That’s rather interesting. Basically going out in the sun gives you at least 2x more red light than that panel. Even with Boston’s sun on a somewhat hazy/smoky day.
That said there are cloudy/rainy days, winter, etc. so using red/IR leds still makes sense but I find it very interesting to see the panel has less irradiance than a sunny day.
Also that shows these panels are very safe because nobody gets sick from staying in Boston’s sun. (assuming you use UV blocking sun screen obviously!)
BTW remember than the advertised irradiance is almost always totally hyper-inflated by the vendors so before spending too much money on red/IR leds panels/lamp, going outside might still be an option depending where you live.
I have been told for years (by my doctors) that because I’m on Rapamycin I should avoid sun as much as possible and always wear protective clothing, hats, etc., which I always do. I became interested in red light therapies, but still hesitant to try. If sunlight is something to avoid, why then would I use red light?
This medicine may make your skin more sensitive to sunlight and can increase your risk of having skin cancer. Use a sunscreen when you are outdoors and avoid sunlamps and tanning beds.
The UV is the damaging component of sunlight. The IR lamps/panels do not emit UV and will not harm your skin unless you are so close that the heat burns you.
My own experience is that red light therapy benefits are quite subtle visually. I am hoping I am gaining some positive results in mitochondrial function. I may have to increase the amount of blood tests I am taking ala Michael Lusgarten to see if there are any positive effects. The fact that many people swear by red light therapy is not convincing. “Show me the facts!” I will continue my own red light therapy because I already invested a fair amount of money on my setup and will continue to use it, but at this point, I am certainly not recommending that anybody should invest in or use the lamps/panels.
My experience with Red/IR is positive but short (1 month). I have immediate reduction in knee pain from weight lifting or hard cycling (80% reduction until after next workout). Also relief from long standing shoulder and elbow pain (totally gone until I workout again). I have also seen improvements in my forearm skin health (dry patches disappeared). No benefit to facial skin as far as I can tell (I have invested time in this to no avail ). I put the lamp directly on my skin or no more than 1 inch away. I do get blisters if I am not careful but I can feel the hotspots so it’s just a matter of moving slightly to the shift exposure area beneath each light. I will not stop unless I discover some sort of damage it is causing.
Thus - the benefit of the red light /IR panels is that they don’t give you any of the UV light wavelength, and only light at the IR part of the spectrum / wavelength.
