Red Light Therapy in Norway: Why Summer and Winter Call for Different Strategies
Share
Red Light Therapy in Norway: Summer vs Winter
You know that feeling in July when everything just... works? You sleep well, you have energy, your mood is stable, your skin looks good without trying. And then November arrives and it's like someone turned a dial the wrong way. Everything feels slower, heavier, harder to start.
Here's what I want you to understand: that's not weakness. That's not in your head. That is your biology responding exactly as it was designed to respond, to light. And in Norway, where we live at one of the most extreme latitudinal light environments on the planet, getting your relationship with light right across the seasons is not a lifestyle choice. It is a health strategy.
I've been living and working in this exact light environment since I moved here from the UK, where the seasonal swings exist but nowhere near like this. When I first started using red light therapy (rødlysterapi) back in 2017, I ran the same protocol year-round. Same timing, same duration, every day regardless of what the sky was doing. It worked. But it wasn't until I started adapting my approach to what the season actually called for that things really shifted. More stable energy. Better sleep through mørketid. Skin that didn't look like it was staging a protest by February.
The light environment in Norway in July and Norway in January are not variations on the same theme. They are two completely different biological situations. And they call for two completely different strategies.
Summer in Norway: The Sun Is Doing the Work
July in Norway is genuinely extraordinary from a biological standpoint. Not just because it feels good, though it does. But because the full-spectrum light available to you in a Norwegian summer is the most powerful biological signal your body receives all year. You evolved under this. Your mitochondria, your hormones, your circadian clock, your immune system, all of them are calibrated to this kind of input.
What summer sunlight actually delivers is worth understanding properly. UVB rays trigger vitamin D synthesis in your skin, the precursor that most Norwegians are deficient in by the time February arrives. UVA releases nitric oxide from the skin, dilating blood vessels and improving cardiovascular signalling. Near-infrared from the sun penetrates deeply into tissue and does much of what a red light panel does, including stimulating cytochrome c oxidase in the mitochondria. The visible spectrum sets your internal clock, raises serotonin, calibrates your cortisol awakening response. And the red wavelengths at sunrise and sunset help the skin recover from any cellular stress the UV created earlier in the day.
This is why going outside in the morning before 9am, without sunglasses, with bare skin exposed for at least 15 to 20 minutes, is genuinely worth prioritising in summer. And I do mean morning specifically. The early sun is lower in the sky, the UV index is still manageable, and the near-infrared and red ratios are at their best. It is the biological gold standard. The noon sun is powerful and has its place for vitamin D, but build up to it rather than starting there, especially if you have lighter skin.
Does this mean the red light panel gets put in the cupboard from May to August? No, and I'll explain why.
Summer and Red Light Therapy: Additive, Not Competing
The panel doesn't compete with summer sun. They do different things, and understanding that changes how you use both.
The sun gives you the full biological orchestra. Everything, in proportions that your body recognises from hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. A red light therapy panel gives you a concentrated, targeted dose of red and near-infrared specifically. If you have a joint that needs attention, a skin issue you're working on, or you want the cellular recovery benefits from photobiomodulation (fotobiomodulasjon) on a specific area, the panel still has a clear role in summer. It just becomes a precision tool rather than your primary light source.
What changes in summer is where the panel sits in the protocol. In winter I often use it first thing in the morning as a primary stimulus. In summer I aim to get outside and catch natural sunrise first, then layer the panel on top if I'm using it at all. Think of the sunrise as your primer. The panel is your precision follow-up.
If you're working indoors all day and genuinely can't get summer sun exposure, the approach shifts again. Lunch outside without sunglasses whenever possible. Short walks before and after work in morning and evening light. Keeping windows open and sitting near natural light. These are not complicated. They're just intentional.
Winter in Norway: This Is When Red Light Therapy Earns Its Place
Let's be direct about what winter in Norway actually is from a light biology perspective. By November in Drammen, the sun barely clears the horizon. By January you're lucky to get two or three hours of weak daylight, and most of it arrives when you're either at work or in transit. The UV index is essentially zero for months. Near-infrared from the sun is minimal. Your mitochondria are running on a fraction of the light stimulus they were designed to receive.
The downstream effects of this are real and well documented. Vitamin D levels decline sharply from October onwards. Melatonin rises earlier and stays elevated longer, which is correct seasonally but becomes a problem when you're trying to be functional in the modern world. Serotonin production drops. Cortisol rhythms flatten. The cellular energy production that depends on light-driven mitochondrial activity slows. And most people in Norway just accept this as "winter" without questioning whether something can be done about it.
Something absolutely can be done about it.
Red light therapy in winter is not a nice-to-have. It is, in my view, the closest thing we have to a biological bridge between what your cells are built to receive and what Norwegian winter actually provides. When red and near-infrared wavelengths in the 600nm to 850nm range hit cytochrome c oxidase inside your mitochondria, they trigger ATP production, reduce cellular oxidative stress, improve nitric oxide signalling, and create conditions in which your cells can function closer to the way they do when you're getting natural sun. It doesn't replicate full-spectrum sunlight. Nothing does. But it addresses the specific deficit that is most damaging, the complete absence of red and near-infrared stimulus that in summer comes from both the sun directly and from the sky.
I use mine every morning in winter. Sometimes again in the afternoon if energy flags earlier than it should (which it will in mørketid, and that's honest). The key is consistency. The mechanism works cumulatively. Missing a week because it doesn't feel urgent enough is the equivalent of going to bed late every night and then wondering why you feel off.
What to Actually Do Each Season
Winter (November through February): daily red light therapy, ideally before 9am on face, chest and torso. Get outside at midday even when it's grey, because even diffuse outdoor light contains more beneficial photons than indoor artificial lighting and the contrast to your evening environment matters for your circadian clock. Keep your indoor lighting circadian-appropriate, meaning bright and cooler during the day, and transitioning to warm, dim, red-spectrum light as the evening arrives. Use blue light blocking glasses (blålysbriller) if you're on screens after dark. Support with vitamin D and consider whether your sleep environment is doing its job.
Spring (March through April): this is the transition I talk about a lot, and it's the one most people miss. The March sun is back in a meaningful way for the first time since October. UV is still low. Near-infrared and red are present in good quantities at the right angles. Start building your solar callus now by getting skin exposed in morning sunlight gradually, a few minutes at first, building up. The panel moves to additive rather than primary during this window. Get the morning sun first, then layer the panel in if you have recovery or specific treatment needs.
Summer (May through August): prioritise outdoor morning exposure. Bare skin, no sunglasses, before the UV index climbs too high. Use the panel selectively for specific areas or conditions. Focus on sleep management because the midnight sun creates its own circadian challenge. The blue light blocking glasses and a completely dark sleeping environment become surprisingly important in summer in Norway. The midnight sun is beautiful. It's also not your friend at 11pm when your brain needs to be told it's dark.
Autumn (September through October): this is when most people lose the thread. The days are still reasonable, the evenings are pleasant, and it's easy to assume the transition is gradual enough not to matter. Start moving red light sessions earlier in the morning as outdoor light diminishes. Increase duration as October progresses. Don't wait until you feel bad to start. By the time you feel the winter crash, you're already several weeks behind where you needed to be.
The Piece That Makes Everything Else Work
I keep coming back to this because I think it's the thing people understand the least: none of this works without light contrast.
The reason your summer biology runs well is not just because there's more light. It's because there's a dramatic difference between the bright, high-lux, full-spectrum environment of the day and the darker, quieter environment of the evening. Your circadian system is contrast-dependent. It needs a clear signal of "day" and a clear signal of "night" to set hormones, body temperature, cell repair timing, immune function, everything.
In winter, that contrast collapses from both ends. The days are dim, so the "day" signal is weak. And then we come home and sit under bright artificial lighting that extends the "day" signal into the night. So the clock gets confused signals all day long. Red light therapy in the morning helps anchor the "day" signal end of that contrast. Switching to warm, dim, red-spectrum light in the evening, using circadian-appropriate lighting and blålysbriller, anchors the "night" end. Both matter. One without the other is half a strategy.
Grounding (jording) is also part of this picture for me. Getting bare feet onto grass or soil even briefly does something measurable to your redox state. I use a grounding mat or sheet indoors when the ground outside is covered in snow. It is not a replacement for outdoor grounding, but it maintains the electron connection that supports cellular charge and mitochondrial function through winter. Yes, I take a flat sheet with me when I travel. I'm one of those.
Look, the panels I carry are tested and personally vetted. I've sent back devices that didn't match their stated specifications when I tested them with a spectrometer. The ones in the red light panel collection are the ones that passed. If you're going to invest in something that's supposed to support your biology through a Norwegian winter, it should actually do what it says it does.
FAQ
Should I stop using red light therapy in summer in Norway?
No, but the role it plays changes. Summer sunlight does much of the work that your red light panel covers in winter, delivering near-infrared, red, and full-spectrum light in biologically optimal proportions. In summer the panel becomes a precision tool for specific recovery or treatment needs rather than your primary light source. The practical shift is using morning sun as your primary stimulus and layering the panel on top where needed.
When is the best time to use red light therapy in winter?
Morning, ideally before 9am. This is when anchoring the day signal to your circadian clock has the most downstream benefit. Cortisol rises in alignment with your intended wake time, serotonin production is supported, and the mitochondrial stimulus happens at the biological time of day when your cells are waking up and expecting light. Afternoon sessions are a reasonable addition if energy is flagging, which it will during mørketid, and I do this myself.
How does seasonal light change affect hormones and energy?
Significantly. The light environment is the primary signal that sets cortisol timing, melatonin timing, serotonin production, and downstream sex hormones including testosterone and estrogen. In Norwegian winter, the virtual absence of light stimulus means the morning cortisol awakening response is weaker, serotonin production drops, melatonin rises earlier and stays elevated longer, and cellular energy production slows. Red light therapy, circadian-appropriate lighting, and outdoor midday exposure all work to partially compensate for what winter takes away.
Hjelper rødlysterapi mot mørketid? (Does red light therapy help with the dark season?)
Ja. Rødlysterapi (fotobiomodulasjon) stimulerer mitokondria og hjelper cellene å produsere mer energi (ATP) selv uten naturlig sollys. Det er det nærmeste vi kommer et biologisk bro mellom det kroppen er designet for å motta og hva norsk vinter faktisk leverer. Kombinert med sirkadisk belysning på dagtid, blålysbriller om kvelden og om mulig uteeksponering ved middagstid, gjør det en merkbar forskjell for energi, humør og søvn gjennom mørketiden.
Does circadian lighting actually make a difference in winter?
Yes, and more than most people expect. The problem in Norwegian winter isn't only that there's less outdoor light. It's that the indoor artificial light you're surrounded by all day doesn't provide the stimulus your circadian clock needs to register as "daytime", and then you extend blue-rich artificial light into the evening when your body needs to be receiving "nighttime" signals. Circadian-appropriate lighting through the day, and a transition to warm, dim, red-spectrum light in the evening, rebuilds the contrast that your hormones depend on. It's not a luxury add-on. For those of us working indoors in Norway through winter, it's doing essential work.
The information in this post is educational and draws on published research in quantum biology, photobiomodulation, and circadian science. It is not medical advice. If you are experiencing significant symptoms related to seasonal depression (vinterdepresjon) or other health concerns, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.