Light Therapy News and Research

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Light Therapy is the treatment of disease with certain types of light. Light therapy can use lasers, LED, fluorescent lamps, and ultraviolet or infrared radiation. Also called phototherapy.

Circadian desynchronization: The hidden cost of daylight saving time transitions

Turning the clocks back an hour each fall can feel like a gift: an extra hour of sleep. But the tradeoff is less daylight in the evening, and the annual switch continues to earn mixed reviews.

29 Oct 2026

Sleep expert shares tips for adjusting to daylight saving time

The switch to standard time from daylight saving time will take place at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. That's right - the day after Halloween.

28 Oct 2026

Researchers identify new depression subtype linked to the body clock

Research by experts at the University of Sydney has identified a new subtype of depression called "circadian depression".

20 Oct 2026

Laser therapy offers new hope for inoperable pancreatic tumors

UCI Health, the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine, is conducting a first-in-human, phase 1 clinical trial using laser light to target localized but inoperable pancreatic tumors to help patients become cancer free.

10 Sep 2026

Bright light therapy boosts activity and sleep in older adults

Bright light therapy lamps can improve sleep, activity levels and circadian rhythms of older adults in urban areas who have diminished exposure to natural light, a new study from the University of Surrey reports.

2 Sep 2026

Bright-light therapy may reduce attention lapses during night work

Light therapy may improve alertness and attention/reaction time during simulated night shifts, with the strongest benefits appearing after light exposure. Effects on executive function were smaller and largely limited to treatment, while substantial study heterogeneity and limited real-world evidence warrant caution.

11 Aug 2026

New gum disease treatment kills harmful bacteria while saving beneficial microbes

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have created an innovative treatment for periodontitis that targets and eliminates harmful bacteria while preserving beneficial oral microbes essential for health.

4 Aug 2026

Brighter daytime light is linked to a lower dementia risk

The study finds that greater exposure to daytime light may lower dementia risk, pointing to light's role in enhancing circadian rhythms and cognitive function.

29 Jun 2026

Intense light therapy reduces hypoxia-induced heart damage in mice

Right ventricular (RV) remodeling and dysfunction are serious cardiovascular consequences due to prolonged hypoxic exposure, commonly seen in conditions such as chronic lung disease and high-altitude environments.

10 Apr 2026

New compound advances body clock independent of dosing time

A collaborative team including Emeritus Professor Tei H. (Kanazawa University), Associate Professor Takahata Y. (Osaka University), Professor Numano R. (Toyohashi University of Technology), and Associate Professor Uriu K. (Institute of Science Tokyo) discovered that Mic-628 selectively induces the mammalian clock gene Per1.

4 Feb 2026

Newly discovered compound can advance the body's internal clock

A Japanese research team has discovered a new compound that can advance the body's internal clock—offering hope for faster recovery from jet lag and better adaptation to night-shift work.

28 Jan 2026

Red light therapy may protect athletes' brains from repetitive impacts

Punch-drunk syndrome, boxer's madness, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The name has changed over the years, but the cause is clear: repeated impacts can affect long-term brain health, with symptoms ranging from confusion to memory loss and potentially dementia.

21 Jan 2026

Weaker and fragmented circadian rhythms linked to higher dementia risk

Circadian rhythms that are weaker and more fragmented are linked to an increased risk of dementia, according to a new study published on December 29, 2025, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Jan 2026

New study highlights the impact of pediatric integrative medicine services

A new study conducted by University Hospitals Connor Whole Health highlights the impact of pediatric integrative medicine services.

5 Nov 2025

Aligning your body clock may protect your heart and metabolism, says AHA

A new American Heart Association scientific statement highlights how maintaining circadian health through regular sleep, light exposure, meal timing, and exercise may reduce cardiometabolic disease risk. Disrupting these daily rhythms can impair glucose regulation, blood pressure, and cardiovascular function.

29 Oct 2025

Intense light therapy boosts heart protection after surgery

Intense light therapy after surgery can increase a critical protein that protects heart tissue while lowering levels of troponin, a protein indicating heart damage that's linked to higher mortality in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery, according to a study by researchers at CU Anschutz.

4 Sep 2025