Introduction & Episode Overview
Intro (00:03)
Welcome to the Red Light Therapy Podcast, brought to you by Platinum LED Therapy Lights, the pioneers who spent 15 years building the world's most powerful red light technology. In each episode, we show you how to use that power to heal your body, save time with shorter sessions, and get the professional grade results you deserve. This is the Science of the Light, Simplified for you. And now, your host, Mike Vulcan.
Mike (00:37)
All right, welcome everybody to the Red Light Therapy Podcast, episode eleven. Our co-host today is longevity and sports performance specialist from West Texas, Dr. Alan Inman. Welcome to the show, Dr. Alan.
Alan (00:50)
Shout out to everyone. Hey, how's it going, Mike?
Mike (00:54)
Great to have you back. Dr. Allen has two clinic clinics in Costa Rica. He's a medical director of a stem cell clinic. And as a red light therapy expert, today he's going to be sharing his wisdom so you can make the most of your red light therapy devices. And just as a reminder, each episode designed to be no more than 15 minutes, so you can listen during one of your red light therapy sessions if you already have your panels. Today we're discussing mood boosting and how the how to fight the winter blues naturally. So are you ready to get going, Dr. Inman?
Alan (01:22)
Yes, sir.
Mike (01:24)
Okay, by the way, for all you listeners out there, if you have a question you want to ask us, just go to redlight therapy podcast.com, submit your question, and it'll be answered in future episodes. So let's go ahead and get to the the first question for fighting those winter blues naturally. How does the mood or wellness setting change on, for example, Platinum Therapy Lights, which is our main sponsor, they have a a mood and wellness setting. How does that change how I feel?
The Mood and Wellness Setting
Alan (01:51)
So red light and infrared light therapy has been studied in the fact that we know that it's going to help with mitochondrial function and therefore it's gonna help with energy because it's the powerhouse of the cell. Well, what we know is that clinical studies have shown that when we talk about mood, there have been improvements between twenty to fifty percent or more when used with proper protocol. Like
The ones that we're talking about. So many people have felt more energized, mentally clear, they end up having more emotional balance and better equipped to handle daily stress. So it's really important that if we're doing red light therapy, it's all about consistency because in no way are we going to be able to get all of these great and wonderful results with just one use.
SAD Light Boxes and Seasonal Affective Disorder
Mike (02:50)
Incredible amount, 20 to 50 percent. Wow. are you familiar with those SAD boxes or or SAD boxes? I guess my question is: can red light therapy replace those bright white SAD boxes? And for those of you who don't know, a SAD is a specialized lighting device designed to artificially mimic the brightness of outdoor sunlight. So they're pretty much the gold standard for seasonal affective disorder, which is called SAD or SAD.
Alan (02:57)
Sure, I sure am.
Mike (03:17)
It's a type of depression triggered by the shorter, darker days of autumns and winter. So can a red light therapy device replace that?
Alan (03:26)
Not completely because, you know, bright light therapy remains the most studied treatment for seasonal disfective disorder, which is SAD, which you were talking about, because it influences what is the circadian rhythm through the eyes. And so red light therapy works through a different way because we know that it's gonna increase energy and gonna be able to have the mechanism of better brain health.
But what we're gonna find is that it can be very meaningful for mood benefits. And I can tell you that red light therapy is an excellent complement to the traditional SAD therapy rather than a full replacement.
The Warm Hug Effect and Your Nervous System
Mike (04:10)
That's great. One of the benefits that I find, you know, let let's just of red light therapy and let's just take this as an example. All the rage right now is peptides, right? Everybody wants to eject peptides. And, you know, although they have their own features and benefits, it's an injection. You're injecting it a needle into your body. But the great thing about red light therapy is it feels like a warm hug. So why why does red light therapy feel like a warm hug for your mood?
Alan (04:36)
Because people often start describing this as feeling calmer and lighter and more relaxed after a session. And so that's like because red light therapy supports, you know, the energy function, improved circulation, and it may help overall with reductions of inflammation, which we've seen with the medical studies. And overall that will help with the great feeling emotionally. And so when the body is under a lot of
physiological stress, which a lot of us are, the nervous system often becomes more balanced when we start using red light therapy. And so like I had spoken before, it tends to show that through medical studies that it puts us more in a parasympathetic mode instead of the sympathetic, which is your fight or flight. So it's pulling you away that fight or flight mode. And so that is the reason that it feels, you know, like a hug.
Serotonin and Feel-Good Chemicals
Mike (05:35)
That's that's great. Does it impact feel good chemicals like serotonin?
Alan (05:41)
Well, so research suggests that, you know, the photobiomodulation, when you use it over time, it's gonna improve brain function. And it may directly influence neurotransmitters that affect mood regulation, including serotonin, like we've spoken of. However, the benefits come from mecha multiple mechanisms which you know, they're working together and including you know, what is mitochondrial function.
You know, circulation like I was telling you, reduce inflammation. And that's why people report improvements in mood, motivation, and overall emotional resilience.
Session Length for Mood Support
Mike (06:23)
That's incredible. So how long of a session is it needed to lift a a l low mood, if you will?
Alan (06:28)
So when we look at sessions, the idea is that you're getting at least ten to twenty minutes per session and that you're, you know, people will feel a shift that's positive with these tr treatments, not over one session, but it's all about consistency, like I said before. So it'll take about you know, several weeks, you know, at least five weeks before you start going, wow.
Now I'm starting to see this effect. I've been using it five times a week. And just like exercise, this is a cumulative effect. You're not gonna see a change. You're not gonna be looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger because you did, you know, one day a gym. And the same goes with this is you need to be able to make sure you're doing plenty of sessions so that you can get these effects.
Morning Anxiety and Evening Stress
Mike (07:20)
I think a lot of people are looking for that Arnold Schwarzenegger look after one one day in the gym, the magic pill. It's not gonna happen. I'm sure I'm not alone on this, but in the morning, I don't want to say it's like a lot of anxiety, but I get anxiety, you know, thinking about like all the stuff that has to get done in the day and especially Americans, right? So they're like so busy all the time. Can I use red light therapy for morning anxiety or even like evening stress?
Alan (07:43)
Absolutely. So morning sessions are gonna help with energy, focus, mental clarity, and making this a great start to your day. Way better than choosing coffee, I can tell you that much, even though many will argue against that. evening sessions may help, you know, the body transition into a more relaxed state since you know during the day we're all stressed. And some studies have reported that anxiety related symptoms
can be reduced between 30 and 50 percent, suggesting that photobiomodulation may help support a healthier stress response and a more balanced nervous system, as we were talking about, getting you more into that parasympathetic and out of that sympathetic, which is your fight or flight.
Winter Months and Seasonal Mood Benefits
Mike (08:30)
Wow, that's incredible. And seeing that the title of this episode is Fighting the Winter Blues Naturally, does light therapy work better for moods when it's cold outside as opposed to warm or hot?
Alan (08:43)
well, let's look at this. For many people, yes. During the winter months we know that people receive less natural sunlight, which can, you know, affect mood strongly, energy levels and even sleep call, because we know that. And and it's gonna affect that circadian rhythm. You're not getting that sunlight. that's one of the reasons that there are moments where people have seasonal depression. and it's usually more common when the days are shorter.
While red light therapy can provide these benefits throughout the year, it is important to know that it is a greater impact during colder months because it helps with the cellular function support and overall wellness during a time when, you know, you find out that natural sunlight exposure is reduced.
Closing Outro
Mike (09:33)
Makes sense. I'm surprised you knew I mean you know the answer to every question, but that was kind of a curveball question. So good job with that. That's all the questions I have for you. I hope you listeners learned about mood boosting and how it affects or how red light therapy can affect it. Thank you so much for joining us for today's episode, Dr. Allen. Of course we're gonna have you on for a future episode. Thank you so much.
Alan (09:53)
These are
Intro (09:55)
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