It eases muscles, builds collagen, suppresses inflammation, induces sleep and safeguards your emotional state to boot. With all the benefits of red light therapy, it’s a wonder we’re not all constantly bathing in it like newly hatched Easter chicks.

Red light therapy benefits both body and soul, and has earned residency status in spa treatments, dermatological protocols, health retreats, and even intensive sleep clinics across the globe. We simply can’t (and shouldn't), get enough of it because unlike many wellness movements, red light has hard science to back it up.

“Evidence is growing that by delivering specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared laser light to precise areas of the body, it is possible to fine tune biochemical processes such as mitochondrial function and cell signalling to aid cell rejuvenation and healing,” reports New Scientist in a recent article focused on the LYMA Laser.

“If you want to rebuild the skin, the light has to arrive at the base layer, where regeneration takes place with sufficient power,” says Lucy Goff, founder of LYMA. “In order to achieve true skin remodelling, you have to be able to target the fibroblasts which are the battery cells in the skin that are all the way at the base level, which the LYMA Laser is able to do,” explains award-winning, board-certified dermatologist, Dr Dendy Engelman, MD, FACMS, FAAD. “The light from the LYMA Laser is coherent light that’s considered the gold standard of light. It doesn’t lose energy when it hits the skin, and therefore it's much more effective in skin renewal. It’s targeted, powerful and able to penetrate through all the layers of skin without losing power.”

True coherent laser light such as the LYMA Laser has been proven to stimulate sufficient collagen production to effectively reverse sun damage, fade out fine lines and wrinkles and return lost volume to skin. But how does this kind of red light therapy work? Aesthetic surgeon Graeme Glass, LYMA Aesthetic Director, explains that this is due to energy transference deep down in the skin’s base layers. “Effectively, you’re supercharging the mitochondria to make more ATP, which helps cell regeneration,” Glass says.

Our life coaches constantly remind us to maintain good sleep hygiene and steer clear of blue light before bed but the red zone, it seems, is where the healing happens. Studies show that red light wavelengths support the body's natural production of melatonin; our sleep hormone. On being exposed to red light, the brain signals it’s time to produce more melatonin and get ready for sleep. A group of Chinese female basketballers were treated with 30 minutes of red light before bed and the marked improvement in their sleep quality upped their overall performance.