The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy: How to Use Red and Near-Infrared Light Therapy for Anti-Aging, Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Performance Enhancement, and Brain Optimization

by Ari Whitten

UV light treatments for vitamin D—To be clear, I don’t mean that red/NIR lights work for stimulating vitamin D synthesis. For that, you need UVB rays. To understand this requires a bit of background. In some cases, when people live in latitudes/climates where there is little sun or little UVB available for months during the winter, I advise using a “vitamin D lamp,” which is basically a fluorescent bulb setup specifically designed to emit UVB light to stimulate vitamin D synthesis in the skin. (I recommend the Sperti UVB Light Box.) In these cases, I also advise using the red/NIR light alongside the UV light, for the same reason as explained above in the circadian rhythm/SAD section—UV light in isolation can also damage cells, and the red/NIR helps mitigate damage and support cellular healing/protection processes. For using it in this context, you can put the red/NIR light next to or behind the UV lamp, and I suggest using the red/NIR light from 24” away during the 3-6 minutes that you use the UV lamp.