🔗 Share this article

Phototherapy is definitely experiencing a moment. You can now buy illuminated devices for everything from complexion problems and aging signs to aching tissues and gum disease, the latest being a dental hygiene device equipped with small red light diodes, described by its makers as “a significant discovery for domestic dental hygiene.” Worldwide, 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, which use infrared light to warm the body directly, your body is warmed directly by infrared light. As claimed by enthusiasts, it’s like bathing in one of those LED-lit beauty masks, enhancing collagen production, easing muscle tension, reducing swelling and chronic health conditions and potentially guarding against cognitive decline.

The Science and Skepticism

“It appears somewhat mystical,” says Paul Chazot, who has researched light therapy for two decades. Certainly, we know light influences biological functions. Our bodies produce vitamin D through sun exposure, 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. Sunlight-imitating lamps frequently help individuals with seasonal depression to elevate spirits during colder months. Undoubtedly, light plays a vital role in human health.

Various Phototherapy Approaches

Although mood lamps generally utilize blue-spectrum frequencies, consumer light therapy products mostly feature red and infrared emissions. In serious clinical research, such as Chazot’s investigations into the effects of infrared on brain cells, identifying the optimal wavelength is crucial. Photons represent electromagnetic waves, extending from long-wavelength radiation to the highest-energy (gamma waves). Light-based treatment utilizes intermediate light frequencies, the highest energy of those being invisible ultraviolet, then the visible spectrum we perceive as colors and infrared light visible through night vision technology.

Ultraviolet treatment has been employed by skin specialists for decades to treat chronic skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and vitiligo. It modulates intracellular immune mechanisms, “and reduces inflammatory processes,” notes a skin specialist. “Substantial research supports light therapy.” UVA penetrates skin more deeply than UVB, whereas the LEDs we see on consumer light-therapy devices (which generally deliver red, infrared or blue light) “typically have shallower penetration.”

Safety Protocols and Medical Guidance

Potential UVB consequences, like erythema or pigmentation, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – indicating limited wavelength spectrum – which decreases danger. “Treatment is monitored by medical staff, so the dosage is monitored,” says Ho. Most importantly, the lightbulbs are calibrated by medical technicians, “to guarantee appropriate wavelength emission – unlike in tanning salons, where it’s a bit unregulated, and emission spectra aren’t confirmed.”

Home Devices and Scientific Uncertainty

Colored light diodes, he says, “aren’t really used in the medical sense, but could assist with specific concerns.” Red wavelength therapy, proponents claim, enhance blood flow, oxygen uptake and dermal rejuvenation, and promote collagen synthesis – an important goal for anti-aging. “The evidence is there,” states the dermatologist. “But it’s not conclusive.” Regardless, with numerous products on the market, “it’s unclear if device outputs match study parameters. Optimal treatment times are unknown, ideal distance from skin surface, whether or not that will increase the risk versus the benefit. Numerous concerns persist.”

Specific Applications and Professional Perspectives

Initial blue-light devices addressed acne bacteria, microorganisms connected to breakouts. Scientific backing remains inadequate for regular prescription – although, says Ho, “it’s frequently employed in beauty centers.” Individuals include it in their skincare practices, he mentions, but if they’re buying a device for home use, “we advise cautious experimentation and safety verification. If it’s not medically certified, the regulation is a bit grey.”

Advanced Research and Cellular Mechanisms

Simultaneously, in advanced research areas, 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 reports. It is partly these many and varied positive effects on cellular health that have driven skepticism about light therapy – that results appear unrealistic. Yet, experimental evidence has transformed his viewpoint.

The researcher primarily focuses on pharmaceutical solutions for brain disorders, however two decades past, a physician creating light-based cold sore therapy requested his biological knowledge. “He developed equipment for cellular and insect experiments,” he says. “I remained doubtful. The specific wavelength measured approximately 1070nm, which most thought had no biological effect.”

Its beneficial characteristic, nevertheless, was that it travelled through water easily, 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. These organelles generate cellular energy, producing fuel for biological processes. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, particularly in neural cells,” says Chazot, who prioritized neurological investigations. “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. In low doses this substance, 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: oxidative protection, swelling control, and pro-autophagy – autophagy representing cellular waste disposal.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

The last time Chazot checked the literature on using the 1070 wavelength on human dementia patients, he says, several hundred individuals participated in various investigations, including his own initial clinical trials in the US