🔗 Share this article

Light-based treatment is definitely experiencing a surge in popularity. Consumers can purchase light-emitting tools designed to address complexion problems and aging signs as well as muscle pain and periodontal issues, recently introduced is an oral care tool enhanced with tiny red LEDs, marketed by the company as “a significant discovery for domestic dental hygiene.” Globally, the sector valued at $1bn last year is expected to increase to $1.8bn within the next decade. Options include full-body infrared sauna sessions, 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, stimulating skin elasticity, easing muscle tension, reducing swelling and persistent medical issues and potentially guarding against cognitive decline.

The Science and Skepticism

“It sounds a bit like witchcraft,” says 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. Sunlight regulates our circadian rhythms, too, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and signaling the body to slow down for nighttime. Artificial sun lamps are standard treatment for winter mood disorders to boost low mood in winter. 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, consumer light therapy products mostly feature red and infrared emissions. In rigorous scientific studies, like examinations of infrared influence on cerebral tissue, identifying the optimal wavelength is crucial. Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, 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 infrared light visible through night vision technology.

Dermatologists have utilized UV therapy for extensive periods for addressing long-term dermatological issues like vitiligo. It works on the immune system within cells, “and dampens down inflammation,” says Dr Bernard Ho. “Considerable data validates phototherapy.” UVA reaches deeper skin layers compared to UVB, while the LEDs in consumer devices (usually producing colored light emissions) “tend to be a bit more superficial.”

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. “Treatment is monitored by medical staff, thus exposure is controlled,” says Ho. Essentially, the lightbulbs are calibrated by medical technicians, “to ensure that the wavelength that’s being delivered is fit for purpose – as opposed to commercial tanning facilities, where oversight might be limited, and we don’t really know what wavelengths are being used.”

Consumer Devices and Evidence Gaps

Red and blue light sources, he explains, “don’t have strong medical applications, though they might benefit some issues.” Red wavelength therapy, proponents claim, improve circulatory function, oxygen absorption and skin cell regeneration, and stimulate collagen production – a key aspiration in anti-ageing effects. “The evidence is there,” comments the expert. “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. We don’t know the duration, how close the lights should be to the skin, if benefits outweigh potential risks. Numerous concerns persist.”

Targeted Uses and Expert Opinions

One of the earliest blue-light products targeted Cutibacterium acnes, a microbe associated with acne. Research support isn’t sufficient for standard medical recommendation – even though, notes the dermatologist, “it’s commonly used in cosmetic clinics.” Certain patients incorporate it into their regimen, he mentions, 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, the regulation is a bit grey.”

Innovative Investigations and Molecular Effects

Simultaneously, in a far-flung field of pioneering medical science, Chazot has been experimenting with brain cells, 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 reports. The numerous reported benefits have generated doubt regarding phototherapy – that claims seem exaggerated. However, scientific investigation has altered his perspective.

The scientist mainly develops medications for neurological conditions, 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 remained doubtful. This particular frequency was around 1070 nanometers, which most thought had no biological effect.”

The advantage it possessed, though, was that it travelled through water easily, meaning it could penetrate the body more deeply.

Cellular Energy and Neurological Benefits

Additional research indicated infrared affected cellular mitochondria. Mitochondria produce ATP for cell function, generating energy for them to function. “All human cells contain mitochondria, even within brain tissue,” explains the neuroscientist, who concentrated on cerebral applications. “Studies demonstrate enhanced cerebral circulation with light treatment, which is generally advantageous.”

With specific frequency application, energy organelles generate minimal reactive oxygen compounds. In limited quantities these molecules, says Chazot, “triggers guardian proteins that maintain organelle health, preserve cell function and eliminate damaged proteins.”

Such mechanisms indicate hope for cognitive disorders: antioxidant, inflammation reduction, and waste removal – autophagy being the process the cell uses to clear unwanted damaging proteins.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

When recently reviewing 1070nm research for cognitive decline, he reports, several hundred individuals participated in various investigations, incorporating his preliminary American studies