VIDEO: If you want the health benefits of infrared light, ‘you’ve got to get outside’

Research is demonstrating the health benefits of infrared light, including its effect on our circadian rhythm and mood.

“The circadian rhythm is basically the conductor of the orchestra of all the things that are going on in our body,” Roger D. Seheult, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine at Loma Linda University, said in an interview. “And that circadian rhythm has to be timed, just like a conductor is the timing of the orchestra.”

In a Healio video exclusive, Seheult — who gave a talk on the subject at the Osteopathic Medical Education Conference in San Antonio — also discussed the impact that light has on our mitochondrial and metabolic health.

Infrared light is a low-frequency energy, Seheult explained, allowing it to penetrate the human body. There, light interacts with the receptors of mitochondria in cells, increasing the production of melatonin — “a very powerful antioxidant” — and this process has implications for chronic diseases.

“Infrared light and light exposure can reduce some of these diseases that are causing early death,” he said. “One of the things that can be very beneficial for patients with chronic disease is to get outside. So, if you want to get infrared light, you’ve got to get outside.”

Reference:

• Seheult RD. Light as medicine. Presented at OMED; Sept. 20-22.