Introduction & Episode Overview
Intro/Outro (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 (00:38)
Episode 10 today, everybody, for the Red Light Therapy Podcast. Thank you for joining me. I am your host, Mike Volcan, our co-host today, Dr. Alan Inman. Welcome to the show.
Dr. Alan (00:47)
Thank you everyone. Great to be back.
Mike (00:49)
Dr. Allen is a frequent host at our podcast. He's a longevity and sports performance specialist from West Texas. He has two clinics in Costa Rica and is a medical director of a stem cell clinic. So as a red light therapy expert, he's going to share his wisdom so you can make the most out of your red light therapy devices. We're going to make this episode, as always, less than 15 minutes. And today we are discussing brain power, how to use light to sharpen your focus. So are you ready, Dr. Alan? Let me
Throw some questions at you.
Dr. Alan (01:20)
Yeah, let's go for it.
Mike (01:22)
Okay, for all you listeners wondering where we get these questions, we also we we take a lot of questions from our Platinum Therapy Lights ⁓ customer service department. We look online, like on Reddit and stuff. But if you want to submit your own question, go to red light therapy podcast.com. So brain power, first question: Can near infrared light actually penetrate the skull to help my brain?
Near-Infrared Light and Brain Penetration
Dr. Alan (01:44)
Yes.
Near infrared light can penetrate through the scalp and skull to some degree. And what it can do is influence special like these superficial brain areas and where has to do with focus, cognition, blood flow, and even cellular energy production. And what we're gonna find is it doesn't penetrate the entire brain, but studies suggest it can still create measurable biological effects, which are really important.
And so we can therefore have this component and where it's being researched through brain performance, recovery, and cognitive health. So it is something that I would highly recommend that people do ⁓ is have red light therapy. And in many clinics, it is being shown to use in autistic children and other neuro ⁓ developmental ⁓ diseases where
You know, we need to improve the function and performance. And it's shown really good results. So I do recommend it big time.
Mike (02:52)
Wow, that's incredible. So speaking of brain performance, something that I struggle with sometimes. I have an intense day at a morning at work and I get brain frog brain fog or midn midday crashes. Not a brain frog. That would be terrible. ⁓ does red light therapy help with brain fog or or midday crashes at all?
Brain Fog and Midday Energy Crashes
Dr. Alan (03:11)
It may help in some individuals. And it is important to know that brain fog and midday crashes, you know, they're often connected to poor sleep, to inflammation, blood sugar instability, and that it's important that we'll find that they have mitochondria fatigue, knowing that red light, it's gonna help with mitochondria function. And we know that the red and near infrared, you know, will help, even though the most important is the near infrared because it can penetrate deeper, but it can help with this production and energy.
And with the circulation, which can at the end of the day, you know, contribute to improve ⁓ mental clarity. And in one study, there was a study where it suggested that transcranial near infrared light, there was a reaction time improved roughly about two to three percent, while memory retrieval we found that improved approximately 15 to 25 percent, depending on the task that was being measured.
Mike (04:09)
Wow. I don't know how you have time to read all these studies because every question I ask you have like a thorough answer to it and it's always referencing studies. It's really impressive. ⁓ What does the research say about light therapy in long term memory?
Long-Term Memory and Cognitive Performance
Dr. Alan (04:22)
Well, what what has been shown is that the research is really promising. Studies have shown that transcranial ⁓ photobi biomodulation has shown improvement in attention in executive function processing speed, and that it's shown improvement in memory processing. And one of the studies, there was a demonstration where the memory retrieval and there was ⁓ improvements around 15 to 25 percent.
And in a larger review found that approximately, ⁓ I think it was eighty two point nine percent ⁓ of the studies that had reported positive cognitive benefits after red light therapy, believe it or not.
Mike (05:05)
That's a significant percentage. It's incredible. One of my issues is staying focused. You know, I'm working on many different projects at once all the time. Can I use light therapy to help me stay focused during longer work days?
Focus and Productivity During Work
Dr. Alan (05:07)
Yes.
Yes, what we've seen is that red light, infrared light therapy will help with ⁓ a mental reset during demanding work days. So if we have short sessions, they're gonna help like alertness, reaction time, focus, mental clarity, and without relying completely on stimulants like caffeine, which a lot of people are depending upon. ⁓ the best time is often before mental exhaustion. So we don't wanna wait.
right up to that moment. But if we know what about what time during the day we're starting to get exhausted, we can do it beforehand and then we can have plenty of energy for the rest of our day.
Mike (06:03)
What a great benefit for an an office to offer like a red light therapy room or something and just have their clients or have their employees have all those
Dr. Alan (06:12)
Well
rotate in and out. Yeah. Yeah.
Mike (06:15)
Yeah, that's ⁓ you know, I've seen I've seen companies do like hire fitness trainers to come in during work days or something and in excessive coffee machines, but this seems like a better option. how does light therapy help with waste removal s in the brain?
Waste Removal and the Glymphatic System
Dr. Alan (06:32)
So the brain has a natural waste clearance system, which is called the glymphatic system. So people have heard of the lymphatic. So that's in the body, but in the brain it's called the lymphatic. So what it's getting rid of is a lot of toxins and inflammatory ⁓ components and a lot of buildup of like even proteins that are found in Alzheimer's disease. So by having ⁓ red light therapy.
⁓ we know that the deeper sleep we have, the better that lymphatic system has clearance. So what we've seen is that red and near infrared light has supported indirectly what is circulation, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress balance, and sleep quality. So what we've found is it it is very interesting that it has shown that it can help. Okay.
Mike (07:28)
Interesting. Okay. So we've got a lot at Platinum Therapy Lights. We have a lot of football players, collegiate athletes, NFL players. They're they're ordering our lights. Is it safe? And as you know, they have a history of concussions. Is it safe for someone with a history of concussions to use red light therapy?
Concussions and Brain Recovery
Dr. Alan (07:44)
In general, yes. What we're gonna find is when we're applying red light therapy, at the end of the day, we're improving or optimizing what is the function of the mitochondria to be able to provide energy. And to have more energy at the end of the day also means that we have better repair, which is what we want in this type of situation. And so if we have plenty of red light.
on a daily basis, because remember we talked about consistency, has not nothing to do with, I'm using it longer than those 10, 20 minutes. It's the fact that every day you're doing it and not letting up, it's gonna help with healing. And at the end of the day, we can, you know, help with repair with traumatic brain injury.
Mike (08:36)
Interesting. It's one of the commonalities you mentioned across all the episodes is the consistency of red light therapy. I think that's the most important. It's not a one and done, you know, ⁓ system here. So you've sold me on using red light therapy for my brain. What is the best panel placement for actually targeting the brain and putting this into use?
Panel Placement for Brain Health
Dr. Alan (08:54)
So usually the forehead or what is the frontal temporal regions, since these are the areas that have to do with attention, executive function, regulation, and cognitive control. This is something that we need to be able to take advantage of. And if we're ⁓ doing it, so it's good to be able to place that panel right there in our face or on our forehead for these sessions. And again, like I said, it has to do with consistency.
So we don't wanna go overboard and ⁓ have extreme intensity in our sessions. We just need to be able to do those ten to twenty minutes and do it every day. Okay.
Mike (09:31)
Every day consistently. Right. All right, Dr. Allen, those are all the questions I have. That was very comprehensive. Thanks again for your wisdom. ⁓ for all of you listeners that want more episodes like this, just go to Red Light Therapy Podcast and subscribe and follow us on social media, us being Platinum Therapy Lights, because we do put short clips and highlights of these episodes all over social media. Again, Dr. Allen, thank you for your time. We'll look forward to having you on future episodes.
Dr. Alan (09:56)
Sounds great. Hope you guys have a blessed day.
Closing Outro
Intro/Outro (10:02)
Thank you for joining us on the Red Light Therapy Podcast. While others imitate, Platinum innovates. For over 15 years, Platinum Therapy Lights remains the pioneers and global leader in the red light therapy industry. Access the same technology trusted by medical professionals, researchers, and peak performers worldwide. Now
It is your turn to experience the Platinum LED difference. Visit Platinum Therapy Lights.com to secure your professional grade results today.
