20 Benefits of Infrared and LED Light Therapy:
- Reverses sun damage
- Anti-inflammatory
- Reduces wrinkles
- Wound healing
- Scar reduction
- Kills bacteria
- Improves metabolism
- Assists with pain relief
- Reduces stretch marks
- Reduces redness on the skin
- Fights against Acne bacteria
- Increases Collagen production
- Deduces blemishes and freckles
- Reduces symptoms of psoriasis
- Calms eczema & promotes rapid healing
- Reduces spider veins and broken capillaries
- Promotes elastin production for tighter skin
- Cell regeneration and renewal
- Eases swollen capillaries
- Increases lymphatic flow

*Different light spectrum frequencies penetrate the skin to different depths.
What is Light Therapy?
Light travels at a range of frequencies interacting with the physical world in different ways and each lightwave frequency manifests as a unique colour. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “eat a rainbow” you might know that different coloured foods have specific nutrients and benefits to human and animal health. A similar principle applies to light therapy (sometimes known as phototherapy or chromotherapy).
Light therapy uses controlled light waves to treat different ailments and diseases. Each wavelength of light penetrates a specific depth of skin tissue and, hence different wavelengths of lights can be used to treat different conditions. The LED lights that are commonly used in this field are comprised of complex semiconductors, which convert electrical currents into incoherent narrow-spectrum light, allowing for a more intense colour, or lightwave frequency. The LED lights we use at Freedom Float have multiple colour settings so you can control the settings depending on what you want to achieve. You can also ask a team member to help you select your light therapy settings.

*Infrared Light travels at over 700nm which allows it to travel deeper beneath the skin’s surface (up to 3 inches). Each lightwave penetrates the body at different depths due to the altered wavelengths of each colour frequency. So when you’re in our sauna or float tanks, try the red light for deeper therapeutic results or choose blue for antibacterial benefits that can help with conditions such as acne. See the next image for a full list of all colour benefits.
Historical accounts of Light Therapy
Specific colours were used to restore health among ancient cultures in Egypt, Greece, China and India. During those civilizations, the windows of healing rooms were covered with cloth or dyed red and blue to capture the healing qualities of colour.
In Denmark, 1892, Dr Niels Ryberg Finsen reported the successful use of red light to prevent scar formation from smallpox. He was honoured with a Nobel Prize in 1903 for his pioneering work with light therapy when he had successfully healed tubercular skin lesions with ultraviolet light. Nikola Tesla, another 18th-century inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist, made many discoveries around the healing effects of light and the colour spectrum. These include UV light for lifting mood, UV light phototherapy for skin diseases, UV light and ozone therapy for treating viral disease, and much more.
Colour therapy for health is gaining ground today as a result of the rising use of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in Medicine. Medical research sponsored by NASA, using both Red and Near Infrared (NIR) LEDs, has expanded our awareness of, and use cases for colour therapy.
Light Therapy at Freedom Float Centre
Here at Freedom Float, we offer LED light therapy in both our Infrared Sauna and in all of our Float Tanks. You can control the light depending on what colour, or lightwave frequency you are most in need of. Here is a guide to some of the options we have in the Float Tanks* and in the Infrared Sauna**:

*Float Tanks – Click the light button inside the tank twice for the colours to start changing. When it gets to your desired colour, click again to keep it on that colour. Each colour needs to be on for 20 minutes to have a visible or desired effect. **Infrared Sauna – When entering our Infrared Sauna, there is a light panel on the far right-hand side. You can turn the LED light therapy on by clicking the button on the lower right-hand side and you can pause on your desired colour by clicking the button on the upper right-hand side of that panel. Please don’t hesitate to ask our team if you need any help. Again, 20 minutes is the ideal session time for LED light therapy to be effective.
Ideal number of treatments for Light Therapy effectiveness
According to Esthetician Edu, LED light therapy typically takes 20 minutes for a session to be visibly effective, and it takes 8-10 treatments to achieve desired results. At Freedom Float, our Infrared Sauna sessions are 30 – 45 minutes and our float sessions last for 1 hour so it’s up to you whether you choose to use one colour or alternate between colours throughout your session. One question that comes up occasionally is whether you can have too much exposure. Side effects from LED light therapy are rare and were not noted during clinical trials, however, having the LED bulbs too close to your eyes can cause sensitivity and can even be damaging if directly stared at for too long from a very close distance. In saying that, both infrared and LED therapies have significant bodies of evidence backing their efficacy and can also treat a variety of eye, neurological, and psychiatric disorders if used correctly. Light therapy has also been used for treating various types of cancer by slowing the rapid division of cancer cells and in some instances, increases the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
Call us on 55 35 77 78 to book your Infrared Sauna or Float session today. Discounted packs available in our prices section.
Further Reading
Here are some additional scientific studies, research papers and medical applications of Infrared and LED light waves if you would like to do some further reading into this technology:
- An explanation of light therapy by Dr. Tomislav Meštrović, MD, Ph.D. https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Light-Therapy.aspx
- The use of Phototherapy (light therapy) to treat facial ageing when using a red versus an amber LED in this Dermatology Journal (https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/5/e021419)
- A Critical Analysis of Chromotherapy and Its Scientific Evolution https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1297510/
- Red for scars after surgery “Effects of laser rays on wound healing,” E. Mester et al, American Journal of Surgery, 1971; 122: 532-535
- Effect of NASA Light-Emitting Diode Irradiation on Wound Healing, Harry T. Whelan MD, et al, Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine & Surgery, Volume 19, Number 6, 2001
- “NASA Space Technology Shines Light on Healing,” www.laserthera.com/press_release_3.htm or www.photonicenergetics.com/NASA%20Light%20Healing.pdf
- Light emitting diodes bring relief to young cancer patients; NASA Technology used for plant growth now in clinical trials, NASA News Release, November 05, 2003 www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2003/03-199.html
- “NASA Light-Emitting Diode Technology Brings Relief In Clinical Trials,” for bone marrow transplants, www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2003/nov/HQ_03366_clinical_trials.html
- Blue light for killing bacteria, reducing Ance and as an anti inflammatory https://www.news-medical.net/health/Light-Therapy-for-Acne.aspx
- Shifting the circadian rhythm back into a healthy cycle, sleep disorders, and stress, and hormonal disorders https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3020104/
- The Big Light Therapy Study, a comprehensive study comparing placebo effect to true light therapy in treating depression. https://psycheducation.org/antidepressants-in-bipolar-disorder-the-controversies/ad-controversy-3-are-antidepressants-destabilizers-more/rapid-cycling-treated-with-gradual-antidepressant-reduction/the-big-light-therapy-study/
- Collagen “LED phototherapy smooths wrinkles, increases collagen without pain, heat, risk,” Jane Schwanke, Cosmetic Surgery Times Special Reports, May 1, 2004. “Regulation of Skin Collagen Metabolism In Vitro Using a Pulsed 660 nm LED Light Source: Clinical Correlation with a Single-Blinded Study,” Daniel Barolet, et al, The Society for Investigative Dermatology, 2009 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15341749
- Study: Efficacy of phototherapy to treat facial ageing when using a red versus an amber LED: a protocol for a randomised controlled trial https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/5/e021419
- Light therapy for winter depression: https://www.cochrane.org/CD011269/DEPRESSN_light-therapy-prevention-winter-depression