We all have a million and one things to do every day. In fact, if we didn’t have a biological need to eat and sleep, we might just skip them altogether in order to fit more tasks in. This is why many people find it difficult to incorporate health and self-care activities into their daily routine. These are often the first to fall to the wayside, despite knowing how important it is to take care of our body and mind.
Red light therapy is revolutionizing the health and wellness industry, as it has a long (and we mean long) list of benefits, and requires very little time to see results. All you need is 10-20 minutes a day, a few times a week.
However, for those whose schedules are jam-packed, 10-20 minutes can seem like a lifetime. This is especially true when the treatment requires you to sit, stand, or lie still for the duration. Luckily, there are ways to make that time productive. And for people who are looking to lean into the self-care aspect of red light therapy at home, we’ve got you, too. Here’s a list of activities you can do in tandem with your treatment, so you can keep being the superhuman you are.
From a Rouge customer: My husband and I have been using our Red Light Panel for about 4 weeks now and we both love it! It has made a huge difference on sore muscles and aching joints! I just ordered a second panel today, can’t wait for it to arrive!! Thanks Rouge
1. Meditation
Meditation is another wellness activity that has an exhaustive list of benefits. It’s known to help with depression, stress and anxiety, insomnia, even chronic pain. However, it takes practice, and many people find it difficult to not only get started, but to keep at it.
Your red light therapy sessions are the perfect opportunity to learn to practice meditation - after all, you’re already set up for it, all that’s left is to quiet your mind. Luckily, it’s never been easier to train your brain: there are loads of meditation apps and podcasts at our fingertips to help us ease into it.
Podcasts we love: Guided Meditation by The Yoga Bunny; The Daily Meditation Podcast (both also available on iTunes and Spotify)
Apps we love: Waking Up: Guided Meditation and Mindfulness; H*nest Meditation (both available on the Apple Store and on Google Play)
2. Audiobook or Podcast
Who says you can’t go on an adventure while using red light therapy at home? This is your time to get through that new bestseller you’ve been dying to get your hands on, or to revisit an old classic read in a soothing British voice.
Prefer to read books the traditional way? A podcast might be more up your alley. From true crime, to world politics, to the annals of pop culture, and everything in between, there’s a perfect podcast for absolutely everyone out there.
Audiobooks we love: The Harry Potter series, narrated by Stephen Fry (available on Soundcloud); Treasure Island, various narrators (available on Audible)
Podcasts we love: You're Wrong About; The Lazy Genius (both also available on iTunes or Spotify)
3. Learning a New Language
Perhaps you’re looking forward to showing off your red light therapy fitness gains (or losses!) on a beach vacation in Mexico. Or maybe the chronic pain that made you postpone your dreams of going to Italy is finally improving. Or it could be that you’ve always wanted to learn Japanese but never took the plunge.
Whatever your reason, your at-home red light therapy sessions could present the perfect opportunity to hit the books - or the play button, in this case. Learning a new language has never been more accessible, with a wealth of apps available at a low cost eliminating the need for time-consuming and costly in-class courses. Be sure to find an app that focuses on the audio aspect of learning rather than using games or visual aids, so you can get the most of it with your red light therapy goggles on.
Apps we love: Primsleur - this popular app involves a lot of listening, repeating, and answering questions - three great ways to learn a language
Dialup - this fun app connects you with actual people from around the world with whom you can simply converse, and pick up the language in the process.
4. Simple Strength Training Exercises
There’s no reason you have to sit completely still during your red light therapy sessions. In fact, some research has shown that red light therapy applied during strength training can help improve performance and muscle mass. It can be a little tricky, however, especially for those who are targeting a specific area or who have a smaller device.
But you don’t have to move a whole lot to work some muscle groups. If you’re using red light therapy for your face, for instance, you could do a few rounds of plank to strengthen your arms and abs, or donkey kicks with resistance bands for a kick-ass (get it?) butt workout. Simply make sure your face is always within treatment range of your device. Treating your back, stomach, or legs? Try calf raises, biceps curls, or arm raises (make sure your doctor or physio approves any exercises if you’re treating chronic pain or an injury). If you’re struggling to find time to exercise during the day, this is a great way to get just a little bit in - before long, you’ll be looking forward to your ‘me time’.
5. Face Yoga
Yup, you read that right. Few things go better together than red light therapy and face yoga, particularly if you’re using the treatment for skin rejuvenation.
But what the heck is face yoga? It’s basically a series of facial exercises that relax and strengthen the muscles in your face, much like what yoga does for your body. The result is firmer, lifted muscles, and a fuller, younger-looking face.
The key to successful face yoga, however, is consistency. It must be done for a few minutes a day on a near-daily basis over a couple of months before you’ll start to see results, according to experts. Hmm, what other therapeutic activity requires a few minutes almost daily?
Another thing red light therapy and face yoga have in common is that they’re both uber-expensive when done in a professional setting (red light therapy can cost upwards of $100 per session, and some face yoga classes have been known to cost double that for a single session). Luckily, they also both cost (almost) nothing when done at home.
Check out this video featuring OG celebrity face yoga trainer Koko Hayashi for a good primer.
6. Catching Up With Friends and Family
Some people use the time spent in front of their red light therapy device to revisit the fine art of talking on the phone. It’s a great time to check in with your parents, children, siblings, or friends you haven’t seen in a while. This is especially important during the pandemic, as feelings of loneliness and isolation have skyrocketed.
Try to schedule weekly phone calls with a few different people, so you’re not dialing everyone in your contacts looking for someone to pick up (does anyone answer unexpected phone calls anymore?). Not only will it give you both something to look forward to, it will also help you stick to your treatment schedule. Note: if you don’t have a lot of time, be sure to let the person on the other end know that you only have 10 or 20 minutes to chat and that you’re using your red light therapy time to catch up with them - they’ll appreciate that you’ve made the effort to reach out.
or TAKe TIME TO RELAX with lying down and doing nothing
It may not sound very productive, in fact if it was - you might not be engaging in this activity (or lack thereof). If you buy a red light therapy device with a stand that allows you to lie down while doing your treatment, you can score a bonus benefit by also taking the time to allow your mind to drift into a relaxed state that in of itself will give you a benefit. The experience of lying down with your goggles on and the light immersing your body in warm red glow is very relaxing and almost difficult to tell that you are not on the beach, lying in the sand, soaking up rays. Adding some gentle ocean sounds or pan flute music to your routine might enhance the experience to a point that you will find yourself looking forward to using your device, and creating your own little personal mini spa.
The Bottom Line
Some people find it hard to sit still for even just a few minutes a day - that’s ok! That’s just modern life for ya. The point is that red light therapy at home can be combined with a number of activities to help you either get more done, or get more benefits out of your session.
Ready to incorporate red light therapy into your routine? Shop Rouge’s family of Red Light Therapy Devices today, and see for yourself how a few minutes a day can vastly improve your life.
