Shining Light Into The Bloodstream For Countering Insomnia?!?

Welcome back to our weekly newsletter. This week we cover a key study on intravenous light therapy. And we've added our latest articles & YT videos.

Let's go:

Intravenous Light Therapy For Insomnia: Shining Light Directly Into Your Bloodstream

So there's an interesting 2023 study on using light directly into the bloodstream. The researchers have added a very nice picture of that process here:

And yeah, I, Bart, also underwent this therapy personally during the Health Optimisation Summit 2024 - check a picture that Lisa shot below:

But back to considering what intravenous light therapy is. Basically, the bloodflow is directed in such a way that the light affects the entirety of the stream. The researchers describe that process really well in their paper:

"[Intravenous light therapy] is a therapeutic procedure that involves the use of low-level laser light to stimulate various cellular processes and improve blood flow throughout the body. During the procedure, a catheter was inserted into a vein, and a fiber-optic cable was used to deliver visible red light directly into the bloodstream. The red light used in the [intravenous light therapy] treatment had a wavelength of 632.8 nm, an energy output of 2.5 mW, an energy intensity of 1.28 W/cm, a total energy of 9.00 J, an exposure time of 60 min, and an energy density of 4591.84 J/cm². This light could potentially affect cellular metabolism, energy production, and blood flow, which could lead to various therapeutic effects."

So, 632 nm red light is used here. And, the power output looks extremely high but that's simply becuase there's only a very small treatment area. I've actually written extensively about intravenous light therapy, and also how you can apply this very easily from the comfort of your home with alternative devices (not used in the study I'm discussing today), in this article:

My 100% free advanced red light therapy course will also have a 2025-26 update on that intravenous topic soon! More on that topic in a second though...

But back to the 2023 study. The researchers state that insomnia, or poor sleep quality is often treated with either psychotherapy (such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which aims to fix the link between emotions, behavior, and rational control), or with pharmaceuticals.

But many people don't have an good solution for insomnia. And, the pharmaceuticals can have horrible side effects in some cases - I personally know people who got addicted to "benzos" and had a few horrible months coming off them slowly.

So here's the study setup - keep in mind this wasn't using medicine's Gold Standard "Randomized Controlled Trial" (RCT) setup with a placebo and intervention group, but instead, used records to check how the therapy affected the insomnia of patients:

"Consecutive patients who received [intravenous light] therapy between January 2013 and August 2021 were reviewed. The associations between laboratory data, pharmacotherapies, and [intravenous light] therapy were retrospectively analyzed. We compared patient characteristics, blood parameters, and drug use within the three months before the first treatment and the three months after the last treatment. We also compared the changes before and after treatment in patients who received ≥10 or 1–9 [intravenous light] treatments."

The result? There was a slight decrease in drug use and also a boost in hemoglobin and hematocrit health (blood) when intravenous light therapy was applied. But overall, there weren't super clear benefits for insomnia in this study. Blood markers seem to be more strongly affected in this study than insomnia directly (despite a small decrease in medication use for insomnia).

You can see outcomes such as the "White Blood Cell" Count (WBC), "Hemoglobin" (HGB), "Hematocrit" (HCT), "Creatinine" (Cr) - for protein metabolism and kidney function - and Serum Glutamate Pyruvate Transaminase (GPT) - for liver health - below:

Next up, here you can see the decline in medication using intravenous light therapy:

The upper group (A) used intravenous light 1-9 times, and the lower group B used it 10 times or more within the study period.

So, what's the final assessment here? Is the study somewhat underwhelming? Sure! But this is an exception, not the rule, and I see huge improvements in health across the board in many of the intravenous (or transcutaneous - "through the skin"), light therapy studies. The best devices for this goal?

First, there's the Weber Endolight which is made for this specific goal and is worn on the wrist:

If you want a Weber Endolight, use the discount code ALEX and the following link.

Then there's the Kineon MOVE+, which you can wear around the blood vessels of the wrist, or better yet, the neck - I've had great results with that, personally:

If you want to get a Move+ Pro from Kineon, use discount code AFERGUSMOVE+ for 10% off and the following link.

Easy peasy!

Otherwise, if you want more info, just read my guide on intravenous light therapy. And check the articles on using red light therapy for sleep as well - as the studies with full body devices are extremely promising in this case:

Here Are Our Latest Light Therapy Insiders' Articles:

Every single article that we've published recently - you can find the videos in the article itself:

Why Light Therapy May Have Life-Changing Effects For TMJ Dysfunction - Here's a huge deep dive of Bart, with lots and lots of science, on why red light therapy is great and inexpensive if used correctly, for countering jaw pain, or jaw dysfunction, commonly called "TMJ"
Mito Red Adapt 4.0 Max Review: 8 Wavelengths & New Software Explained - Alex's latest review, the MitoAdapt by Mito Red. This is quite an upgrade but not for everyone!
THIS Device Counters MCI/Alzheimer - Here’s The Data - Here's Bart latest interview with Dr. Neda Rashidi, on some Vielight studies for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease
Buying Red Light From China: MUST-KNOW Pros & Cons! - What you need to know about buying red light therapy panels & products directly from China.
Block Blue Light Review: Should You Trust This Red Light Therapy Brand? - Here's Alex's company review, of Block Blue Light, which has been doing great for many years now
Red Light Therapy for Exercise Performance: 2X Your Gains - Want to double your gym gains? Here's Bart's breakdown, esp using red light therapy before a workout for maximum impact.

Also, Check Out Some Of Our Other Content:

Below you'll find some of our best content that you shouldn't miss:

Light Therapy Advanced Science Course (Just Launched!):

Join Bart's 100% free advanced science light therapy course above, where he takes deep dives into many different topics, such as mechanisms, neurology (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc), exercise recovery, skin beauty & rejuvenation, and much more.

Some of the topics are only published in that course, such as UV light risks and benefits, addiction, anxiety, depression, and more. So join HERE!