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Light-based treatment is clearly enjoying a wave of attention. You can now buy glowing gadgets for everything from complexion problems and aging signs along with sore muscles and oral inflammation, the latest being a toothbrush equipped with small red light diodes, described by its makers as “a significant discovery for domestic dental hygiene.” Internationally, 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 infrared radiation heats your body itself. As claimed by enthusiasts, it’s like bathing in one of those LED-lit beauty masks, boosting skin collagen, relaxing muscles, relieving inflammation and long-term ailments while protecting against dementia.

Understanding the Evidence

“It appears somewhat mystical,” says Paul Chazot, professor in neuroscience at Durham University and a convert to the value of light therapy. Naturally, certain impacts of light on human physiology are proven. Sunlight helps us make vitamin D, needed for bone health, immunity, muscles and more. Sunlight regulates our circadian rhythms, as well, 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

While Sad lamps tend to use a mixture of light frequencies from the blue end of the spectrum, the majority of phototherapy tools use red or near-infrared wavelengths. During advanced medical investigations, such as Chazot’s investigations into the effects of infrared on brain cells, determining the precise frequency is essential. Photons represent electromagnetic waves, spanning from low-energy radio waves to short-wavelength gamma rays. Phototherapy, or light therapy utilizes intermediate light frequencies, the highest energy of those being invisible ultraviolet, then the visible spectrum we perceive as colors and finally infrared detectable with special equipment.

Dermatologists have utilized UV therapy for extensive periods to treat chronic skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and vitiligo. It modulates intracellular immune mechanisms, “and suppresses swelling,” says Dr Bernard Ho. “Substantial research supports light therapy.” UVA penetrates skin more deeply than UVB, while the LEDs in consumer devices (typically emitting red, infrared or blue wavelengths) “tend to be a bit more superficial.”

Risk Assessment and Professional Supervision

The side-effects of UVB exposure, like erythema or pigmentation, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – signifying focused frequency bands – that reduces potential hazards. “Therapy is overseen by qualified practitioners, so the dosage is monitored,” says Ho. And crucially, the devices are tuned by qualified personnel, “to guarantee appropriate wavelength emission – different from beauty salons, where regulations may be lax, and emission spectra aren’t confirmed.”

Commercial Products and Research Limitations

Red and blue light sources, he notes, “aren’t really used in the medical sense, but they may help with certain conditions.” Red LEDs, it is proposed, enhance blood flow, oxygen uptake and skin cell regeneration, and activate collagen formation – an important goal for anti-aging. “Research exists,” comments the expert. “But it’s not conclusive.” Regardless, given the plethora of available tools, “we’re uncertain whether commercial devices replicate research conditions. We don’t know the duration, how close the lights should be to the skin, the risk-benefit ratio. There are lots of questions.”

Targeted Uses and Expert Opinions

One of the earliest blue-light products targeted Cutibacterium acnes, bacteria linked to pimples. Research support isn’t sufficient for standard medical recommendation – although, explains the specialist, “it’s commonly used in cosmetic clinics.” Some of his patients use it as part of their routine, he observes, though when purchasing home devices, “we advise cautious experimentation and safety verification. Without proper medical classification, standards are somewhat unclear.”

Innovative Investigations and Molecular Effects

At the same time, in innovative scientific domains, 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 says. Multiple claimed advantages have created skepticism toward light treatment – that results appear unrealistic. However, scientific investigation has altered his perspective.

Chazot mostly works on developing drug treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, though twenty years earlier, a GP who was developing an antiviral light treatment for cold sores sought his expertise as a biologist. “He developed equipment for cellular and insect experiments,” he explains. “I was quite suspicious. It was an unusual wavelength of about 1070 nanometres, that nobody believed did anything biological.”

What it did have going for it, though, was that it travelled through water easily, meaning it could penetrate the body more deeply.

Mitochondrial Effects and Brain Health

Additional research indicated infrared affected cellular mitochondria. Mitochondria produce ATP for cell function, producing fuel for biological processes. “All human cells contain mitochondria, particularly in neural cells,” says Chazot, who, as a neuroscientist, decided to focus the research on brain cells. “It has been shown that in humans this light therapy increases blood flow into the brain, which is consistently beneficial.”

With specific frequency application, energy organelles generate minimal reactive oxygen compounds. At controlled levels these compounds, explains the expert, “activates protective proteins that safeguard mitochondria, preserve cell function and eliminate damaged proteins.”

All of these mechanisms appear promising for treating a brain disease: antioxidant, swelling control, and pro-autophagy – self-digestion mechanisms eliminating harmful elements.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

When recently reviewing 1070nm research for cognitive decline, he says, about 400 people were taking part in four studies, incorporating his preliminary American studies