🔗 Share this article

Phototherapy is definitely experiencing a surge in popularity. Consumers can purchase light-emitting tools designed to address complexion problems and aging signs along with sore muscles and oral inflammation, the latest being a dental hygiene device outfitted with miniature red light sources, described by its makers as “a breakthrough for domestic dental hygiene.” Worldwide, the sector valued at $1bn last year is expected to increase to $1.8bn within the next decade. There are even infrared saunas available, which use infrared light to warm the body directly, the infrared radiation heats your body itself. Based on supporter testimonials, it’s like bathing in one of those LED-lit beauty masks, boosting skin collagen, soothing sore muscles, relieving inflammation and long-term ailments while protecting against dementia.

Understanding the Evidence

“It feels almost magical,” says a Durham University professor, a scientist who has studied phototherapy extensively. Of course, we know light influences biological functions. Sunlight helps us make vitamin D, essential for skeletal strength, immune function, and muscular health. Sunlight regulates our circadian rhythms, additionally, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and preparing the body for rest as darkness falls. Sunlight-imitating lamps frequently help individuals with seasonal depression 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, most other light therapy devices deploy red or infrared light. In serious clinical research, like examinations of infrared influence on cerebral tissue, finding the right frequency is key. Photons represent electromagnetic waves, extending from long-wavelength radiation to high-energy gamma radiation. Phototherapy, or light therapy employs mid-spectrum wavelengths, including invisible ultraviolet radiation, then visible light (all the colours we see in a rainbow) 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 works on the immune system within cells, “and dampens down inflammation,” explains Dr Bernard Ho. “Substantial research supports light therapy.” UVA reaches deeper skin layers compared to UVB, whereas the LEDs we see on consumer light-therapy devices (usually producing colored light emissions) “tend to be a bit more superficial.”

Risk Assessment and Professional Supervision

UVB radiation effects, such as burning or tanning, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – signifying focused frequency bands – which minimises the risks. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, thus exposure is controlled,” says Ho. Most importantly, the devices are tuned by qualified personnel, “to ensure that the wavelength that’s being delivered is fit for purpose – unlike in tanning salons, where it’s a bit unregulated, and emission spectra aren’t confirmed.”

Commercial Products and Research Limitations

Red and blue light sources, he explains, “don’t have strong medical applications, but could assist with specific concerns.” Red light devices, some suggest, help boost blood circulation, oxygen utilization and skin cell regeneration, and stimulate collagen production – a key aspiration in anti-ageing effects. “The evidence is there,” says Ho. “Although it’s not strong.” Regardless, amid the sea of devices now available, “we’re uncertain whether commercial devices replicate research conditions. Optimal treatment times are unknown, how close the lights should be to the skin, the risk-benefit ratio. Numerous concerns persist.”

Targeted Uses and Expert Opinions

Initial blue-light devices addressed acne bacteria, microorganisms connected to breakouts. Research support isn’t sufficient for standard medical recommendation – even though, notes the dermatologist, “it’s often seen in medical spas or aesthetics practices.” Some of his patients use it as part of their routine, he mentions, but if they’re buying a device for home use, “we recommend careful testing and security confirmation. If it’s not medically certified, oversight remains ambiguous.”

Innovative Investigations and Molecular Effects

Meanwhile, in innovative scientific domains, researchers have been testing neural cells, identifying a number of ways in which infrared can boost cellular health. “Nearly every test with precise light frequencies demonstrated advantageous outcomes,” he reports. It is partly these many and varied positive effects on cellular health that have driven skepticism about light therapy – that results appear unrealistic. However, scientific investigation has altered his perspective.

The scientist mainly develops medications for neurological conditions, however two decades past, a GP who was developing an antiviral light treatment for cold sores sought his expertise as a biologist. “He designed tools for biological testing,” he recalls. “I was quite suspicious. It was an unusual wavelength of about 1070 nanometres, which most thought had no biological effect.”

What it did have going for it, nevertheless, was its ability to transmit through aqueous environments, allowing substantial bodily penetration.

Mitochondrial Effects and Brain Health

Additional research indicated infrared affected cellular mitochondria. These organelles generate cellular energy, generating energy for them to function. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, including the brain,” notes the researcher, who, as a neuroscientist, decided to focus the research on brain cells. “Studies demonstrate enhanced cerebral circulation with light treatment, which is consistently beneficial.”

With 1070 treatment, mitochondria also produce a small amount of a molecule known as reactive oxygen species. At controlled levels these compounds, says Chazot, “triggers guardian proteins that maintain organelle health, look after your cells and also deal with the unwanted proteins.”

These processes show potential for neurological conditions: free radical neutralization, inflammation reduction, and pro-autophagy – 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 states, several hundred individuals participated in various investigations, incorporating his preliminary American studies