🔗 Share this article

Light therapy is certainly having a moment. Consumers can purchase glowing gadgets targeting issues like complexion problems and aging signs along with aching tissues and oral inflammation, the newest innovation is an oral care tool outfitted with tiny red LEDs, described by its makers as “a significant discovery for domestic dental hygiene.” Worldwide, the industry reached $1 billion in 2024 and is forecast to expand to $1.8 billion by 2035. There are even infrared saunas available, which use infrared light to warm the body directly, your body is warmed directly by infrared light. According to its devotees, it feels similar to a full-body light therapy session, enhancing collagen production, soothing sore muscles, alleviating inflammatory responses and long-term ailments while protecting against dementia.

Understanding the Evidence

“It appears somewhat mystical,” notes a neuroscience expert, a scientist who has studied phototherapy extensively. Of course, some of light’s effects on our bodies are well established. Sunlight helps us make vitamin D, essential for skeletal strength, immune function, and muscular health. Light exposure controls our sleep-wake cycles, too, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and winding down bodily functions for sleep as it fades into night. Daylight-simulating devices frequently help individuals with seasonal depression to combat seasonal emotional slumps. So there’s no doubt we need light energy to function well.

Different Light Modalities

Whereas seasonal affective disorder devices typically employ blue-range light, consumer light therapy products mostly feature red and infrared emissions. In serious clinical research, like examinations of infrared influence on cerebral tissue, determining the precise frequency is essential. Photons represent electromagnetic waves, which runs the spectrum from the lowest-energy, longest wavelengths (radio waves) to high-energy gamma radiation. Light-based treatment uses wavelengths around the middle of this spectrum, including invisible ultraviolet radiation, then visible light (all the colours we see in a rainbow) and infrared light visible through night vision technology.

Ultraviolet treatment has been employed by skin specialists for decades for addressing long-term dermatological issues like vitiligo. It works on the immune system within cells, “and reduces inflammatory processes,” says Dr Bernard Ho. “There’s lots of evidence for phototherapy.” UVA goes deeper into the skin than UVB, whereas the LEDs we see on consumer light-therapy devices (usually producing colored light emissions) “tend to be a bit more superficial.”

Safety Protocols and Medical Guidance

The side-effects of UVB exposure, such as burning or tanning, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – signifying focused frequency bands – that reduces potential hazards. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, so the dosage is monitored,” notes the specialist. Essentially, the lightbulbs are calibrated by medical technicians, “to confirm suitable light frequency output – as opposed to commercial tanning facilities, where it’s a bit unregulated, and emission spectra aren’t confirmed.”

Commercial Products and Research Limitations

Red and blue light sources, he says, “aren’t really used in the medical sense, though they might benefit some issues.” Red light devices, some suggest, help boost blood circulation, oxygen absorption and dermal rejuvenation, and promote collagen synthesis – a primary objective in youth preservation. “Research exists,” says Ho. “But it’s not conclusive.” In any case, given the plethora of available tools, “we don’t know whether or not the lights emitted are reflective of the research that has been done. Optimal treatment times are unknown, proper positioning requirements, whether or not that will increase the risk versus the benefit. Numerous concerns persist.”

Treatment Areas and Specialist Views

One of the earliest blue-light products targeted Cutibacterium acnes, microorganisms connected to breakouts. Scientific backing remains inadequate for regular prescription – although, notes the dermatologist, “it’s often seen in medical spas or aesthetics practices.” Certain patients incorporate it into their regimen, he observes, however for consumer products, “we just tell them to try it carefully and to make sure it has been assessed for safety. If it’s not medically certified, standards are somewhat unclear.”

Advanced Research and Cellular Mechanisms

Simultaneously, in innovative scientific domains, scientists have been studying cerebral tissue, revealing various pathways for light-enhanced cell function. “Virtually all experiments with specific wavelengths showed beneficial and safeguarding effects,” he states. Multiple claimed advantages have created skepticism toward light treatment – that it’s too good to be true. Yet, experimental evidence has transformed his viewpoint.

Chazot mostly works on developing drug treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, though twenty years earlier, a doctor developing photonic antiviral treatment consulted his scientific background. “He developed equipment for cellular and insect experiments,” he recalls. “I was pretty sceptical. This particular frequency was around 1070 nanometers, which most thought had no biological effect.”

What it did have going for it, nevertheless, was that it travelled through water easily, allowing substantial bodily penetration.

Mitochondrial Impact and Cognitive Support

Additional research indicated infrared affected cellular mitochondria. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells, producing fuel for biological processes. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, particularly in neural cells,” notes the researcher, who concentrated on cerebral applications. “It has been shown that in humans this light therapy increases blood flow into the brain, which is always very good.”

With 1070 treatment, mitochondria also produce a small amount of a molecule known as reactive oxygen species. In limited quantities these molecules, explains the expert, “activates protective proteins that safeguard mitochondria, look after your cells and also deal with the unwanted proteins.”

These processes show potential for neurological conditions: free radical neutralization, inflammation reduction, and cellular cleanup – self-digestion mechanisms eliminating harmful elements.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

The last time Chazot checked the literature on using the 1070 wavelength on human dementia patients, he says, approximately 400 participants enrolled in multiple trials, comprising his early research projects