this for anti aging as well as
         | for hair growth
        
           | differentView wrote:
           | Do you think it works? You can be honest here.
        
             | adolph wrote:
             | Husband alarm activated:                 Danger Danger,
             | make positive statement and redirect to how they feel about
             | it!
        
           | Workaccount2 wrote:
           | $20 of LEDS stuck on a flex PCB molded to a $10 plastic mask,
           | with a $3 power supply sold for $450.
           | 
           | I have been telling myself for years I need to start building
           | an selling these things.
        
       | jsisto wrote:
       | Does this mean I shouldn't wear the protective glasses when doing
       | red light therapy?
        
         | bethekind wrote:
         | I think a good rule of thumb is to stop if it hurts. I presume
         | you're not using a laser. Your eyes are pretty good at telling
         | you when something is too much
        
       | melbourne_mat wrote:
       | Right now I'm wishing I had a transparent skull
        
         | etiam wrote:
         | Try a stronger dye?
         | 
         | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-024-01675-z
        
       | pazimzadeh wrote:
       | They didn't have any controls with a different wavelength of
       | light. They might as well be measuring a diurnal pattern.
        
         | 6510 wrote:
         | There seem to be very similar studies with the same conclusion.
         | 
         | https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/3-minutes-of-deep-...
        
           | bethekind wrote:
           | I think the point of wanting a control is still valid.
           | Science always benefits from having a control
        
           | westurner wrote:
           | Another:
           | 
           | "Red (660 nm) or near-infrared (810 nm) photobiomodulation
           | stimulates, while blue (415 nm), green (540 nm) light
           | inhibits proliferation in human adipose-derived stem cells"
           | (2017) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-07525-w
           | 
           | TIL it's called "red light optogenetics" even when the cells
           | aren't modified for opto-activation.
           | 
           | And,
           | 
           | "Green light induces antinociception via visual-somatosensory
           | circuits" (2023) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl
           | e/pii/S221112472...
           | 
           | "Infrared neural stimulation in human cerebral cortex" (2023)
           | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1935861X2.
           | .. :
           | 
           | > _In a comparison of electrical, optogenetic, and infrared
           | neural stimulation, Roe et al. [14] found that all three
           | approaches could in principal achieve such specificity.
           | However, because brain tissue is conductive, it can be
           | challenging to confine neuronal activation by traditional
           | electrical stimulation to a single cortical column. In
           | contrast, optogenetic stimulation can be applied with high
           | spatial specificity (e.g. by delivering light via a 200um
           | fiber optic apposed to the cortex) and with cell-type
           | specificity (e.g. excitatory or inhibitory cells); however,
           | optogenetics requires viral vectors and gene transduction
           | procedures, making it less easy for human applications [15].
           | Over the last decade, infrared neural stimulation (INS),
           | which is a pulsed heat-mediated approach, has provided an
           | alternative method of neural activation. Because brain tissue
           | is 75% water, infrared light delivered near peak absorption
           | wavelengths (e.g. 1875 nm [16]) permits effective delivery of
           | heat to the brain tissue. In particular, experimental and
           | modelling studies [[17], [18], [19]] have shown that 1875 nm
           | light (brief 0.5sec trains of 0.25msec pulses forming a bolus
           | of heat) effectively achieves focal (submillimeter to
           | millimeter sized) activation of neural tissue_
           | 
           | Does NIRS -based (neuro-) imaging induce neuronal growth?
           | 
           | Are there better photonic beam-forming apparatuses than TI
           | DLP projectors with millions of tiny actuated mirrors; isn't
           | that what a TV does?
           | 
           |  _Cold plasma_ also affects neuronal regrowth and could or
           | should be used for wound closure. Are they cold plasma-ing
           | Sam (Hedlund) in  "Tron: Legacy" (2010) before the disc golf
           | discus thing?
           | 
           | Does cold plasma reduce epithelial scarring?
           | 
           | A certain duration of cold plasma also appears to increase
           | seed germination rate FWIW.
           | 
           | To find these studies, I used a search engine and search
           | terms and then picked studies which seem to confirm our bias.
        
           | pazimzadeh wrote:
           | The source for your link is the same article being discussed
           | here.
           | 
           | But given how simple their light setup is, they could easily
           | have added a control group.
        
       | crystaln wrote:
       | Red light therapy is vasty undervalued among the techie longevity
       | crowd I know when compared to supplements, perhaps because of the
       | large initial cost and lower portability of systems.
       | 
       | The evidence seems stronger than for most supplements people
       | take, for everything from hair loss to collagen production to
       | soften tissue repair to brain function.
        
         | 3abiton wrote:
         | Any evidence on this? It sounds too good to be true.
        
         | ipsum2 wrote:
         | Red light has a negligible effect on hair loss compared to
         | Rogaine (minoxidil), after reading many papers about this. Not
         | sure about the other claims, but they also seem unlikely.
        
         | bethekind wrote:
         | I think one of the issues is how over priced most of the panels
         | are. You're paying an arm and a leg for lots of little red
         | lights. Nothing more.
        
           | jbd0 wrote:
           | I thought they were overpriced until I looked into building
           | one myself. The heat sinks were going to be really expensive.
           | The LEDs and lenses weren't cheap either.
        
       | 6510 wrote:
       | Dumb question, if you fill the monitor/display with rgb(232, 0,
       | 0) would it emit 670nm light or is it not strong enough? Could
       | one benefit from red curtains or wall paper?
        
       | anentropic wrote:
       | Where can we get such light? Is it basically what you'd get from
       | warming yourself in the sun?
        
         | pazimzadeh wrote:
         | Facing the sun with closed eyelids would get you a lot of red
         | light in the generally correct spectrum
         | 
         | https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/journal-of-biome...
         | 
         | Probably wouldn't do it for more than 10 mins
        
       | mupuff1234 wrote:
       | (2021)
        
       | Two_hands wrote:
       | Alot of these devices are quite expensive. Would it be possible
       | to purchase the LEDs and create a sort of guerrilla red light
       | therapy device?
        
         | 4gotunameagain wrote:
         | 670nm is 670nm, no matter the marketing and/or medical
         | certifications & approvals
        
           | itishappy wrote:
           | In theory. In practice without testing there's no guarantee
           | you're getting only 670nm light. I can make a brilliant 670nm
           | source that also douses you with 385nm light.
        
             | 4gotunameagain wrote:
             | Not really. In practice, the vast majority of LED producers
             | provide the Spectral Power Distribution in the datasheet.
        
               | itishappy wrote:
               | Agreed, but I'd also argue that's what medical certs and
               | approvals are doing in this setting.
        
         | moffkalast wrote:
         | Guerrilla? Like you mean to jump out of tree cover and shine
         | red light at people randomly?
        
       | bilsbie wrote:
       | Has anyone had success for sports injuries like tennis elbow or
       | is a heating pad just as good?
        
       | bilsbie wrote:
       | Would you presumable get the same effects from sun bathing since
       | the sunlight probably contains that frequency?
        
       | FollowingTheDao wrote:
       | The most important part of that paper is the first two sentences:
       | 
       | "Metabolic rate and ageing are both regulated by mitochondria.
       | Mitochondrial membrane potential, however, declines with age
       | resulting in reduced adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production,
       | which is a major source of cellular energy. Cellular decline is
       | further accelerated with ageing by increased production of pro-
       | inflammatory reactive oxygen species (ROS)1."
       | 
       | Forget everything else. Why does "Exposure to long wavelength
       | light (650-900 nm) in animals improves mitochondrial function,
       | increasing ATP production and reducing ROS"? That is what needs
       | to be figured out, because red light will not always increase ATP
       | production and reducing ROS because we are all different.
       | Genetics, nutrition, it all plays a role.
       | 
       | It might be as well that red light helps in the short term but
       | hurts in the long term.
       | 
       | On ATP, do you know what the real name for ATP is Mg-ATP, That is
       | magnesium ATP. Not enough magnesium, not enough ATP. (I am in no
       | way claiming that magnesium is a cure all, just making a point.)
       | What reduces ROS? Selenium, magnesium, Catalase, etc...
        
       | profsummergig wrote:
       | I use a Windows app called SunsetScreen [1] to make my screen
       | warm.
       | 
       | Anyone have any idea if it contributes a lot of infra-red red
       | light that way?
       | 
       | [1] https://sunsetscreen.en.softonic.com/
        
         | Filligree wrote:
         | It does not. The red pixels don't get any redder, it's just
         | turning down the other ones. These being LEDs, it has a sharp
         | spike in the visual spectrum instead of a black-body curve that
         | would cross into infrared.
        
         | elif wrote:
         | No the wattage used in clinical phototherapy is much higher and
         | concentrated in specific bands.
         | 
         | My much less powerful home phototherapy light weighs about 20
         | lbs and I have to cover my eyes with multiple layers to use it.
        
         | indoordin0saur wrote:
         | 670nm is still visible red light. Infra-red starts at wave
         | lengths above 750
        
       | zupa-hu wrote:
       | I'm wondering what wavelengths our monitors / phones have. I
       | always thought of flux (the app) that it is reducing blue light.
       | But keeping the red part may be just as important.
       | 
       | For anyone interested, here is a short vid on how to color your
       | iphone screen red: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omuGVs7eP-A
        
       | walterbell wrote:
       | In addition to the DIY options in this thread, there's a UK
       | vendor selling an LED light in eyeglass frame, for weekly 3-min
       | use. Has anyone tried it?                 670nm Deep Red LED
       | cluster       8mW / cm2       3 minute session timer with
       | automatic switch off       Rechargeable battery with 2 weeks
       | between charges
       | 
       | _> eyepower was set up initially as as a division of Planet
       | Lighting in early 2020 with the aim of designing and developing a
       | mass-market product that would allow individuals to take
       | advantage of recent research in to the beneficial effects of deep
       | red light on long term eye health. With the help and guidance of
       | key academics at the forefront of red light therapy and industry
       | professionals, eyepower succeeded in bringing a product to market
       | in June 2022. Within 6 months of launch, the company had sold
       | over 2,500 units to customers around the globe._
       | 
       | https://www.eye-power.co.uk/ (via
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43086073)
        
       | fumblebee wrote:
       | I've seen plenty of red light exposure masks / therapies / tools
       | being sold for absurdly high prices. I'm pretty suspicious of
       | them, not least because I don't know much of anything about this
       | area.
       | 
       | Has anyone gone down the rabbit hole here and have genuine
       | product recommendations that roughly satisfy the conditions laid
       | out in the paper? * Wavelength: 650-900 nm red light * Power
       | output: 8 mW/cm2 * Misc design choices: e.g. light diffusers *
       | what other considerations???
        
         | dvngnt_ wrote:
         | i bought https://platinumtherapylights.com/products/bio-
         | rlt?variant=1... during the pandemic, it has held up.
        
         | goda90 wrote:
         | I recently bought a panel on AliExpress for much cheaper than
         | most of the branded one. There's not really reason for them to
         | lie about the wavelength of the LEDs, so build quality is
         | really the only risk factor.
        
           | pseudosaid wrote:
           | just lie about the led itself as that is the costly
           | component. Who is gonna measure wavelengths and hold them
           | accountable? its a no brainer move to scam the most expensive
           | component that also is hard to verify
        
             | goda90 wrote:
             | Are LED's particularly costly though? Does one wavelength
             | of red LED differ significantly in price from another
             | wavelength of red LED? And does that even matter that much?
             | It seems like higher wavelength has deeper penetration, but
             | how deep you want depends on use case.
        
         | pseudosaid wrote:
         | Mitsubishi makes the best leds. get ones made by them. the rest
         | can be driven by whatever
        
           | heyoni wrote:
           | Maybe, maybe not. At power levels high enough to be
           | therapeutic you're gonna want to think about cooling.
        
         | hart_russell wrote:
         | I actually found the cheapest and best solution: getting 30
         | minutes of direct sunlight every day
        
           | asdff wrote:
           | Perineum?
        
             | heyoni wrote:
             | You won't get an answer. They've been arrested for indecent
             | exposure
        
             | hart_russell wrote:
             | I think shorts and minimal top would suffice lol
        
           | mrexroad wrote:
           | Challenge there is limiting exposure to damaging UV rays
           | while maximizing near IR
        
         | asdff wrote:
         | I know some old eastern europeans who just swear by the red
         | heat lamp. Like a big hot bulb akin to something for rotisserie
         | chicken. I imagine its like a targeted hot tub in terms of
         | muscle relief.
        
           | grahamj wrote:
           | I would not recommend applying a heat lamp to your eyes.
        
         | elric wrote:
         | There are some infrared masks which gently warm the eyelids to
         | "melt" the meibomian oil in the eyes, which improves
         | lubrication and can really help with dry eyes and associated
         | fatigue. No clue about their wavelengths, but those are
         | generally pretty cheap.
        
       | InDubioProRubio wrote:
       | So the idea is to create "original ideal environments" for these
       | little critters, to reduce their need to migrate to the skin and
       | back?
        
       | anthk wrote:
       | Would it work with a red translucid film taped to a regular white
       | lamp/LED?
        
       | hombre_fatal wrote:
       | So many grifters in this space.
       | 
       | Someone I know desperately bought a $8000 red light therapy gun
       | pitched to her by a chiropractor to help her father who had
       | catastrophic brain damage from a stroke. :/
       | 
       | The gun has a dial on the side that lets you cycle through
       | "Cancer", "Chronic pain", "Acute pain", and other ailments.
       | 
       | https://neuro-solution.com/
       | 
       | Whatever legitimacy red light therapy has, it's set back by the
       | legion of people trying to make money selling confusing products,
       | and it's hard to tell what's legitimate or not.
       | 
       | Between some red-colored LEDs glued inside an eye mask and those
       | fan-cooled NIR array panels on aliexpress, what is legitimate and
       | how do you tell? I think it's that confusion that seeds the field
       | for people to say "none of it unless you're spending good money
       | [on my product]."
        
         | kubb wrote:
         | I hate it, and I'd consider this a crime akin to theft. It's
         | literally taking advantage of people who don't have the faculty
         | to defend themselves, and capitalising on their human weakness.
        
         | goda90 wrote:
         | From what I've read, it actually seems like a bad idea for
         | cancer. Red light is not going to induce cancer like UV, but if
         | cancer is already there, it'd get the same mitochondria
         | boosting effect, essentially helping it grow more.
        
       | ck2 wrote:
       | While this site is particularly for me-cfs and long-covid
       | illness, they do great analysis of many studies on a variety of
       | subjects and recently red-light-therapy
       | 
       | * https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2024/12/10/red-light-thera...
       | 
       | Many independent studies, videos and panel buying comparisons on
       | that page
       | 
       | Personally I'm still not completely convinced but cannot afford
       | it anyway.
       | 
       | adding link to Red Light Therapy Shopping Tool:
       | 
       | * https://products.lighttherapyinsiders.com/
        
       | wslh wrote:
       | We have some of these devices (not affiliated with the company)
       | [1] for general consumption, and also for dentists and physician
       | in the family. Also a very complete book [2]. I am talking as a
       | layman since I am not in that field.
       | 
       | [1] https://weberlasersystems.com/
       | 
       | [2] https://weberlasersystems.com/products/book
        
       | svilen_dobrev wrote:
       | so.. resurrect the dark(red) room for paper-photo-development..
       | and go there in 9.AM ?
       | 
       | too bad the dark red bulb was thrown away together with all the
       | other no-use-anymore equipment..
        
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