Photobiomodulation, the effect of near-infrared and infrared light on your cells, reaches pain through melatonin. About 95% of your melatonin is made inside your mitochondria (the power plants of your cells) when they soak up that light. It puts out the free radicals that drive inflammation. Life spent indoors cuts off that light. So inflammation and pain never quite settle.
Do you spend nearly all day indoors? Do your inflammation and pain never quite settle? The light you are missing may matter more than you think. This article explains photobiomodulation—how sunlight, and its infrared light in particular, acts on your cells—and the surprising link Dr. Padda draws between that light and a hormone most people know only as a sleep aid: melatonin. Every claim here comes from his talk. Read these ideas as a new, practice-based way to think about metabolic inflammation, not settled standard care.
How much of sunlight is infrared light?
Sunlight is far more than the light we read by and see color with. It covers a wide range. Of the light that actually reaches us, roughly 6.8% is ultraviolet, 39% is visible, and about 54% is infrared or near-infrared. Short waves barely get into the body. Long infrared waves reach deep. Infrared can pass through bone, into the fluid around the brain, and spread widely. So most of the light your body was built to use is light you cannot see.
How does red light therapy work inside your cells?
Most people think melatonin comes from the pineal gland (a tiny gland in the brain) at night. But Dr. Padda notes that pineal melatonin is only about 5% of what your body makes. The other 95% is produced locally inside the mitochondria of nearly every cell. It is used right where it is made. Near-infrared and infrared light are soaked up by an enzyme called cytochrome c oxidase. Its iron core reacts strongly to that light. This improves the mitochondrial membrane potential (the charge that drives energy making) and helps switch on this local melatonin. Making it also takes raw materials: tryptophan (turned into serotonin) and the helper molecule acetyl-CoA.
Can too little daylight leave you inflamed?
Inside the mitochondria, making energy always throws off free radicals. Melatonin is a strong cleanup crew that puts them out. Dr. Padda calls it an even bigger antioxidant system than glutathione. When melatonin in the cell runs low, free radicals build up. They can push cells toward damage and self-destruction. We now spend most of our lives indoors. And modern LED and CFL lights give off almost no infrared, unlike the old incandescent bulbs. So he argues we may be losing the daytime light that keeps this anti-inflammatory system running.
Does the Padda Institute use red light therapy for pain?
Dr. Padda sees infrared and near-infrared exposure as a low-cost, low-risk tool. He already uses it in the clinic to help patients with pain and metabolic inflammation. He pairs it with blood tests that document that inflammation. He also mentions using green-light glasses for patients with severe migraine that does not respond to standard therapies. These are practice-based approaches that he offers as part of a broader plan. He stresses one caution. High-dose melatonin pills may work against long-term sleep. People often take 5–10 mg versus cited human doses near 1 mg. Individual results vary.
Frequently asked questions
What is photobiomodulation, and how could it help my pain?
Photobiomodulation is the effect of light—mainly near-infrared and infrared light—on your cells. Dr. Padda explains that mitochondria soak up this light. It helps them make melatonin right inside the cell. That melatonin acts as a strong antioxidant and calms inflammation. He uses infrared and near-infrared in the clinic for pain and metabolic inflammation. But it is a new, practice-based approach, not settled standard care. Individual results vary.
Isn’t melatonin just for sleep?
Only about 5% of your melatonin comes from the pineal gland and ties to your sleep-wake cycle. The other 95%, says Dr. Padda, is made inside your cells’ mitochondria during the day. It is used on the spot as one of your strongest free-radical cleaners. That is why he argues daytime infrared light matters for inflammation and pain, not only for sleep.
Should I buy a red light device or take melatonin supplements on my own?
Do not start, stop, or change any medication or supplement without consulting your physician. Dr. Padda warns that the high melatonin doses many people take may hurt long-term sleep. Infrared light works best as part of a supervised plan. That plan includes checking your metabolic inflammation. Discuss any device or supplement with your doctor first. Individual results vary.
What do doctors think about red light therapy?
Dr. Padda sees infrared and near-infrared light as a low-cost, low-risk tool. He already uses it in the clinic to help patients with pain and metabolic inflammation. He pairs it with blood tests that document that inflammation. He offers it as part of a broader plan, not as a stand-alone cure. Individual results vary.
How does red light therapy reduce inflammation?
Near-infrared and infrared light are soaked up by cytochrome c oxidase in your mitochondria. This improves the mitochondrial membrane potential and helps switch on local melatonin. That melatonin is a strong cleaner. It puts out the free radicals that making energy always creates. When melatonin in the cell runs low, free radicals build up. They push cells toward damage, and that feeds inflammation.
Is red light therapy safe?
Dr. Padda calls infrared and near-infrared light exposure low-risk. He uses it within a supervised plan that includes checking your metabolic inflammation. His caution is about melatonin pills, not light. People often take 5 to 10 mg, compared with cited human doses near 1 mg. High doses may work against long-term sleep. Individual results vary.
Where are you located and how do I book?
Padda Institute Center for Interventional Pain Management, 4477 Woodson Rd, Suite 100, St. Louis, MO 63134. Book at painmd.tv/appointment/ or call (314) 481-5000.
Key takeaways
- How it works: mitochondria soak up infrared light, and it helps them make melatonin, a strong antioxidant, right inside your cells.
- Evidence: a new, practice-based idea for metabolic inflammation and pain, not proven standard care.
- Why timing matters: this melatonin is made in daytime light. Indoor life and LED lights give almost no infrared.
- Next step: ask about infrared light and metabolic-inflammation testing—book at painmd.tv/appointment/.
This article is educational and is not a substitute for evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment by a physician. Individual results vary. Do not start, stop, or change any medication without consulting your physician.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP — Board Certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine, Interventional Pain Management, Addiction Medicine, and Obesity Medicine. Last reviewed July 2026.
Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP
