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Phototherapy is clearly enjoying a surge in popularity. There are now available illuminated devices targeting issues like skin conditions and wrinkles to aching tissues and gum disease, the newest innovation is a dental hygiene device equipped with miniature red light sources, described by its makers as “a major advance in personal mouth health.” 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, that employ light waves rather than traditional heat sources, the infrared radiation heats your body itself. According to its devotees, it feels similar to a full-body light therapy session, stimulating skin elasticity, soothing sore muscles, alleviating inflammatory responses and chronic health conditions as well as supporting brain health.

The Science and Skepticism

“It sounds a bit like witchcraft,” observes a neuroscience expert, who has researched light therapy for two decades. Certainly, some of light’s effects on our bodies are well established. Sunlight enables vitamin D production, essential for skeletal strength, immune function, and muscular health. Natural light synchronizes our biological clocks, additionally, activating brain chemicals and hormonal responses in daylight, and winding down bodily functions for sleep as it fades into night. Artificial sun lamps 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

Although mood lamps generally utilize blue-spectrum frequencies, the majority of phototherapy tools use red or near-infrared wavelengths. In serious clinical research, such as Chazot’s investigations into the effects of infrared on brain cells, determining the precise frequency is essential. Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, extending from long-wavelength radiation to the highest-energy (gamma waves). Light-based treatment uses wavelengths around the middle of this spectrum, including invisible ultraviolet radiation, then the visible spectrum we perceive as colors and infrared light visible through night vision technology.

Dermatologists have utilized UV therapy for extensive periods for addressing long-term dermatological issues like vitiligo. It affects cellular immune responses, “and reduces inflammatory processes,” explains a dermatology expert. “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 (which generally deliver red, infrared or blue light) “generally affect surface layers.”

Safety Considerations and Medical Oversight

UVB radiation effects, such as burning or tanning, are understood but clinical devices employ restricted wavelength ranges – meaning smaller wavelengths – that reduces potential hazards. “Treatment is monitored by medical staff, thus exposure is controlled,” explains the dermatologist. And crucially, the light sources are adjusted by technical experts, “to ensure that the wavelength that’s being delivered is fit for purpose – unlike in tanning salons, where regulations may be lax, and wavelength accuracy isn’t verified.”

Home Devices and Scientific Uncertainty

Red and blue LEDs, he notes, “aren’t typically employed clinically, but they may help with certain conditions.” Red LEDs, it is proposed, enhance blood flow, oxygen utilization and skin cell regeneration, and activate collagen formation – an important goal for anti-aging. “The evidence is there,” comments the expert. “But it’s not conclusive.” In any case, with numerous products on the market, “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. Numerous concerns persist.”

Targeted Uses and Expert Opinions

Early blue-light applications focused on skin microbes, a microbe associated with acne. Research support isn’t sufficient for standard medical recommendation – although, notes the dermatologist, “it’s commonly used in cosmetic clinics.” Individuals include it in their skincare practices, he observes, but if they’re buying a device for home use, “we advise cautious experimentation and safety verification. Without proper medical classification, the regulation is a bit grey.”

Advanced Research and Cellular Mechanisms

At the same time, in advanced research areas, scientists have been studying cerebral tissue, discovering multiple mechanisms for infrared’s cellular benefits. “Virtually all experiments with specific wavelengths showed beneficial and safeguarding effects,” 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 researcher primarily focuses on pharmaceutical solutions for brain disorders, but over 20 years ago, a physician creating light-based cold sore therapy requested his biological knowledge. “He designed tools for biological testing,” he recalls. “I was pretty sceptical. This particular frequency was around 1070 nanometers, that nobody believed did anything biological.”

What it did have going for it, nevertheless, was its efficient water penetration, enabling deeper tissue penetration.

Mitochondrial Effects and Brain Health

Growing data suggested infrared influenced energy-producing organelles. Mitochondria produce ATP for cell function, producing fuel for biological processes. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, even within brain tissue,” notes the researcher, who concentrated on cerebral applications. “Research confirms improved brain blood flow with phototherapy, which is consistently beneficial.”

With specific frequency application, cellular power plants create limited oxidative molecules. In low doses this substance, explains the expert, “stimulates so-called chaperone proteins which look after your mitochondria, protect cellular integrity and manage defective proteins.”

All of these mechanisms appear promising for treating a brain disease: oxidative protection, inflammation reduction, and pro-autophagy – autophagy being the process the cell uses to clear unwanted damaging proteins.

Current Research Status and Professional Opinions

When recently reviewing 1070nm research for cognitive decline, he reports, several hundred individuals participated in various investigations, including his own initial clinical trials in the US