Red Light Research 2026
Is 15 minutes enough? Making sense of red light session timing
A practical look at why “around 15 minutes” keeps appearing in red and near infrared light routines, how timing links with dose, and how to build sessions that are long enough to be useful without drifting into “more must be better” territory.
Why “15 minutes” shows up everywhere
The same number keeps appearing
If you read a few red light protocol pages, you will see a pattern: many suggest something like 10 to 15 minutes per area, a few times per week. Some push longer times, some shorter, but that middle band comes up again and again.
What people are really doing at home
Away from clinical trials, most home routines are built around everyday life rather than ideal laboratory schedules. People stand in front of a panel before work, sit by one in the evening, or build it into a training day. In that context, 10 to 20 minutes is a slice of time you can actually keep coming back to.
That is one reason “about 15 minutes” has become such a common reference point. It is not a magic number. It is a compromise between getting a meaningful dose and fitting into a normal day, as long as the panel is set up sensibly.
None of this is medical advice or a treatment plan. It is a way to read timing guidance and dose discussions more calmly, so you can talk to your own clinician or build a sensible home routine.
How dose and timing fit together
Power vs time in plain language
In photobiomodulation, dose is often described in terms of energy delivered per area (joules per square centimetre, written as J/cm²). To keep it simple, you can think of it as:
Energy delivered = how strong the light is × how long you stay there.
“How strong the light is” is usually written as irradiance (milliwatts per square centimetre, mW/cm²). “How long you stay there” is your session time. Change either one, and you change the dose.
Why this matters for home panels
Imagine a panel with moderate output and a comfortable distance. In that setup, 10 to 15 minutes per area might deliver a sensible amount of energy. Move much closer, or use a very high output panel, and the same 15 minutes could deliver a lot more.
This is why timing guidance needs to be read in context. The same “15 minute” label can mean very different things depending on how the device is built and how it is used.
A simple way to stay grounded is to start at the lower end of a suggested range for the first couple of weeks, see how your skin and energy feel on the following days, then add a few minutes only if you feel you have room to move.
What research actually uses in studies
Session lengths are usually modest
Clinical and sports studies rarely run people under bright LEDs for an hour at a time. Session lengths are often in the range of a few minutes up to around 20 minutes per area, depending on the setup and outcome being measured.
In muscle and recovery research, for example, many protocols apply red and near infrared light before or after exercise with controlled timing and clearly defined distances, rather than long open-ended exposures. Reviews that look at performance and recovery emphasise repeated, moderate exposures rather than long, continuous use. Influence of phototherapy on recovery from exercise (2022).
Total course matters as much as single sessions
Many skin studies do not rely on a single session either. Instead, they apply shorter treatments several times per week over a number of weeks, then measure outcomes such as texture, fine lines or overall quality. Red LED treatment and facial skin ageing.
Across different fields, what you see is a pattern: sensible energy levels per session, repeated consistently, rather than “as long as you like” exposure.
Why longer sessions are not always better
The idea of a “sweet spot”
You may have seen the phrase “biphasic dose response” in photobiomodulation discussions. In simple terms, it describes the idea that very low doses may do very little, sensible doses can be helpful, and very high doses do not always add more benefit and may even blunt the response.
That does not mean a single extra minute will ruin anything. It does mean that pushing sessions endlessly longer is not a shortcut to better outcomes, especially if the light is already fairly strong.
Comfort and adherence
There is also a practical side to this. Long, intense sessions can be harder to stick with. If a routine feels uncomfortable, eats into your evening, or demands awkward positioning, people understandably drop off after the first burst of enthusiasm.
Skin warmth as a simple signal
For many home users, gentle warmth at the skin is a useful signal. If the skin feels pleasantly warm and you are within a sensible time range, you are likely in a reasonable zone. If it feels uncomfortably hot or you are stacking long sessions on top of one another, it may be a sign to pull back.
Translating research into home routines
Think per area, not the whole body at once
Most people do not stand three centimetres from a full-body panel and time 15 minutes for every square centimetre of skin. Instead, they think in areas: face and neck, front of body, back of body, legs and so on.
In that context, “about 10 to 15 minutes” usually means per area or per side, not 15 minutes for the entire body in one go, unless you are using a system that genuinely covers everything at once.
Weekly volume adds up
It also helps to think in weeks, not just in single days. Three sessions per week at 15 minutes for an area adds up to 45 minutes of exposure there. Double the length without changing anything else, and you double that weekly load.
For example, someone using a mid sized panel might choose three evenings per week, treating the front of the torso for 12 minutes and the back for another 12 minutes. That is 24 minutes of exposure on those days, spread over a realistic distance and a pattern they can actually keep up.
This is where diaries, apps or simple notes can be surprisingly useful. They stop timing from creeping up without you noticing and make it easier to see whether any changes you make are helping.
Simple timing templates for common setups
These are starting points, not prescriptions
What follows is not a medical protocol. It is a set of practical sketches showing how timing can look in everyday life if you are using a modern panel with sensible output and distance. Always adjust for comfort and follow any product-specific guidance provided.
Compact panel, face and neck focus
A compact panel aimed at the face and neck might be used three to five times per week. Many people find something like 8 to 12 minutes per session workable, at a distance where warmth is noticeable but not harsh.
Medium panel, upper body focus
With a mid-sized panel covering chest, abdomen or back, a common pattern is 10 to 15 minutes per side, three or four times per week. You may treat the front of the torso, then turn and treat the back, counting that as one session.
Full-body panel or curved system
Full-body or curved systems that genuinely cover most of the body at once are a little different. Here, many people choose shorter total times per session, for example 10 to 20 minutes in total, two to four times per week, because the coverage is so much wider.
Where “15 minutes” often sits
In these sketches, you can see why “around 15 minutes” keeps turning up. It is long enough to be meaningful at sensible distances, short enough to fit into a routine, and easy to repeat across multiple areas without the whole thing swallowing your evening.
If you are comparing formats, you can see how these sketches map onto different devices by browsing the NovaThera panel range. Full body routines, compact face setups and mid sized panels all sit in slightly different timing bands, but the same ideas about distance, comfort and weekly volume still apply.
Common mistakes with timing and dose
Letting timing drift without noticing
One of the simplest mistakes is quiet drift. You start at 10 or 15 minutes, feel fine, and slowly stretch sessions without really tracking it. Weeks later, you are doubling or tripling the original timing and wondering why things feel different.
Changing distance and time together
Moving much closer to a panel while also extending the session is another easy way to overshoot. If you want to experiment with distance, it is usually better to shorten sessions at the same time and see how you respond, rather than stacking both changes in the same direction.
Chasing discomfort
Some people assume that if a mild warmth feels fine, more intensity or longer exposure must be better. Red and near infrared light are not meant to be uncomfortable. A calm, repeatable routine is usually a better sign than one that leaves you feeling “blasted”.
Sources and further reading
The pieces below are a good starting point if you want to dig into dose discussions, timing, and how energy is framed in photobiomodulation. They also help explain why moderate, repeatable sessions tend to be the focus rather than long, unstructured exposure.
- GembaRed: 15 Minutes Optimal Red Light Therapy? Time Is the Trigger
- GembaRed: How Wavelength Affects Dosing for Red Light Therapy
- Influence of phototherapy on recovery from exercise: a review (2022)
- Red LED treatment and facial skin ageing: clinical trial and dose details
- Dose-response and biphasic patterns in low level light therapy (overview of the “sweet spot” idea)