Red Light Therapy For Testosterone 

From a cellular level, testosterone is a key hormone in male biology. It is responsible for a man's ability to reproduce and characterizes muscle and bone mass, facial hair, and sexual function. Testosterone production increases during puberty, however typically decline from the age of 30 years old.

Red light therapy shows great promise as a natural and safe form of treatment to boost testosterone levels. Before we dive into the benefits of RLT, let's investigate why increasing these levels is so important for optimal sexual health.

So, what is testosterone?

Testosterone is a hormone produced by the human body. It’s mainly produced in men by the testicles. A man's appearance and sexual development are all influenced by Testosterone. It stimulates sperm production and sexual function. It also helps build muscle and bone mass.  

The Problem with Decreased Testosterone

A range of symptoms can occur if higher testosterone production drastically drops below normal. 

These include:

• Low Sexual Desire
• Hair Loss
• Erectile Dysfunction
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Decreased Muscle Mass
• Increased Body Fat
• Decreased Bone Density
• Infertility
• Mood Changes

Research suggests that the level of testosterone begins to drop for men around the age of 30. [1]. Some contributing factors to a decline in testosterone include a lack of sleep, poor nutrition, a sedentary lifestyle, and stress.

So what can we do to increase Testosterone?

Unfortunately, doctors will often prescribe medication such as synthetic testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). However, this is no solution due to the common negative side effects it has on the body. It is also an expensive way to treat testosterone abnormalities that must be used indefinitely as TRT inhibits the body’s natural testosterone production.  

Let's explore some natural ways to increase testosterone levels naturally without the nasty side effects.

Improve Nutrition

Eating a whole food diet rich in micronutrients. As the saying goes, you are what you eat. Packaged food and takeaway can interfere with the balance of sex hormones in the body as well as weight gain.

Manage Stress

Stress is a primary factor that contributes to many chronic diseases. Stress creates an overload of cortisol which causes an imbalance in the hormonal system. Too much cortisol increases insomnia and imbalances your hormones. Managing stress is essential for optimal health. Meditation, yoga, and relaxing hobbies are fantastic ways to decrease stress.

Exercise

Resistance training is a fantastic way to increase testosterone. The more muscle mass built, the more your body stimulates the production of testosterone. 

Red Light Therapy

Red Light therapy, also known as low-level infrared light therapy or photobiomodulation uses concentrated wavelengths of light to increase energy production. 

Red and NIR light wavelengths have been shown to stimulate energy production within the Leydig cells. The Leydig cells are responsible to boost testosterone naturally in the testicles. Too much heat production in your cells is believed to help naturally increase testosterone production.  This powerful effect on the body’s mitochondria has been shown in hundreds of clinical studies.

Sperm motility is also associated with cellular energy. The more energy, the stronger the sperm will swim. This is incredibly important in reproductive health, and vital in improving sperm motility.

Let’s check out some of the most recent clinical trials that show the how red light therapy has benefits on testosterone production.

Increased Sex Drive

A group of researchers from the University of Siena, led by Dr. Andrea Fagiolini conducted a placebo-controlled pilot study in 2016 to ascertain the impact of Red Light Therapy to produce testosterone in men with low sexual desire.

For the purpose of the study, they gathered 38 men with low sex drive and divided them into two groups, with one receiving clinical doses of the Red Light Therapy at dawn, and the other going along with the control measure.

In the end, the bright light therapy group’s testosterone level grew from 2.1 ng/ml to about 3.6 ng/ml within two (2) weeks.

[2]Dr. Andrea Fagiolini, the leader of The Italian Pilot research group concluded that the Red Light Therapy boosted the sexual performance of the examined men by increasing their elevating serum testosterone level. [3]

Boosts Male Fertility

With a reduction in sex drive, caused by reduced testosterone, research shows that Red Light Therapy helps increase the movement of spermatozoa (sperm motility) in male testes. RLT is a very effective physical therapy method and is recommended as an integral part of the complex treatment of testosterone abnormalities. RLT can significantly improve the survival, motility, and speed of movement of spermatozoa. [4, 5, 6, 7]

Further research such as that of a 2017 report published in Scientific Reports strongly recommended natural light for sperm motility because they don’t pose oxidative DNA damage to the testes and sperm. [8]

Red Light Therapy on Mammals

This clinical trial was conducted to examine the effects of RLT on the testis in elevating serum T levels in rats. The study used a 670-nm diode laser which was found to be effective in increasing serum T in the rats without causing any histopathological side effects.

In conclusion, scientists believe that RLT may be a successful alternative treatment to the conventional types of testosterone replacement therapy.[9]

In 2013, another red light therapy laboratory research on mammals paved the way for the submission that red light therapy has a lot to offer in producing testosterone levels of other mammals.

The report, which was published in the Nepal Medical College Journal stated that the two hormones that produce natural sex steroids and testosterone in mammals, which are the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) were increased within a 70-day timeframe after the application of red light therapy. [10]

Researchers also studied the impact of natural light on boar sperm and the motility of dogs. The outcomes further laid credence to the established notion that red light therapy improves testosterone levels in both humans (males) and mammals. [11, 12]

Natural and Safe

The quest for a natural method of boosting testosterone has stemmed from the fact that most medications have side effects that are detrimental to patients’ health. Red light therapy is a natural therapy that is safe, painless and non-invasive.  RLT has is shown to increase sperm motility and does not cause harm to the sperm or the testes.

In saying that, it is important to use regulated Red and Near-Infrared Wavelengths in the mid-600s and mid-800s nanometer (nm) ranges as proven in many clinical trials. 

Light Therapy Could Be the Ultimate Solution to Male Testosterone Issues

As shown in clinical trials and by numerous scientists, red light therapy naturally increases testosterone.

With an efficient light therapy device like Infraredi, experiencing the benefits of red light therapy for testosterone health has never been easier!

You can see our full range of Red Light Therapy Devices in our shop here.

Scientific Sources and Medical References:

[1] Healthline, Gotter A, and Rogers G, MD. Low Testosterone in Men. Healthline. Jul 2016.

[2] Fagiolini A et al. Lack of interest in sex successfully treated by exposure to bright light. European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Sept 2016.

[3] European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP). "Lack of interest in sex successfully treated by exposure to bright light." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 September 2016.

[4] Vladimirovich Moskvin S., Ivanovich Apolikhin O. Effectiveness of low-level laser therapy for treating male infertility. Biomedicine (Taipei). 2018 June; 8(2):7.

[5] Ban Frangez H., Frangez I., Verdenik I., Jansa V., Virant Klun I. Photobiomodulation with light-emitting diodes improves sperm motility in men with asthenozoospermia. Laser in Medical Science, 2015 Jan;30(1):235-40.

[6] Salman Yazdi, R., Bakhshi, S., Jannat Alipoor, F. et al. Effect of 830-nm diode laser irradiation on human sperm motility. Lasers Med Sci. (2014) 29: 97.

[7] Chow KW, Preece D, Burns MW. Effect of red light on optically trapped spermatozoa. Biomedical Optics Express. (2017) Aug 23;8(9):4200-4205.

[8] Preece D., Chow KW, Gomez-Godinez V., Gustafson K., et al. Red light improves spermatozoa motility and does not induce oxidative DNA damage. Scientific Reports. 2017 Apr 20;7:46480.

[9] Ahn JC, Kim YH, and Rhee CK. The effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the testis in elevating serum testosterone level in rats. Biomedical Research. 2013; 24(1):28-32.

[10] Biswas NM, Biswas R, et al. Effect of continuous light on spermatogenesis and testicular steroidogenesis in rats: Possible involvement of alpha 2u-globulin. Nepal Med Coll J. 2013;15(1):62-64.

[11] Yeste M., Codony F., Estrada E., Lleonart M., et al. Specific LED-based red light photo-stimulation procedures improve overall sperm function and reproductive performance of boar ejaculates. Scientific Reports. 2016 Mar 2;6:22569.

[12] Corral-Baqués M., Rigau T., Rivera M., Rodríguez JE, Rigau J. Effect of 655-nm diode laser on dog sperm motility. Lasers in Med Science. 2005;20(1):28-34.

[13] Myerson, A. Influence of ultraviolet radiation on excretion of sex hormones in the male. Endocrinology. 1939;25:7-12.

[14] Aliendri V., Spina V., Morini A. The Pineal Gland and Reproduction. Human Reproduction Update.1996 May-Jun;2(3):225-35.

[15] Avci P, Gupta A, et al. "Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) in the skin: stimulating, healing, restoring." Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery. Mar 2013; 32(1): 41-52