Elemental Light Week
The Magic and the Myths Behind Infrared Light
Can infrared light treat everything from arthritis to Alzheimer’s disease?
This story is a part of Elemental Light Week, a 5-day series on what light does for your body, brain, and well-being.
Humans are inundated with light waves every second of every day. There’s the light we think about — visible light pouring forth from the sun and electric light bulbs and ultraviolet (UV) light that turns our skin red, tan, and eventually wrinkled. And there’s the light we don’t think about, like the radio waves bouncing off of us and the gamma rays that shoot right through us. Given the ubiquity, diversity, and power of light, everyone from neurologists to dermatologists to wellness gurus are trying to harness light waves to enhance and heal the body. And although it sounds pretty fringe, it turns out there’s more to light than meets the eye.
In part because of the clear impact UV light has on the skin, dermatology has led the charge in using light therapeutically — harnessing red, blue, and even UV light itself to get rid of acne, eczema, and pre-cancerous skin cells. More recently, anesthesiologists started to explore whether green light can be used to dull the pain from migraines and fibromyalgia. More than any…
