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Light therapy is clearly enjoying a moment. Consumers can purchase light-emitting tools targeting issues like complexion problems and aging signs to muscle pain and oral inflammation, recently introduced is a toothbrush outfitted with miniature red light sources, marketed by the company as “a major advance in personal mouth health.” Globally, the industry reached $1 billion in 2024 and is forecast to expand to $1.8 billion by 2035. Options include full-body infrared sauna sessions, that employ light waves rather than traditional heat sources, the thermal energy targets your tissues immediately. Based on supporter testimonials, it feels similar to a full-body light therapy session, stimulating skin elasticity, relaxing muscles, relieving inflammation and chronic health conditions as well as supporting brain health.

Understanding the Evidence

“It appears somewhat mystical,” says Paul Chazot, who has researched light therapy for two decades. Of course, some of light’s effects on our bodies are well established. Our bodies produce vitamin D through sun exposure, essential for skeletal strength, immune function, and muscular health. Light exposure controls our sleep-wake cycles, as well, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and winding down bodily functions for sleep as it fades into night. Daylight-simulating devices are a common remedy for people with seasonal affective disorder (Sad) to boost low mood in winter. So there’s no doubt we need light energy to function well.

Various Phototherapy Approaches

Whereas seasonal affective disorder devices typically employ blue-range light, most other light therapy devices deploy red or infrared light. In serious clinical research, including research on infrared’s impact on neural cells, finding the right frequency is key. Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, which runs the spectrum from the lowest-energy, longest wavelengths (radio waves) to high-energy gamma radiation. Therapeutic light application 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 finally infrared detectable with special equipment.

Dermatologists have utilized UV therapy for extensive periods for addressing long-term dermatological issues like vitiligo. It affects cellular immune responses, “and suppresses swelling,” explains Dr Bernard Ho. “There’s lots of evidence for phototherapy.” UVA reaches deeper skin layers compared to UVB, while the LEDs in consumer devices (typically emitting red, infrared or blue wavelengths) “typically have shallower penetration.”

Risk Assessment and Professional Supervision

UVB radiation effects, such as burning or tanning, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – indicating limited wavelength spectrum – which decreases danger. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, thus exposure is controlled,” explains the dermatologist. And crucially, the lightbulbs are calibrated by medical technicians, “to confirm suitable light frequency output – as opposed to commercial tanning facilities, where oversight might be limited, and wavelength accuracy isn’t verified.”

Commercial Products and Research Limitations

Red and blue light sources, he notes, “aren’t really used in the medical sense, but could assist with specific concerns.” Red LEDs, it is proposed, improve circulatory function, oxygen utilization and cell renewal in the skin, and activate collagen formation – a key aspiration in anti-ageing effects. “Research exists,” comments the expert. “However, it’s limited.” Nevertheless, amid the sea of devices now available, “it’s unclear if device outputs match study parameters. We don’t know the duration, proper positioning requirements, if benefits outweigh potential risks. There are lots of questions.”

Specific Applications and Professional Perspectives

Early blue-light applications focused on skin microbes, a microbe associated with acne. The evidence for its efficacy isn’t strong enough for it to be routinely prescribed by doctors – although, explains the specialist, “it’s commonly used in cosmetic clinics.” Some of his patients use it as part of their routine, he observes, but if they’re buying a device for home use, “we recommend careful testing and security confirmation. Unless it’s a medical device, standards are somewhat unclear.”

Advanced Research and Cellular Mechanisms

Meanwhile, in innovative scientific domains, scientists have been studying cerebral tissue, discovering multiple mechanisms for infrared’s cellular benefits. “Pretty much everything I did with the light at that particular wavelength was positive and protective,” he says. The numerous reported benefits have generated doubt regarding phototherapy – that claims seem exaggerated. But his research has thoroughly changed his mind in that respect.

Chazot mostly works on developing drug treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, though twenty years earlier, a doctor developing photonic antiviral treatment consulted his scientific background. “He designed tools for biological testing,” he says. “I was quite suspicious. The specific wavelength measured approximately 1070nm, that many assumed was biologically inert.”

What it did have going for it, nevertheless, was its ability to transmit through aqueous environments, meaning it could penetrate the body more deeply.

Mitochondrial Effects and Brain Health

More evidence was emerging at the time that infrared light targeted the mitochondria in cells. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells, producing fuel for biological processes. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, particularly in neural cells,” notes the researcher, who concentrated on cerebral applications. “Studies demonstrate enhanced cerebral circulation with light treatment, which is consistently beneficial.”

With 1070 treatment, cellular power plants create limited oxidative molecules. In limited quantities these molecules, says Chazot, “stimulates so-called chaperone proteins which look after your mitochondria, look after your cells and also deal with the unwanted proteins.”

These processes show potential for neurological conditions: free radical neutralization, swelling control, and cellular cleanup – autophagy representing cellular waste disposal.

Current Research Status and Professional Opinions

When recently reviewing 1070nm research for cognitive decline, he states, about 400 people were taking part in four studies, including his own initial clinical trials in the US