Red Light Therapy, Lights, Supplemental Lighting

[visionofstrength]

Sorry to bring this back to life, but I have purchased a set of three heat lamps (250 Watt 130 Volt) after doing some research. I'm wondering how long to expose myself to them each day.

-sheldon

Clear flood Incandescent lamps is what you'd like, I think. The light spectrum is ideal. One example is here:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-250- ... /202768698

The idea is to make the day longer, using redlight in the darker hours of the morning and at night. But if you don't get outside much for daylight even during the day, then you can use redlight all day long (as I do).

The trick for me is finding the right distance, just far away from the skin that the heat is not uncomfortable. i think it burns about an extra 200 calories over a ten hour day (maybe 20 calories an hour). That's as much as running two 10-minute miles!

 

[johns74]

Do you think getting vitamin D from UV bulbs, such as reptile lamps, is ok?

If you are getting enough bright visible light too.

Thanks. Is there knowledge of what is a desirable UVA:UVB ratio? If not, I guess one could use sunlight's ratio.

At middle latitude, mid-morning and afternoon sunlight has the best ratio.

 

[Slappy Hands]

Hi. Question.

Why/how does red light increase the need for vitamin A?

 

[RayOfLight]

@ Charlie. Please can you post some links to a few of the light bulbs that have been agreed upon? I would like to give this a try but reading through this topic left me feeling clueless and then stressed out in Vivo! Thanks

 

[fyo]

Why/how does red light increase the need for vitamin A?

Not red light.
Blue light, which is also found in sunlight to a degree.
Blue light is inflammatory, gets under the skin and does something. Skin is a big store of A. Or something like that.

@RayOfLight
No link but,
130 volt, 150 (or more) watt, clear bulb (i.e. not frosted), incandescent light.
120 volt is fine too but 130 a bit better for the spectrum.

 

[j_davis]

Does any one have links to a peat approved lighting set up that i can buy here in the uk?

 

[Strongbad]

Wow so much information, I finally read it all last night but still confused. Info overload and some contradictory solutions.

I'm going to start with the low-wattage LED route first since it's cheaper electricity bill-wise than incandescent (2 x 250W, 130v) bulbs. I spend about 60-70 dollars on electricity per month, so 20-30 bucks increase for using 2 x 250W bulbs is quite bit of a blow for me.

So how long can I turn on the LED light per day? 20 minutes? 8 hours? Will there be UV risk for overexposure? Do I need to wear UV eye cover/goggle or something like that? Can I leave it on all night when I sleep (with or without UV eye cover/goggle)?

And eventually I want to use incandescent bulbs at some point in the future. Can I use it maybe 10 minutes or less per day (to save electricity) or is it a must to turn it on all night before bedtime?

 

[tara]

So how long can I turn on the LED light per day? 20 minutes? 8 hours? Will there be UV risk for overexposure? Do I need to wear UV eye cover/goggle or something like that? Can I leave it on all night when I sleep (with or without UV eye cover/goggle)?

I think it depends on the frequencies emitted by the LEDs. If they are in the red end of the spectrum, I wouldn''t expect much UV exposure. But if they are standard bright white, they are probably more blue end than red.

And eventually I want to use incandescent bulbs at some point in the future. Can I use it maybe 10 minutes or less per day (to save electricity) or is it a must to turn it on all night before bedtime?

I think 20mins can make a difference, but more is better. 5 - 10 minutes several times a day may be better than 1 hr once.

Both opinions are from reading more than experience. But I think I noticed a temporary boost from 15-20 min strong halogen, better from longer (halogen not ideal, but what I had).

 

[Newbophyte]

Wow so much information, I finally read it all last night but still confused. Info overload and some contradictory solutions.

I'm going to start with the low-wattage LED route first since it's cheaper electricity bill-wise than incandescent (2 x 250W, 130v) bulbs. I spend about 60-70 dollars on electricity per month, so 20-30 bucks increase for using 2 x 250W bulbs is quite bit of a blow for me.

So how long can I turn on the LED light per day? 20 minutes? 8 hours?

This depends on the irradiance of the LED array, and the reccomended therapeutic dose you are shooting for. It can be calculated easily once you have those data.

Will there be UV risk for overexposure? Do I need to wear UV eye cover/goggle or something like that? Can I leave it on all night when I sleep (with or without UV eye cover/goggle)?

No. Look up the spectra for the LED's you have. I guarantee there is zero UV. Right now you'd have to pay quite a bit to get diodes emitting in the UV spectrum.

And eventually I want to use incandescent bulbs at some point in the future. Can I use it maybe 10 minutes or less per day (to save electricity) or is it a must to turn it on all night before bedtime?

Again, this is a dose-response thing. What amount of power delivered, at what frequencies, are we shooting for? Is this dose responsive to the intensity?

 

[Strongbad]

Thank you, Tara and Newbophyte!

I just bought these 3 jugulars:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D2WAUN0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 12W, 620-630nm, 30 degree lens red LED. Planning to turn this on most of the time in my office straight to my face and scalp (about 7-8 hours / day on work days of course)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G1WJ1BK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
36W, 630-730nm, 90 degree lens red LED. Plan to put this on my living room and turn it on all night prior to bed time.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008A6999E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
14W, 630nm. Will put this on top of my bed so I can sleep with it shining on me.

Mostly this is all to cure my thinning, shedding hair (I miss my long surfer hair). Overshot or good enough dose? Hope it'll not ruin my skin if exposed too much to these LED lights, even with zero UV.

 

[Newbophyte]

Thank you, Tara and Newbophyte!

I just bought these 3 jugulars:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D2WAUN0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 12W, 620-630nm, 30 degree lens red LED. Planning to turn this on most of the time in my office straight to my face and scalp (about 7-8 hours / day on work days of course)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G1WJ1BK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
36W, 630-730nm, 90 degree lens red LED. Plan to put this on my living room and turn it on all night prior to bed time.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008A6999E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
14W, 630nm. Will put this on top of my bed so I can sleep with it shining on me.

Mostly this is all to cure my thinning, shedding hair (I miss my long surfer hair). Overshot or good enough dose? Hope it'll not ruin my skin if exposed too much to these LED lights, even with zero UV.

I wish I could tell ya, but I don't know if any studies exist at the moment. The more the better maybe? If I were to do it, I'd try to match the spectrum with what the sun puts out at different times of the day. I don't know whether it's ultimately useful to simulate spring/summer conditions in the organism year-round, while it may be beneficial from a hair standpoint there could be other factors that diminish it's usefulness. Perhaps you get 'washed out' and lose yourself to the ennui of having a beautiful life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aGEmhzQFr8

 

[Strongbad]

Haha it's not as extreme as it sounds. I have them on my work desk for a little over a week now. It's surprisingly non-intrusive at all, and my co-workers like the look of red illumination on my desk. Looks freakin awesome!

Also had ones installed in my bedroom and living room. It spices up the mood really quickly

Does the light grow my hair exponentially? It looks like it, but I only had it for a little over a week so it's a little early to judge. I was, however, a little disappointed because I expected my hair to grow like Amazon jungle by now but obviously that did not happen. Need more weeks to give the verdict.

One thing for sure, though. It's hella relaxing! It helps my sleep, helps my mood especially in bed. I'm a red light spoiled brat now

 

[Newbophyte]

Tell me about it, I just did an interim fix by covering my 3W LED lamp with some paper, so it's a very low intensity glow, but it really does set the mood as you say. Keep us posted as to your results, as I'm tempted to buy a 100W red LED panel and wire it up over the bed. Amazon jungle-like hair growth may require one thing: more power!

 

[Strongbad]

Where do you get 100W red LED panel? I'm interested The max watts available on Amazon is 36 Watts, and the range is pretty loose 630-730nm. I'd be down with 100W red LED that's strictly within 610-630nm range. If the range is lower like 400s or 500s it will be better.

BTW, I also have to increase my Vitamin A intake since red light therapy ramps up the metabolism so much I started having acnes again. Apparently 1lbs of beef liver a week is no longer enough

 

[Newbophyte]

good lord. Alibaba, AliExpress, or, my favorite, DealExtreme. I'm about to throw down for some panels, and can't decide on what models to get. You'll want a good heatsink and powersupply for these suckers, and will have to know basic electronics and soldering to get it working properly, but I'm sure there's guides for this. For reference, this article talks about laser light therapy, and I know DealExtreme has bundles of 5mw laser diodes for dirt cheap, if that's the route you want to take. I'm not sure why lasers would have any greater efficacy, besides perhaps an action threshold below which no stimulation of growth occurs. If that is the case, my intuition tells me that a sufficiently beefy LED setup will be able to also overcome this barrier, and perhaps do so with a greater net effect.

 

[gummybear]

good lord. Alibaba, AliExpress, or, my favorite, DealExtreme. I'm about to throw down for some panels, and can't decide on what models to get. You'll want a good heatsink and powersupply for these suckers, and will have to know basic electronics and soldering to get it working properly, but I'm sure there's guides for this. For reference, this article talks about laser light therapy, and I know DealExtreme has bundles of 5mw laser diodes for dirt cheap, if that's the route you want to take. I'm not sure why lasers would have any greater efficacy, besides perhaps an action threshold below which no stimulation of growth occurs. If that is the case, my intuition tells me that a sufficiently beefy LED setup will be able to also overcome this barrier, and perhaps do so with a greater net effect.

Can you provide this fine forum with some links to the sites for the bulbs

 

[DKayJoe]

Hi all, sorry to jump in on these, just been trawling through the the first 15 or so pages and the amount of different information is staggering.

I just want to clarify, people in general have agreed that 250w 130v incandescent bulbs are the best for cell repair?
And how does this compare to the red LED alternative?

I don't want to risk Halogens due to the blue light spectrum, my main goal is to help with possible SAD syndrome and also regrow hair (if possible) but I live in the UK and all I can really find is the following options for lighting...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Panel-Hydroponic-Light-Board/dp/B005BR66IW/ref=sr_1_2?s=lighting&ie=UTF8&qid=1425842255&sr=1-2&keywords=LED+Light+Panel+red[/url]

For LED or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008E5JT... worries if not I will re-red until I get it!

 

[dd99]

Hi DKay Joe, the UK runs on 230v, not 130v, so not many of the recommended bulbs in this thread work for us. As you mentioned, the government in its infinite wisdom has decided to phase out incandescents, starting with the highest wattage. They're currently down to 60w, I think, but they'll soon be illegal, too. Manufacturers have responded by rebranding them 'heat bulbs' or using the 'rough service's loophole.

 

[dd99]

By the way, I bought a 650nm LED grow board while I figure out what kind of incandescent set up I can get: http://www.fastlight.co.uk/acatalog/info_597.html

 

[DKayJoe]

Ok I see, so is the bulb I linked to above actually an incandescent rebranded as a heat bulb? I am tempted to lean towards the lamp and bulb option over LED simply because I would imagine the reach and coverage would be better meaning it would have to be so close and I don't mind sleeping with a light on, so a soothing heat would be nice/allow me to sleep with more skin exposed ultimately giving me a longer amount of exposure.

I kind of like the idea of sleeping with a beneficial light on, hopefully it should have some really positive effects, no matter if it's the most optimal choice or not.