Red Light Therapy for Epilepsy: My Son’s Story + The Science

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]So, look, I've been covering redlight therapy for some time now, 7 years in fact. I've interviewed a lot of researchers, I've read a lot of science, I've reviewed lots of products, hundreds maybe, and I've used a lot of them myself. Now, fortunately, I don't suffer from epilepsy. However, my son does.

[00:00:18]Well, at least he did. He had his first seizure just before his second birthday, and some of these seizures were quite severe. We're talking 20 minutes plus.

[00:00:27]Now, the only reason I mention this is because we actually used some redlight therapy, or photobiomodulation as it's more formally known as, in his treatment care, and his preventative. In fact, it wasn't just for treatment, the goal was for him to, of course, stop having seizures. So, look, given the nature of this topic, how serious it is, this video is for education and entertainment purposes only. All right, this is not medical advice. I'm going to look at the research, I'm going to be very picky with what research I look at. If it's not credible, done properly, I'm not going to bother with it. But, at the same time, I am not a doctor, you should not be taking medical advice from someone on YouTube. And if you or a loved one suffer from epilepsy, then, yes, speak to a professional. And if you want to explore using redlight therapy, then, of course, find a professional who knows what they're doing, who has done this before, and has all the qualifications in place, right? I don't.

[00:01:28]And one final thing, I make money from these videos, okay? So, keep that in mind. I'm not trying to sell you anything in this video, but indirectly, by you watching this, I kind of get paid. So, again, this is just for fun, all right? Okay, so I get this question a lot. Can redlight therapy, photobiomodulation, help with epilepsy or reduce seizures? Part of the reason I get this question a lot is because it's unfortunately a common disease, but also, as I mentioned earlier, my son suffered from epilepsy. So, when it comes to answering this question, the key is separating what's plausible, what's shown in animals, and what's actually demonstrated in humans. So, first up, there's a few basics you need to know. Photobiomodulation, or PBM, means using low-level red or near-infrared light to change biology.

[00:02:15]Often discussed as affecting the mitochondria and cell signaling. When we apply it to the head, it's called transcranial PBM, or transcranial redlight therapy, and it's often abbreviated as tPBM. Now, there's a few key terms that you also need to know about. Wavelength, this is the color of light measured in nanometers. Most of the brain transcranial PBM studies use uh 810 nanometers, which is near-infrared, or 1060 or thereabouts nanometers, which is also near-infrared.

[00:02:45]Irradiance, this is measured in milliwatts over centimeter squared. This measures how intense the light is at the skin, so power per area, hence centimeter squared. Fluence, or dose, this is measured in joules over centimeter squared, which brings in a time component. It's the total energy delivered per an area multiplied by time. Sham control, this is a fake control treatment designed to feel the same, but deliver no real light. This controls for placebo and expectation effects, which is a thing. The good thing is, it's very easy to create control groups because the light used is near-infrared, and that is invisible.

[00:03:26]Effect size, this is not just is it statistically significant, but how big the change is in a way that matters clinically. So, here's the most important point up front. As of early 2026, we do not yet have published sham control group clinical trials showing that redlight therapy reduces seizures in people with epilepsy. We just don't have it. So, I could almost end the video right here, but there is a bit more to unpack, including the experiences my son had. So, what we do have are ongoing and also a few registered studies. So, study example number one is a drug-resistant epilepsy pilot study. So, this is actually a small study that's been planned where there will be daily use of infrared light for 30 minutes over 6 months. The researchers will measure seizure rate reduction and tolerability, but it is open label and single group with an estimated enrollment of 13 participants.

[00:04:24]So, even if results look good, it can't really establish cause and effect on its own. The second study example is seizures being tracked in a neurodevelopment population. Again, this is just another registered study looking at autistic children with epilepsy.

[00:04:41]The study will deliver near-infrared redlight therapy through the brain twice a week for 10 weeks, and will include seizure frequency and severity logs.

[00:04:51]But, again, the results are not available yet, and the registry descriptions show some internal inconsistency around placebo and no intervention structure. So, the results may not be that useful anyway. So, pretty much direct human clinical evidence for seizure reduction using redlight therapy is not established yet. Now, what about the strongest indirect human evidence? A 2025 systematic review of transcranial PBM and brain physiology included 27 human studies, and notes that the common protocols use 808 or 810 nanometers and 1064 nanometers, often around 250 milliwatts over centimeter squared, which is quite a high irradiance, with 60 to 100 joules over centimeter squared energy densities.

[00:05:39]Remember, this incorporates time into its measurement. The review concludes transcranial PBM is strongly recommended for modulated brain neuro-oscillations, and is recommended for improving cerebral blood flow and metabolism.

[00:05:54]Again, not epilepsy outcomes, but relevant biology. Now, let's make that concrete with a sham-controlled EEG example. Now, EEGs are scans of the brain looking at activity levels across different areas in the brain. So, there was one study using 1064 nanometers transcranially to the right forehead for 8 minutes with about a 250 milliwatt irradiance.

[00:06:18]Researchers found increases in alpha and beta power compared with the control group, and they also tested thermal stimulation separately to argue the EEG changes were not just from the heat build-up on the forehead, which can happen, especially with higher-powered redlight therapy devices. So, why does this matter for epilepsy? Well, because seizures are abnormal, excessive, unbalanced activity in brain networks, if a technology can shift the dynamics in the brain, the activity in the brain, it's potentially relevant. But, it still does not tell us whether it reduces seizures, has no effect, or could potentially even worsen seizures in some subtypes, which is an important thing to remember, and again, why I don't recommend going out and using redlight therapy if you do suffer from epilepsy until you've worked with a professional who has signed it off. Now, a second example showed that pulsed 810 nanometer light can influence some brain activity.

[00:07:15]This was a pilot study looking at transcranial and intranasal, up through the nose cavity, study on non-epilepsy patients. The study was using 810 nanometers light with 40 hertz pulsing, and the researchers reported significant modulating effects on brain activity patterns. It also reports no adverse effects among the 20 participants, which is pleasing to hear. Remember though, these people did not suffer from epilepsy. The irradiances used varied from 25 to 100 milliwatts centimeter squared. So, again, this is a promising potential mechanism, i.e., redlight therapy can change brainwave activity in the brain, but it's not clinical epilepsy evidence, especially because this group didn't even suffer from epilepsy. So, there are four major uncertainties you should keep in mind.

[00:08:07]Firstly, there are no studies looking at patients with epilepsy where the study used control groups, and it's a large trial. We simply cannot attribute seizure change to redlight therapy use.

[00:08:19]The second thing to keep in mind is there's so much uncertainty around protocols, wavelengths, irradiance, dosing, frequency of use, pulsing.

[00:08:30]We're still very, very early in this research field. So, even if future positive signals do start coming out in trials, it's still going to be very hard to replicate or compare across devices, or even know what you should or should not do. The other issue is that epilepsy is a very broad condition. Now, when my son had his first seizure, the doctors told him at the time, "Look, it could be one-off, it could have been something he ate, he could have got ill, could be a freak of nature. However, if he has a second seizure unprovoked, as in it's not a result of falling off his bike or something like that, he's going to be diagnosed with epilepsy. All it takes is two seizures that were unprovoked to be diagnosed as epileptic. And the more you learn about epilepsy, you realize there are a lot of different types of seizures, there are a lot of different triggers for seizures. Some medications stop seizures for some people, but then have no effect or potentially make seizures worse in another group of people. Focal seizures are very different to general seizures. My son, for instance, he didn't seize and fit like most people think of when you think of seizures.

[00:09:39]Instead, he had a blank, non-responsive state that progressively got worse over time. The point here is, even if research comes out showing that, "Look, this particular wavelength and this irradiance and this treatment time did wonders for this type of epileptic patient," it doesn't mean it's going to automatically be beneficial for someone else suffering from epilepsy. Another thing to keep in mind is the photosensitivity risks that red light therapy does bring. Because some seizures are simply triggered from bright lights or flashing lights. So, there is always a risk that using red light, especially pulsed red light or near infrared light, could in fact bring on a seizure. So, what should someone take away from this video? Look, hear red light therapy treats epilepsy, I I don't believe it. Honestly, do not believe it. Well, at least based on the evidence we have of today. The more responsible statement and the statement that I will share based on my research is that red light therapy for epilepsy is under investigation and there are some early clinical studies underway. That's it. If you want to understand what researchers are actually doing in human brain transcranial PBM studies, then the most common wavelengths reported across the human work are around 810 and 1060 nanometers. These are near infrared wavelengths commonly seen in a lot of devices and the typical reported irradiance levels are quite high, up around that 200 mW mark. Again, this is not seizure treatment doses or anything like that. This is just simply what the researchers are currently working with in their early trials. Now, the strongest verified evidence that we have today, well, the one mechanism of action that we know red light therapy is doing in the brain is that red light therapy, transcranial red light therapy, can shift EEG oscillations. Meaning, red light therapy can alter an EEG reading.

[00:11:42]That is a real measurable brain effect, brain change, and exactly why epilepsy trials must be done very carefully. So, if someone is considering red light therapy in the context of epilepsy, the evidence-based safety first response is this. Look for maybe a clinical trial that's using red light therapy with epileptic patients or work with a specialized clinician and have them supervise everything. The device you're using, the treatment times, literally have them supervise the session in case something would were to happen. Don't go out and experiment on yourself. So, to recap, at the moment, there is no published epilepsy research showing that red light therapy reduces seizures.

[00:12:29]Okay, so that's everything with humans, but what about the research on animals?

[00:12:34]Here's where things get a little bit interesting. You see, there are actually animal and lab studies looking at epilepsy and red light therapy. So, across multiple rodent seizure studies, transcranial PBM, red light therapy, has been reported to reduce seizure-related brain inflammation and sometimes reduce seizure burden. One study in rats using 808 transcranial PBM was associated with reduced markers of brain neuroinflammation. In another rat study, transcranial PBM over a month of use reported reduced seizure frequency alongside measurable brain metabolic changes. Now, in a study that looked at epilepsy as a result of brain TBIs and and and brain trauma, red light therapy was linked to cognitive and synaptic improvements and reductions in seizure-related outcomes. So, in animals, red light therapy often looks neuroprotective and sometimes anti-seizure. But, the key limitation, again, is that these are in animals, not in humans. So, how could it work? What's going on with the animal studies and what may happen with human studies?

[00:13:47]Well, there's a lot we don't know about red light therapy. So, even the top researchers don't quite know how it works. But, a lot of the experts argue that red light therapy may support mitochondrial respiration activity and reduce oxidative stress, which is relevant because metabolic stress and neuroinflammation can contribute to epilepsy or seizures in some contexts.

[00:14:08]But, as we saw before, red light therapy has been shown to alter brain activity measures. And this is powerful when it comes to seizures. So, potentially, red light therapy could nudge brain activity, but whether this improves seizure onset or seizure duration is yet to be known. So, pretty much, red light therapy should be simply discussed as early stage experimental, not an established therapy. Okay, so what about my son? Well, like any father, I wanted to find a solution. Well, not just find a solution. To be honest, at the time, I just wanted to get the seizures under control. Now, my son did respond okay to some medication. It extended the time between seizures, but he was still having seizures. So, I started asking my network. Again, I've been in the health and wellness space for decades now. I sound old. I am old. And I was introduced to a Dr. Beck in Perth, Australia. Now, I won't get into all of the details because I have done two interviews with Dr. Beck. I'm not affiliated or associated with him. I was a paying client of his.

[00:15:15]I spent a lot of money and I literally flew myself, my mother, and my son to Perth, where we set up shop for two or three weeks and underwent treatment. And again, I paid for everything myself.

[00:15:29]Now, what Dr. Beck did was he was looking at EEGs of my son and he would determine what areas of the brain needed, effectively in simple terms, a boost. And I'll tell you now that some of the early scans of my son's brain were quite unbalanced, concerning. They weren't great. Now, Dr. Beck actually used a lot of different treatment modalities to try and balance the brain.

[00:15:55]One of them was red light therapy. Now, what's interesting is that the red light therapy only came in very late in my son's treatment cycle. We were doing treatments for a couple of months. There was two or three weeks in Perth in his clinic and then we started doing them remotely. So, it wasn't until very late in that stage where we introduced the lasers. Now, I should also mention throughout this process, we introduced another medication for my son, so he was on two medications and I can positively say that there were no seizure. I know, it's the worst study, if you want to call it that. We changed multiple things at the same time. We started the treatments with Dr. Beck and we upped his dose and introduced a second medication. But, hey, at the time, I just wanted the seizures to stop. I wasn't trying to find what was working for my son and what wasn't. Anyway, long story short, yes, we were using lasers on my son's brain, on his head. It was all supervised. We'd been trained on how to use it and then we were doing the sessions remotely with a nurse overseeing us and making sure we were treating the right areas, had all the right settings, all of that sort of stuff. Pretty much, what we were doing is using this high-powered laser to target different areas of my son's brain. And we did this multiple times a week. Now, the good thing is we were quantifying everything. We were doing the QEEGs and we were seeing improvements in his brain. Okay, so what happened? This was all when my son was 4 years old, I believe. Three, maybe 4 years old. Right now, he just turned 7, literally a few days ago. He hasn't had a seizure for over 3 years now and he's been off his medication for 2 years, which is amazing, like super amazing.

[00:17:37]He's doing great at school and yeah, there's still some issues we're still working on, speech, some learning things we're we're working on with the school and and everything like that. But, he's happy, he's healthy, he's riding bikes, he's got friends, he's swimming, he's doing all the things a 6-7-year-old should be doing. And I'm super grateful for that, tremendously grateful. So, was it Dr. Beck's clinic?

[00:17:59]Was it the red light therapy? Was it the medication? Look, I don't know and I'll never know. I really wish I could say this is what it was and of course, I would be telling everyone about that. I will never know. I wouldn't be surprised if my son simply grew out of these seizures. After one of his most severe seizures, we took him to the hospital, did a heap of scans and a heap of tests.

[00:18:21]The neurologist at the time came back saying, based on his type of seizures, there's a 50% chance he'll grow out of them around 5 or 6 years of age. I also remember the very first time he had a seizure, we were in the hospital and there was a mother in the waiting room with her son. Her son was older and she said, my son had seizures when he was a few years old and he grew out of them when he started school. Maybe all the time, maybe all the sessions, maybe all the research I did was all a waste of time and we just had to grind it out and my son was going to grow out of them. I don't know. But, I'm just telling you what happened and the current situation because I know a lot of people do ask me. And I also wanted to look at the research on this topic and see if there was anything out there. If I'd known all of this all of those years ago when my son started having those seizures, would have I bothered with red light therapy? I don't know. Maybe not. But, at the same time, I know I was super desperate and given that there is very little side effects of red light therapy, I was willing to try anything. But, when I say try something, I was only ever going to do anything under the guidance of professionals. There was no way I was going to mess with my son's brain. So, that's me and my story and I'm very fortunate and if you suffer from epilepsy or a loved one does, honestly, I know how horrible it is and if there is something I could do to help, I would. But unfortunately, there's no solid proven science on this yet. And I think we're going to be many years away before we can even get a better understanding on whether red light therapy does help with seizures. The cool thing is there's a lot of research on red light therapy and cognitive function, uh red light therapy and Alzheimer's, dementia, and there's even research on red light therapy and how it can protect the brain. Given those fields are already established and the science is coming through. Look, I'd like to believe that there will be some positive research that will come out on red light therapy and epilepsy. I have reached out to Vielight. This is a company that I've known for many years now. I am affiliated with Vielight, by the way.

[00:20:35]They sell headsets to treat patients who suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia and TBI. I've done a lot of work on concussion, um brain head trauma, and how their devices can help people recover. And not only recover, literally help prevent people from, say, head trauma in contact sports. So, they're doing some really cool work over there. They have a clinic set up and like I said, they do have a lot of devices. And I've asked them about epilepsy.

[00:21:06]When I did speak to them, it wasn't an area that they were focusing on in the near future. But again, it's only going to take a positive study to come out to show that yes, there is hope here and there is potential. The issue is though, seizures can start in different parts of the brain. Not all seizures are equal and someone suffering from one type of seizures may have very different brainwave activity to someone suffering from a different type of seizures. This is why it will be hard to research and also hard to treat. But hey, there's always hope. And hopefully you did find this video informative. I'll put links to all the research down below. Go out and have a look yourself.

[00:21:43]Speak to one of these. Feel free to leave any comments down below as well.

[00:21:47]If you have had any breakthroughs or working with someone or maybe you're doing or part of a clinical trial. Uh leave all the comments down below so other people can uh read those and take advantage of them as well. Until then, good luck.