Our research method

The class rule

We cite deep-penetrating near-infrared light (~3–4 cm) delivered through the nose for the brain — the intranasal-plus-transcranial class. It is the route that makes the class, not the wattage alone.

Devices that only shine red light on the surface — the “sat under a red light for twenty minutes a day” kind — are a different delivery class. They do not reach the same depth by the same route, and their power figures are not comparable. We do not cite them as referenced work for the through-the-nose class, however high their number on a spec sheet.

VieLight is the floor. Where a study uses an intranasal device, we treat the VieLight Neuro class as the baseline for what counts — 810 nm, roughly 250–300 mW/cm² at the emitter, intranasal-transcranial delivery. A study below that floor, or of an unclear class, does not set the reference.

What we accept

Peer-reviewed work that reports the wavelength, irradiance (mW/cm²) and delivery route.
The intranasal / deep-penetrating class above the VieLight floor.
Findings stated as what the authors measured, in the population they measured it in.
Honest limits: small samples, open-label designs, single trials — said plainly.

What we reject

Class mismatch — surface red-light panels, or any paper that pools light-power classes so the through-nose result can't be separated out.
No dosimetry — no wavelength, irradiance or route, so the class can't be judged.
Overreach — a mechanism claim dressed as a settled outcome, or a comparison to drugs with no head-to-head trial behind it.

Papers we reviewed and did not cite are listed, with the reason, in discarded research.

How we talk about a study

We frame the evidence as supportive of a theorized mechanism — plausible and grounded, not a long shot. On the conditions pages the studies may support or may point to how pressure and light shift the systems in question. We do not present a study as proof that a condition is treated.

Reference devices

VieLight Neuro — 810 nm, ~250–300 mW/cm² at the emitter, intranasal-transcranial. The floor for the class.
Chroma Ironforge — ~850 mW/cm² at the faceplate, 148 mW/cm² at 6 in, ~75% near-infrared across 630–850 nm. A high-irradiance surface device — a different class; figures are manufacturer-reported third-party testing, used only as a power reference.

More

Research at dreamlab.
Discarded research — what we reviewed and did not cite.
The science pages behind what we offer.

our method