🔗 Share this article

Light therapy is clearly enjoying a surge in popularity. There are now available light-emitting tools targeting issues like skin conditions and wrinkles along with sore muscles and gum disease, the newest innovation is a toothbrush enhanced with tiny red LEDs, marketed by the company as “a breakthrough for domestic dental hygiene.” Worldwide, the market was worth $1bn in 2024 and is projected to grow to $1.8bn by 2035. There are even infrared saunas available, where instead of hot coals (real or electric) heating the air, the thermal energy targets your tissues immediately. As claimed by enthusiasts, it’s like bathing in one of those LED-lit beauty masks, enhancing collagen production, soothing sore muscles, alleviating inflammatory responses and chronic health conditions as well as supporting brain health.

Research and Reservations

“It sounds a bit like witchcraft,” notes a neuroscience expert, who has researched light therapy for two decades. Naturally, some of light’s effects on our bodies are well established. Our bodies produce vitamin D through sun exposure, needed for bone health, immunity, muscles and more. Natural light synchronizes our biological clocks, too, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and winding down bodily functions for sleep as it fades into night. Daylight-simulating devices are standard treatment for winter mood disorders to boost low mood in winter. Clearly, light energy is essential for optimal functioning.

Various Phototherapy Approaches

Although mood lamps generally utilize blue-spectrum frequencies, most other light therapy devices deploy red or infrared light. In rigorous scientific studies, including research on infrared’s impact on neural cells, finding the right frequency is key. Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, spanning from low-energy radio waves to the highest-energy (gamma waves). Light-based treatment employs mid-spectrum wavelengths, with ultraviolet representing the higher energy invisible light, then the visible spectrum we perceive as colors and finally infrared detectable with special equipment.

Dermatologists have utilized UV therapy for extensive periods for addressing long-term dermatological issues like vitiligo. It modulates intracellular immune mechanisms, “and suppresses swelling,” explains a dermatology expert. “Considerable data validates phototherapy.” UVA goes deeper into the skin than UVB, while the LEDs in consumer devices (usually producing colored light emissions) “generally affect surface layers.”

Safety Considerations and Medical Oversight

Potential UVB consequences, such as burning or tanning, are well known but in medical devices the light is delivered in a “narrow-band” form – indicating limited wavelength spectrum – which minimises the risks. “Therapy is overseen by qualified practitioners, meaning intensity is regulated,” explains the dermatologist. Most importantly, the devices are tuned by qualified personnel, “to confirm suitable light frequency output – unlike in tanning salons, where regulations may be lax, and emission spectra aren’t confirmed.”

Consumer Devices and Evidence Gaps

Red and blue light sources, he notes, “aren’t really used in the medical sense, but could assist with specific concerns.” Red wavelength therapy, proponents claim, help boost blood circulation, oxygen utilization and dermal rejuvenation, and stimulate collagen production – a primary objective in youth preservation. “Studies are available,” says Ho. “However, it’s limited.” In any case, amid the sea of devices now available, “we don’t know whether or not the lights emitted are reflective of the research that has been done. We don’t know the duration, proper positioning requirements, the risk-benefit ratio. Many uncertainties remain.”

Specific Applications and Professional Perspectives

Initial blue-light devices addressed acne bacteria, a microbe associated with acne. The evidence for its efficacy isn’t strong enough for it to be routinely prescribed by doctors – despite the fact that, says Ho, “it’s often seen in medical spas or aesthetics practices.” Individuals include it in their skincare practices, he says, however for consumer products, “we recommend careful testing and security confirmation. Without proper medical classification, the regulation is a bit grey.”

Advanced Research and Cellular Mechanisms

At the same time, in innovative scientific domains, researchers have been testing neural cells, identifying a number of ways in which infrared can boost cellular health. “Nearly every test with precise light frequencies demonstrated advantageous outcomes,” he reports. Multiple claimed advantages have created skepticism toward light treatment – that it’s too good to be true. But his research has thoroughly changed his mind in that respect.

The scientist mainly develops medications for neurological conditions, however two decades past, a doctor developing photonic antiviral treatment consulted his scientific background. “He created some devices so that we could work with them with cells and with fruit flies,” he recalls. “I remained doubtful. The specific wavelength measured approximately 1070nm, that many assumed was biologically inert.”

Its beneficial characteristic, though, was its ability to transmit through aqueous environments, allowing substantial bodily penetration.

Mitochondrial Impact and Cognitive Support

Growing data suggested infrared influenced energy-producing organelles. These organelles generate cellular energy, creating power for cellular operations. “Every cell in your body has mitochondria, including the brain,” explains the neuroscientist, who prioritized neurological investigations. “It has been shown that in humans this light therapy increases blood flow into the brain, which is consistently beneficial.”

With 1070 treatment, mitochondria also produce a small amount of a molecule known as reactive oxygen species. In low doses this substance, says Chazot, “activates protective proteins that safeguard mitochondria, preserve cell function and eliminate damaged proteins.”

These processes show potential for neurological conditions: free radical neutralization, swelling control, and pro-autophagy – self-digestion mechanisms eliminating harmful elements.

Ongoing Study Progress and Specialist Evaluations

Upon examining current studies on light therapy for dementia, he says, about 400 people were taking part in four studies, incorporating his preliminary American studies