Full Body Red Light Therapy: Beds, Booths and an Area-by-Area Plan at Home
Full body red light therapy means lighting most of your skin in one session, usually in a lie-down LED bed or a stand-up booth, and the small trials so far have looked at fibromyalgia pain, sleep, skin and exercise recovery. At home, a half-body panel reaches the same areas one at a time. Below: formats, what the trials used and found, tanning, goggles, cost, safety, and an area-by-area plan with our panel.
Key takeaways
- In a triple-blind trial of 42 women with fibromyalgia, 20-minute LED bed sessions three times a week for 4 weeks left pain lower than a placebo bed at 6 months. Navarro-Ledesma, 2024
- In a trial of 20 young basketball players, 30 minutes of whole-body 658 nm light every night for 14 days improved sleep scores more than placebo. Zhao, 2012
- A review of 39 randomised trials with 861 people found better muscle performance when light was aimed at the working muscle. Vanin, 2018
- A 2025 consensus of 21 international experts described photobiomodulation as safe for adult patients. Maghfour, 2025
- Red light therapy does not use ultraviolet light, unlike sunlight and tanning beds. Cleveland Clinic
What is full body red light therapy?
Full body red light therapy lights most of the skin at once, in a lie-down bed, a stand-up booth or in front of a full-length panel. The light is the same red and near-infrared used on single areas; what changes is how much of you is lit in one go.
| Format | Where you find it | Light | Session | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LED bed, lying down | Wellness studios, clinics, sports facilities | About 660 nm red plus about 850 nm near-infrared | 20 to 30 minutes in trials | The format used in the fibromyalgia, sleep and exercise trials |
| Red tube bed or stand-up booth | Tanning salons and gyms | About 610 to 650 nm red | Often about 12 minutes in gym booths | Ask whether it also holds UV tubes |
| Full-length panel | Home | Red and near-infrared LEDs | About 10 to 15 minutes per side | Covers shoulders to knees from one position |
| Half-body panel | Home | Red and near-infrared LEDs | 10 to 15 minutes per area | Covers one area at a time, such as the back or both thighs |
Panel size decides how much of you is lit per session. It does not change what the light does. Our half-body vs full-body panel guide compares coverage and time by panel height, and our red light therapy bed guide covers bed types in more detail.
What did whole body red light therapy studies use?
The whole-body trials used LED beds at 658 nm, or 660 plus 850 nm, for 20 to 30 minutes per session. Schedules ran from three times a week to every night, for 2 to 6 weeks.
The face and muscle trials lit one area at a time, the closest match to a panel used area by area.
| Study | People | Light | Minutes | Sessions per week | Length | Area lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navarro-Ledesma, 2024 (placebo bed) | 42 women with fibromyalgia | 660 + 850 nm LED bed | 20 | 3 | 4 weeks, followed to 6 months | Whole body, lying face up |
| Fitzmaurice, 2023 (no control group) | 21 started, 19 finished | 660 + 850 nm LED bed | 6, then 12, then 20 | 3 | 6 weeks planned | Whole body |
| Zhao, 2012 (unlit placebo) | 20 basketball players | 658 nm whole-body device | 30 | 7 | 14 days | Whole body, in swimsuits |
| Lee, 2007 (sham) | 76 adults with wrinkles | 633 nm, 830 nm or both, LED | Not stated in the abstract | 2 | 4 weeks | Face |
| Vanin, 2018 (review) | 39 trials, 861 people | 655 to 950 nm laser or LED | Varied | Mostly single sessions around exercise | Varied | One muscle group |
The feasibility trial built sessions up from 6 to 12 to 20 minutes. Fitzmaurice, 2023 That "start short" pattern is a sensible model for home use too.
In the face trial, wrinkles fell by up to 36% and elasticity rose by up to 19% against baseline. Lee, 2007
Can full body red light help fibromyalgia pain?
Two small, early trials point that way. Both used 20-minute LED bed sessions three times a week, and pain ended lower than at the start.
In the triple-blind trial, 42 women with fibromyalgia had a real or placebo bed for 12 sessions. Navarro-Ledesma, 2024
- Pain: 2 points lower than placebo at the 6-month follow-up.
- Quality of life: better than placebo at both 3 and 6 months.
- Daily life: leisure activity, fear of movement and confidence in coping also improved more than with placebo.
The authors called whole-body light "a promising multifactorial treatment option for FM patients".
The feasibility trial had no control group. Fitzmaurice, 2023 Over 18 sessions, the fibromyalgia impact score fell from 79.7 to 55.3. Pain intensity fell from 7.08 to 3.93 out of 10. The authors found no adverse effects of treatment.
Light fits alongside a doctor's plan, not instead of it. Our fibromyalgia article covers the wider research.
Does whole-body red light help you sleep?
One small trial suggests it may: young athletes who lay under whole-body red light for 30 minutes every night for 14 days slept better than a placebo group. A 2025 review called the sleep evidence limited, so treat it as early.
The 20 players lay face up in swimsuits under 658 nm light, or under the same device switched off. Zhao, 2012 Their blood melatonin rose from 22.2 to 38.8 pg/mL with light, against 21.7 to 23.8 pg/mL with placebo.
That review covered five whole-body studies with 105 people. Álvarez-Martínez, 2025
For evening sessions with our panel, dim the 480 nm blue channel to 1% or switch it off, and finish about two hours before bed. With the mask, choose the red mode rather than the blue mode in the evening. More in our red light and sleep article.
Is lighting one muscle group better than a whole-body bed for sore muscles?
The closest evidence for a home panel comes from trials that lit one muscle group at a time, and those trials favoured light. Lighting the muscles you trained, such as your legs after leg day, follows that research.
A review of 39 randomised trials with 861 people looked at light on the skin over the working muscle. Vanin, 2018 Results favoured light for:
- Endurance: longer time to exhaustion and more repetitions.
- Strength: higher peak torque.
- Fatigue markers: lower blood lactate.
A 2025 review of 14 studies, pooling 4, found muscle soreness lower than placebo at 72 and 96 hours after hard exercise. Tsou, 2025
Joint evidence is local too. For knee osteoarthritis, a review of 22 trials with 1,063 people found pain 14.2 mm lower than placebo on a 100 mm scale, and 18.7 mm lower at recommended doses. Stausholm, 2019 See our article on light and muscle recovery for timing around training.
Will a red light bed tan you like a tanning bed?
A red-only bed or booth will not tan you, because red and near-infrared light are not ultraviolet. Hybrid beds that add UV tanning tubes do tan, and they carry the risks of a sunbed.
A quick check before booking: if the bed tans, it has UV. Our devices make no UV. The shortest wavelength on the mask is 460 nm, and on the panel 480 nm. For the skin trial of red tube beds and booths, see our bed article.
What should you wear for full body red light, and do you need goggles?
Wear as little as you are comfortable with, because clothing blocks light, and wear protective goggles every session. The trial athletes lay in swimsuits, and gym booth users usually wear shorts and a sports top or swimwear.
The American Academy of Dermatology advises the recommended eyewear and warns: "Don't substitute sunglasses for protective goggles." AAD
Near-infrared light runs from 780 nm upward and cannot be seen. ICNIRP So keep the goggles on and your eyes closed, and never look into either device. Our panel ships with goggles.
- Skin: clean and dry, with active skincare removed first.
- Gym booths: some add a vibration plate; our article on the gym red light booth covers what to wear and who should skip the vibration.
How much does a course of full body red light sessions cost?
Brown University Health puts sessions at $25 to $200 each, depending on the area treated Brown University Health, 2025. Insurance usually does not cover red light therapy, and courses in the trials ran 12 to 18 sessions or more.
Getting to a studio three times a week takes planning: in the feasibility trial, ten participants needed 7 to 9 weeks, not 6, to fit in 18 sessions. Fitzmaurice, 2023
Before you book a course, ask:
- UV: does the bed contain any tanning tubes?
- Eyes: are goggles provided for every session?
- Health: tell the studio about pregnancy, medicines and any light-sensitive condition.
Can full body red light therapy help weight loss?
Cleveland Clinic finds no scientific evidence that red light therapy helps weight loss or removes cellulite Cleveland Clinic. The bed trials measured pain, sleep, skin and exercise, not body weight.
The vibration plates in some gym booths do not change the picture: a review of whole-body vibration found a change in fat mass too small to matter.
Who should not use full body red light therapy?
Skip it during pregnancy, with epilepsy or light-triggered seizures, with lupus or another light-sensitive condition, and with light-sensitising medicines. People with darker skin should see a dermatologist first, and our panel is not for skin types V or VI.
A 2025 consensus of 21 experts stated that "PBM is a safe treatment modality for adult patients". Maghfour, 2025
The AAD says darker skin is "more sensitive to visible light, such as red light". AAD Harvard Health adds light-sensitising medicines "such as certain antibiotics" to the list. Harvard Health, 2025
Our precautions and the panel manual rule out use:
- Pregnancy: while pregnant, breastfeeding or preparing for pregnancy.
- Seizures: with epilepsy or a history of seizures triggered by light.
- Thyroid: with a thyroid condition or thyroid medication.
- Skin: over broken skin or an open wound, after sunburn on the body in the past 2 weeks, or with Fitzpatrick skin type V or VI.
- Sleep: never while asleep or by anyone unconscious.
Our precautions rule out photosensitising medication, so anyone taking a regular medicine or using a medicated skin patch should check with their pharmacist or doctor before a session.
How do you cover the whole body at home with a half-body panel?
Work area by area: light one area for 10 to 15 minutes, keep each sitting to 30 minutes or less in total, then wait at least 6 hours before the next. Spread the back, legs and front of the body across the day or the week.
The 9-Spectrum Red Light Therapy Panel is a 240 W half-body panel, 640 x 230 mm (about 25 x 9 in) and 6.3 kg. It carries nine wavelengths, 480, 590, 630, 660, 670, 810, 830, 850 and 1060 nm, each dimmable from 1 to 100%. The timer runs from 1 to 30 minutes on the controller, and the panel stops at 5 minutes if no time is set. The surface stays at or below 40°C.
It hangs on a door or wall with the included door hook, pulley, hanging cables and screws, or stands upright on the floor. A floor stand is sold separately by the maker.
| Area | Panel position | Distance | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper back and shoulders | Shoulder height, back to the panel | About 12 inches | 10 to 15 |
| Lower back and hips | Hip height, back to the panel | About 12 inches | 10 to 15 |
| Chest and stomach | Centred on the torso, chin slightly raised | About 12 inches | 10 to 15 |
| Both thighs or both calves | Lowered on the pulley | About 12 inches | 10 to 15 |
| One knee, shoulder, elbow, wrist or ankle | Side-on to the joint | About 6 inches | 10 to 15 |
| Neck | Side-on or from behind at neck level, never aimed at the face | About 6 inches for one side | 10 to 15 |
A sample week, built on the three sessions a week used in the bed trials:
- Day 1, back: upper back, then lower back, 15 minutes each.
- Day 2, legs: both thighs, then both calves, 15 minutes each.
- Day 3, front: chest and stomach for 15 minutes, plus one sore joint side-on for up to 15 minutes.
Light follows a biphasic dose response, which means a moderate dose often does better than a large one. Huang, 2009 Lighting more of the body for longer is not automatically better. To stay near the studied ranges, start with 5 to 10 minutes on the timer, dim each wavelength below 100%, or step back from 6 to 12 inches, then build up over the first weeks.
Use bare, clean, dry skin, keep the goggles on and your eyes closed, and do not cover the housing. Warm is fine; hot means stop. The AAD notes that "it takes time to see the results and not everyone sees them" AAD, so judge a routine over weeks, not days.
For the face, use the 4-Wavelength Red Light Therapy Mask instead of facing the panel. It is a cordless full-face shell with an eye opening. The red mode combines 665 nm red with 850 and 1064 nm near-infrared, and the manual allows 10-minute sessions up to 4 times a week at high brightness. Mask for the face, panel for everything below the jaw.
Read the precautions before you start. Standard shipping to the US, UK and Germany is free. Under our return and refund policy, returns are accepted within 30 days: an unopened device with its seals intact is refunded less a 10% restocking fee, and an opened device that is undamaged and complete is refunded less 20%.
Kivorla devices are general wellness devices, not medical devices, and are not intended to treat fibromyalgia, sleep disorders or any other condition. Speak to your doctor before starting if you have a long-term condition, take regular medicines or have a light-sensitive condition.