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Phototherapy is clearly enjoying a moment. There are now available glowing gadgets for everything from complexion problems and aging signs along with aching tissues and gum disease, recently introduced is a dental hygiene device enhanced with tiny red LEDs, promoted by the creators as “a major advance in at-home oral care.” Globally, the market was worth $1bn in 2024 and is projected to grow to $1.8bn by 2035. You can even go and sit in an infrared sauna, which use infrared light to warm the body directly, the thermal energy targets your tissues immediately. Based on supporter testimonials, it feels similar to a full-body light therapy session, enhancing collagen production, soothing sore muscles, relieving inflammation and long-term ailments and potentially guarding against cognitive decline.

Research and Reservations

“It appears somewhat mystical,” says a Durham University professor, professor in neuroscience at Durham University and a convert to the value of light therapy. Of course, we know light influences biological functions. Sunlight enables vitamin D production, crucial for strong bones, immune defense, and tissue repair. Light exposure controls our sleep-wake cycles, as well, activating brain chemicals and hormonal responses in daylight, and signaling the body to slow down for nighttime. 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.

Various Phototherapy Approaches

Although mood lamps generally utilize blue-spectrum frequencies, the majority of phototherapy tools use red or near-infrared wavelengths. In serious clinical research, including research on infrared’s impact on neural cells, identifying the optimal wavelength is crucial. Light constitutes electromagnetic energy, spanning from low-energy radio waves to the highest-energy (gamma waves). Light-based treatment employs mid-spectrum wavelengths, with ultraviolet representing the higher energy invisible light, then the visible spectrum we perceive as colors and then infrared (which we can see with night-vision goggles).

Ultraviolet treatment has been employed by skin specialists for decades for addressing long-term dermatological issues like vitiligo. It affects cellular immune responses, “and dampens down inflammation,” notes Dr Bernard Ho. “Substantial research supports light therapy.” UVA goes deeper into the skin than UVB, in contrast to LEDs in commercial products (typically emitting red, infrared or blue wavelengths) “generally affect surface layers.”

Risk Assessment and Professional Supervision

Potential UVB consequences, including sunburn or skin darkening, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – indicating limited wavelength spectrum – which minimises the risks. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, meaning intensity is regulated,” explains the dermatologist. Most importantly, the light sources are adjusted by technical experts, “to guarantee appropriate wavelength emission – as opposed to commercial tanning facilities, where it’s a bit unregulated, and wavelength accuracy isn’t verified.”

Consumer Devices and Evidence Gaps

Red and blue light sources, he explains, “aren’t really used in the medical sense, but could assist with specific concerns.” Red light devices, some suggest, enhance blood flow, oxygen uptake and cell renewal in the skin, and stimulate collagen production – a primary objective in youth preservation. “Studies are available,” comments the expert. “But it’s not conclusive.” In any case, amid the sea of devices now available, “it’s unclear if device outputs match study parameters. We don’t know the duration, how close the lights should be to the skin, whether or not that will increase the risk versus the benefit. Many uncertainties remain.”

Treatment Areas and Specialist Views

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 – even though, explains the specialist, “it’s frequently employed in beauty centers.” Some of his patients use it as part of their routine, he mentions, however for consumer products, “we just tell them to try it carefully and to make sure it has been assessed for safety. Without proper medical classification, oversight remains ambiguous.”

Innovative Investigations and Molecular Effects

Meanwhile, in innovative scientific domains, Chazot has been experimenting with brain 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. The numerous reported benefits have generated doubt regarding phototherapy – that results appear unrealistic. However, scientific investigation has altered his perspective.

The scientist mainly develops medications for neurological conditions, 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 says. “I was quite suspicious. This particular frequency was around 1070 nanometers, that many assumed was biologically inert.”

What it did have going for it, however, was its ability to transmit through aqueous environments, enabling deeper tissue penetration.

Mitochondrial Effects and Brain Health

Growing data suggested infrared influenced energy-producing organelles. These organelles generate cellular energy, creating power for cellular operations. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, even within brain tissue,” says Chazot, who prioritized neurological investigations. “Studies demonstrate enhanced cerebral circulation with light treatment, which is generally advantageous.”

Using 1070nm wavelength, mitochondria also produce a small amount of a molecule known as reactive oxygen species. In low doses this substance, says Chazot, “activates protective proteins that safeguard mitochondria, preserve cell function and eliminate damaged proteins.”

Such mechanisms indicate hope for cognitive disorders: oxidative protection, swelling control, and pro-autophagy – autophagy being the process the cell uses to clear unwanted damaging proteins.

Ongoing Study Progress and Specialist Evaluations

The last time Chazot checked the literature on using the 1070 wavelength on human dementia patients, he says, about 400 people were taking part in four studies, including his own initial clinical trials in the US