Experts warn that there is considerable hype about red-light therapy. But a growing body of legitimate science has been exploring the benefits for several conditions. Clinical studies have reported improvements in peripheral neuropathy, retinal degeneration and certain neurological disorders. For some indications, expert groups now recommend red-light regimens.
… People spend more time indoors away from the Sun, and efforts to conserve energy have narrowed the spectrum of indoor lighting, eliminating many red and near-infrared wavelengths. Some scientists are now asking whether these factors might have biological consequences. “We’re literally being starved of something that, biologically, we’ve evolved to receive,” says [dermatologist David] Ozog.
More than 150 years ago, Florence Nightingale, one of the founders of modern nursing, insisted that full-spectrum light was essential for recovery. “People think the effect is upon the spirits only,” she wrote in 1859. “This is by no means the case.”
Share this article
Researchers are circling back to that idea while trying to distance the photobiomodulation field from the commercial frenzy surrounding it. The wellness industry has rushed ahead with little regulation, and scientists fear that this trend has clouded legitimate science.
