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Phototherapy is clearly enjoying a moment. You can now buy light-emitting tools targeting issues like skin conditions and wrinkles as well as aching tissues and oral inflammation, recently introduced is a toothbrush outfitted with small red light diodes, promoted by the creators 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. Options include full-body infrared sauna sessions, which use infrared light to warm the body directly, the thermal energy targets your tissues immediately. According to its devotees, the experience resembles using an LED facial mask, boosting skin collagen, relaxing muscles, relieving inflammation and long-term ailments as well as supporting brain health.

Understanding the Evidence

“It sounds a bit like witchcraft,” notes Paul Chazot, a scientist who has studied phototherapy extensively. Naturally, 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. Natural light synchronizes our biological clocks, additionally, triggering the release of neurochemicals and hormones while we are awake, and preparing the body for rest as darkness falls. Artificial sun lamps are standard treatment for winter mood disorders to boost low mood in winter. Clearly, light energy is essential for optimal functioning.

Different Light Modalities

Although mood lamps generally utilize blue-spectrum frequencies, most other light therapy devices deploy red or infrared light. In rigorous scientific studies, like examinations of infrared influence on cerebral tissue, identifying the optimal wavelength is crucial. Photons represent electromagnetic waves, extending from long-wavelength radiation to high-energy gamma radiation. Light-based treatment utilizes intermediate light frequencies, the highest energy of those being invisible ultraviolet, followed by visible light encompassing rainbow colors and infrared light visible through night vision technology.

UV light has been used by medical dermatologists for many years to manage persistent skin disorders including eczema and psoriasis. It works on the immune system within cells, “and suppresses swelling,” explains Dr Bernard Ho. “Substantial research supports light therapy.” UVA penetrates skin more deeply than UVB, in contrast to LEDs in commercial products (usually producing colored light emissions) “typically have shallower penetration.”

Safety Considerations and Medical Oversight

UVB radiation effects, including sunburn or skin darkening, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – meaning smaller wavelengths – which minimises the risks. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, meaning intensity is regulated,” says Ho. Most importantly, the devices are tuned by qualified personnel, “to guarantee appropriate wavelength emission – as opposed to commercial tanning facilities, where regulations may be lax, and wavelength accuracy isn’t verified.”

Home Devices and Scientific Uncertainty

Colored light diodes, he notes, “aren’t typically employed clinically, though they might benefit some issues.” Red wavelength therapy, proponents claim, enhance blood flow, oxygen absorption and cell renewal in the skin, and activate collagen formation – a key aspiration in anti-ageing effects. “Research exists,” states the dermatologist. “But it’s not conclusive.” Nevertheless, amid the sea of devices now available, “it’s unclear if device outputs match study parameters. Appropriate exposure periods aren’t established, proper positioning requirements, the risk-benefit ratio. Many uncertainties remain.”

Specific Applications and Professional Perspectives

Initial blue-light devices addressed acne bacteria, microorganisms connected to breakouts. Scientific backing remains inadequate for regular prescription – despite the fact that, notes the dermatologist, “it’s frequently employed in beauty centers.” Individuals include it in their skincare practices, 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.”

Cutting-Edge Studies and Biological Processes

Meanwhile, in a far-flung field of pioneering medical science, Chazot has been experimenting with brain cells, identifying a number of ways in which infrared can boost cellular health. “Pretty much everything I did with the light at that particular wavelength was positive and protective,” he reports. The numerous reported benefits have generated doubt regarding phototherapy – that claims seem exaggerated. 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 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 recalls. “I remained doubtful. This particular frequency was around 1070 nanometers, that nobody believed did anything biological.”

What it did have going for it, nevertheless, was its efficient water penetration, allowing substantial bodily penetration.

Mitochondrial Impact and Cognitive Support

Growing data suggested infrared influenced energy-producing organelles. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells, generating energy for them to function. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, even within brain tissue,” explains the neuroscientist, 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, says Chazot, “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: oxidative protection, anti-inflammatory, and pro-autophagy – autophagy being the process the cell uses to clear unwanted damaging proteins.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

When recently reviewing 1070nm research for cognitive decline, he states, approximately 400 participants enrolled in multiple trials, incorporating his preliminary American studies