I have been a big believer in my NIR light panel but I just didn’t appreciate how far down went the rabbit hole. I have changed my tune on sunlight. Now instead of going for direct sunlight for the UV effects on vitamin D, I am going for Near Infrared light in the shade or through my clothes. I am also adding NIR light to my indoor spaces. The speculation is that I’ll also get a vitamin D benefit.
That NIRA bulb looks fantastic. It doesn’t seem available in the EU. Does anyone happen to know of similar bulbs here?
I’ve resorted to using a NIR/red light ‘therapy lamp’ in addition, whenever in the evening I turn on my regular leds (that are of course more on the blue spectrum). In an attempt to add at least some 650/850nm light. But I don’t find it an ideal solution.
Have been looking forward to this episode, as the research about the impact of light on health is so fascinating. Thanks a lot for your work, and sharing, Joseph: it’s much appreciated!
@Pat25 Look for incandescent bulbs. In the US there are classes of incandescent bulbs that are still available. Incandescent bulbs will create a wide range of wavelengths which is much better than 1-4 wavelengths available in red/nir lamps.
Heat lamp bulbs might be a way to go if you can confirm the wavelengths produced.
Thanks, Joseph. I should have mentioned in the EU there is a complete ban on manufacturing/selling incandescent bulbs (as part of regulations that ought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions).
I’ve searched high and low for years, but I can’t get any incandescent bulbs here anymore.
For several years thus I bought/imported some incandescent bulbs from China, as I was aware there may be downsides to only using light on the blue spectrum, but that also has become close to impossible. Now I’ve only been able to buy a few incandescent stove light bulbs with a small fitting in China, that I can use in small lamps. Pretty much useless in terms of lighting a room.
I will look into the heat lamp bulbs, thanks for the suggestion!
That was helpful info, thanks again. I searched for heat lamps. (Unfortunately it is very common here for shops to not even have the most basic info available, such as the segment of the electromagnetic spectrum the lamp/light covers.)
But I just found these lamps, with a peak at ~1000nm. It looks decent I’d think. So I consider adding them to my ‘regular warm white LEDs’ that should probably peak around ~580nm. They are 100W and 175W so I may have to use a dimmer.
This is interesting info also, I thought. Albeit these graphics do not show what these light sources emit in the >780nm spectrum.
It does make me wonder about adding a heat lamp with a peak at 1000nm (in addition to using regular warm white leds). Perhaps with a dimmer this may work, but it’s certainly not optimal to replicate the solar radiation spectrum.
We may all want to start burning candles at home, next to using regular leds
Thanks you’re right, I should have simply searched for oven lamps 40Watt here before. These can be found here indeed.
Last night I bought a few of these IR heat lamps though that peak at 1000nm and then taper off to 4000nm. As they also should have decent emission at 780nm, if I use such a heat lamp in addition to the warm white leds I use, it should cover most of the solar radiation spectrum (albeit I’m missing some in the blue spectrum). I do need to use a dimmer, but it shouldn’t change the spectrum of the heat lamp too significantly.
It may not be optimal and perhaps I may in the future just use incandescent lamps again.
Quotes below:
Light, water, and melatonin constitute an ancient synergy that ensures adequate protein hydration to prevent aberrant phase separation. The 670 nm visible red wavelength found in sunlight and employed in photobiomodulation reduces interfacial and mitochondrial matrix viscosity to enhance ATP production via increasing ATP svnthase motor efficiency. Melatonin is a potent antioxidant that lowers viscosity to increase ATP by scavenging excess reactive oxygen species and free radicals.
Surprisingly or not a higher level of greenness <referring to trees, plants, grass, etc> is associated with reduced risk for AD (20%,odds ratio 0.80;95%CI,0.75-0.85) and non-AD dementia (11%,odds ratio,0.89;95% CI,0.82-0.96). However, subjects with dementia treated with UVB irradition did not exhibit any of the greenness effect even though plants are exposed to both spectrums in sunlight.
In-visible near-infrared (NIR,800-1090nm),and even far infrared(FIR,3-25 μm) show encouraging results the attenuation of symptoms associated with dementia including a reduction in Aβdeposition, size and number of plaque and fibril formation, clearance of misfolded proteins, increased ATP production and reduced ROS production, improved executive and cognitive function. The melatonin synthesis in mitochondria via the pathway involving nitric oxide and enhanced activity of soluble adenylyl cyclase further bolsters the synergistic relationship between light and melatonin.
Thanks for the episode. I am currently shopping for a red light panel, and hoping to find a Black Friday deal. I live in a northern climate where getting light in the winter is especially challenging. I would be happy with some skin and mood improvement. Anything beyond that would be icing on the cake.
Thanks. Black Friday is a good time to buy tech. I use a mitoredlight brand light. It’s very durable so far. They tend to only run sales on belts and face masks, which I don’t recommend.
Look into adding some NIR to your house and/or work environment. Heat lamp, decorative incandescent lights, or NIRA lighting products will give you an all-the-time exposure rather than 30 minutes a day.
That said I still use my lamp every day and intend to do so forever.
Mitoredlight is the brand that I will most likely purchase. Their prices seem very good for a solid product. I will look at adding some NIRA and other lights. Appreciate the advice!
Joseph, how much time do you spend in front of the Mito/at what distance, and do you happen to know it’s power output, if you don’t mind me asking?
I have a panel also. I don’t use it as often as planned. I thought it was interesting Mr. Zimmerman in your interview was not very enthusiastic about such panels/lamps. He commented that of course they have peak/maximum emissions of specific wavelengths rather than covering the full IRA/IRB spectrum in a continuous manner, and that that may not optimal, as is often assumed.
It’s true of course, that these panels/lamps simply use the few LEDs in the IR spectrum that are available (as a result of technical limitations, standardisation etc), but that we don’t know at all whether this is in fact optimal. And how he expressed hesitations about exposing oneself to such strong light emissions.
Made me wonder a bit about using my panel. But I thought most of the hesitations he expressed in the interview also stemmed from potential eye damage (which could be avoided by using suitable red/nir light blocking glasses), or did I get this wrong? Thanks!
I put my lamp right on my skin…depending on the location of the skin, I will get a blister if I am not ready to shift the lamp a fraction of an inch when I feel the heat build up. I think my skin adapted to it a bit, and I have learned not to push it over the last 18 mos. I don’t know the power off-hand.
yes, I think full spectrum is superior for health, but I think the lamps are good for accelerated healing and pain relief. It is possible that not being deficient in red/NIR wavelength exposure will make lamps less useful.
I am also more cautious about the NIR shining into my eyes. Zimmerman was worried about the invisible wavelengths causing damage that you cannot feel or see. Using my lamp, my skin will burn if I leave the NIR in one spot for more than 30 seconds (doesn’t happen to the bottom of my feet, so skin thickness matters). I can imagine my eye would be less durable than my skin. I now use the nuclear blast glasses mitoredlight included with my lamp.
Glen Jeffery (my next guest) says the light won’t bother your eyes. I’m still being careful.
Note – Peter Attia has a new members-only AMA podcast on red light/NIR light therapy. I haven’t finished it, but the giste is that he says that LED is probably useless for anything other than skin, since even the NIR light LEDs can only penetrate a few millimeters, whereas only IR/NIR lasers can penetrate more deeply.
@Davin8r Attia is wrong about NIR penetration of the body. It penetrates via scatter. The photons get in and bounce around until absorbed. His perspective is a traditional one. Look for Robert Fosbury phd…an astrophysicist who is studying this area now.
I apologize if you have already shown this but would it be possible for you to post a picture of your setup? I have a RedRush 360 unit. I have found it to be effective in treating moderate chilblains, rashes, and skin infections. It’s difficult for me to get it as close to my body as you do. I would have to buy or build a special unit to accomplish this.
PS a family member that had severe chilblains said it was it very uncomfortable and said there feet ached for hour(s) after and would not do it again.
@EenDwaze Here is a photo from the vendor website. Mine looks identical. I have folded the stand to the back as I always have it on my body or flat on the floor with my feet on it. I use it for 20 minutes per body part which often limits how many body parts I get to each day. I always get my feet on it 1st thing.
Feet (both at same time)
Knees (both at same time)
Elbows (both at same time) — usually only for 10 minutes due to awkward position
Shoulders (one at a time)
Face / forehead — usually only 5-10 minutes out of boredom
I have never tried anything else so I can’t say if this one is relatively good or bad. It seems to work for me. It also will burn the fool out of me if I’m not moving it a little bit every 30 seconds (depending on location: shoulders and knees seem to be the most sensitive. It is durable (I dropped it once).