🔗 Share this article

Phototherapy is clearly enjoying a surge in popularity. There are now available light-emitting tools for everything from complexion problems and aging signs as well as sore muscles and periodontal issues, the latest being an oral care tool outfitted with tiny red LEDs, described by its makers as “a significant discovery for domestic dental hygiene.” Internationally, the industry reached $1 billion in 2024 and is forecast to expand to $1.8 billion by 2035. There are even infrared saunas available, where instead of hot coals (real or electric) heating the air, your body is warmed directly by infrared light. Based on supporter testimonials, it feels similar to a full-body light therapy session, boosting skin collagen, soothing sore muscles, relieving inflammation and chronic health conditions as well as supporting brain health.

Research and Reservations

“It feels almost magical,” observes a Durham University professor, who has researched light therapy for two decades. Of course, we know light influences biological functions. Our bodies produce vitamin D through sun exposure, crucial for strong bones, immune defense, and tissue repair. Sunlight regulates our circadian rhythms, too, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and preparing the body for rest as darkness falls. Sunlight-imitating lamps are standard treatment for winter mood disorders to elevate spirits during colder months. So there’s no doubt we need light energy to function well.

Types of Light Therapy

While Sad lamps tend to use a mixture of light frequencies from the blue end of the spectrum, 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 constitutes electromagnetic energy, 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, with ultraviolet representing the higher energy invisible light, then the visible spectrum we perceive as colors and then infrared (which we can see with night-vision goggles).

UV light has been used by medical dermatologists for many years for addressing long-term dermatological issues like vitiligo. It modulates intracellular immune mechanisms, “and reduces inflammatory processes,” notes a dermatology expert. “Considerable data validates phototherapy.” UVA reaches deeper skin layers compared to UVB, in contrast to LEDs in commercial products (usually producing colored light emissions) “typically have shallower penetration.”

Safety Considerations and Medical Oversight

The side-effects of UVB exposure, including sunburn or skin darkening, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – meaning smaller wavelengths – which decreases danger. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, thus exposure is controlled,” explains the dermatologist. And crucially, the light sources are adjusted by technical experts, “to confirm suitable light frequency output – unlike in tanning salons, where it’s a bit unregulated, and wavelength accuracy isn’t verified.”

Home Devices and Scientific Uncertainty

Colored light diodes, he notes, “aren’t typically employed clinically, though they might benefit some issues.” Red wavelength therapy, proponents claim, improve circulatory function, oxygen utilization and cell renewal in the skin, and activate collagen formation – a primary objective in youth preservation. “The evidence is there,” comments the expert. “Although it’s not strong.” Regardless, 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, how close the lights should be to the skin, whether or not that will increase the risk versus the benefit. Many uncertainties remain.”

Targeted Uses and Expert Opinions

Early blue-light applications focused on skin microbes, microorganisms connected to breakouts. 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 frequently employed in beauty centers.” Individuals include it in their skincare practices, he says, however for consumer products, “we recommend careful testing and security confirmation. If it’s not medically certified, oversight remains ambiguous.”

Cutting-Edge Studies and Biological Processes

At the same time, in advanced research areas, scientists have been studying cerebral tissue, revealing various pathways for light-enhanced cell function. “Pretty much everything I did with the light at that particular wavelength was positive and protective,” he states. It is partly these many and varied positive effects on cellular health that have driven skepticism about light therapy – 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 physician creating light-based cold sore therapy requested his biological knowledge. “He created some devices so that we could work with them with cells and with fruit flies,” he says. “I was quite suspicious. This particular frequency was around 1070 nanometers, that many assumed was biologically inert.”

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

Mitochondrial Impact and Cognitive Support

Additional research indicated infrared affected cellular mitochondria. These organelles generate cellular energy, creating power for cellular operations. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, including the brain,” explains the neuroscientist, who prioritized neurological investigations. “Studies demonstrate enhanced cerebral circulation with light treatment, which is always very good.”

Using 1070nm wavelength, energy organelles generate minimal reactive oxygen compounds. At controlled levels these compounds, explains the expert, “activates protective proteins that safeguard mitochondria, protect cellular integrity and manage defective proteins.”

Such mechanisms indicate hope for cognitive disorders: oxidative protection, anti-inflammatory, and cellular cleanup – self-digestion mechanisms eliminating harmful elements.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

When recently reviewing 1070nm research for cognitive decline, he says, approximately 400 participants enrolled in multiple trials, incorporating his preliminary American studies