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Phototherapy is definitely experiencing a surge in popularity. Consumers can purchase light-emitting tools designed to address skin conditions and wrinkles to sore muscles and periodontal issues, the newest innovation is a toothbrush enhanced with miniature red light sources, marketed by the company as “a significant discovery in personal mouth health.” Globally, the market was worth $1bn in 2024 and is projected to grow to $1.8bn by 2035. Options include full-body infrared sauna sessions, that employ light waves rather than traditional heat sources, your body is warmed directly by infrared light. According to its devotees, it’s like bathing in one of those LED-lit beauty masks, boosting skin collagen, relaxing muscles, reducing swelling and long-term ailments as well as supporting brain health.

Research and Reservations

“It sounds a bit like witchcraft,” notes a neuroscience expert, professor in neuroscience at Durham University and a convert to the value of light therapy. Of course, certain impacts of light on human physiology are proven. Our bodies produce vitamin D through sun exposure, essential for skeletal strength, immune function, and muscular health. Natural light synchronizes our biological clocks, additionally, activating brain chemicals and hormonal responses in daylight, and preparing the body for rest as darkness falls. Daylight-simulating devices frequently help individuals with seasonal depression to elevate spirits during colder months. Clearly, light energy is essential for optimal functioning.

Types of Light Therapy

Whereas seasonal affective disorder devices typically employ blue-range light, consumer light therapy products mostly feature red and infrared emissions. During advanced medical investigations, including research on infrared’s impact on neural cells, finding the right frequency is key. Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, spanning from low-energy 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 visible light (all the colours we see in a rainbow) and finally infrared detectable with special equipment.

UV light has been used by medical dermatologists for many years for addressing long-term dermatological issues like vitiligo. It modulates intracellular immune mechanisms, “and dampens down inflammation,” says Dr Bernard Ho. “Substantial research supports light therapy.” UVA penetrates skin more deeply than UVB, whereas the LEDs we see on consumer light-therapy devices (typically emitting red, infrared or blue wavelengths) “generally affect surface layers.”

Safety Protocols and Medical Guidance

UVB radiation effects, such as burning or tanning, are well known but in medical devices the light is delivered in a “narrow-band” form – signifying focused frequency bands – which minimises the risks. “Treatment is monitored by medical staff, so the dosage is monitored,” says Ho. Most importantly, the light sources are adjusted by technical experts, “to guarantee appropriate wavelength emission – different from beauty salons, where it’s a bit unregulated, and we don’t really know what wavelengths are being used.”

Home Devices and Scientific Uncertainty

Red and blue LEDs, he notes, “aren’t typically employed clinically, but could assist with specific concerns.” Red wavelength therapy, proponents claim, enhance blood flow, oxygen utilization and dermal rejuvenation, and activate collagen formation – a primary objective in youth preservation. “The evidence is there,” comments the expert. “But it’s not conclusive.” Nevertheless, given the plethora of available tools, “it’s unclear if device outputs match study parameters. Optimal treatment times are unknown, how close the lights should be to the skin, the risk-benefit ratio. There are lots of questions.”

Treatment Areas and Specialist Views

One of the earliest blue-light products targeted Cutibacterium acnes, a microbe associated with acne. Research support isn’t sufficient for standard medical recommendation – despite the fact that, explains the specialist, “it’s frequently employed in beauty centers.” Certain patients incorporate it into their regimen, he observes, but if they’re buying a device for home use, “we recommend careful testing and security confirmation. If it’s not medically certified, the regulation is a bit grey.”

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 it’s too good to be true. But his research has thoroughly changed his mind in that respect.

The researcher primarily focuses on pharmaceutical solutions for brain disorders, though twenty years earlier, a doctor developing photonic antiviral treatment consulted his scientific background. “He designed tools for biological testing,” he explains. “I was pretty sceptical. The specific wavelength measured approximately 1070nm, which most thought had no biological effect.”

Its beneficial characteristic, however, was its ability to transmit through aqueous environments, allowing substantial bodily penetration.

Cellular Energy and Neurological Benefits

Growing data suggested infrared influenced energy-producing organelles. These organelles generate cellular energy, creating power for cellular operations. “Every cell in your body has mitochondria, even within brain tissue,” notes the researcher, who concentrated on cerebral applications. “Research confirms improved brain blood flow with phototherapy, which is consistently beneficial.”

With 1070 treatment, cellular power plants create limited oxidative molecules. In low doses this substance, notes the scientist, “triggers guardian proteins that maintain organelle health, preserve cell function and eliminate damaged proteins.”

All of these mechanisms appear promising for treating a brain disease: antioxidant, inflammation reduction, and pro-autophagy – autophagy being the process the cell uses to clear unwanted damaging proteins.

Ongoing Study Progress and Specialist Evaluations

When recently reviewing 1070nm research for cognitive decline, he says, about 400 people were taking part in four studies, comprising his early research projects