Treatments and supplements · Light therapy

Can a light box fix my sleep schedule?

What we can tell you today: how thoroughly this has been studied.

Thoroughly studied

9 studies, of which 5 bring together the results of several trials in people. This is as strong as evidence gets.

5 Repeated evidence 5 studies

4 Large controlled trial 2 studies

3 Small study in people 2 studies

This says how thoroughly something has been studied — not whether it works for you. What each study actually found is in the study itself, and in the plain-language write-ups we are adding.

Appears under: Sleep, energy and the brain · Skin aging · Hair and nails

The studies

5 Repeated evidence The effects of light therapy on sleep problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
2018 · Sleep medicine reviews · 1,154 participants
5 Repeated evidence A systematic review on whole-body photobiomodulation for exercise performance and recovery.
2025 · Lasers in medical science
5 Repeated evidence Light Therapy to Improve Sleep Quality in Older Adults Living in Residential Long-Term Care: A Systematic Review.
2023 · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
5 Repeated evidence Effectiveness of Light Therapy in Cognitively Impaired Persons: A Metaanalysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
2017 · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
5 Repeated evidence Efficacy and acceptability of blue-wavelength light therapy for post-TBI behavioral symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
2022 · PloS one · 278 participants
4 Large controlled trial Photobiomodulation Reduces Periocular Wrinkle Volume by 30%: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
2023 · Photobiomodulation, photomedicine, and laser surgery · 137 participants
4 Large controlled trial Efficacy evaluation and facial expressions biomarker of light therapy in youths with subthreshold depression: A randomized control trial study.
2025 · Journal of affective disorders · 135 participants
3 Small study in people Clinical Trial Comparing Three Wavelengths in Photobiomodulation Therapy for Hair Loss.
2025 · Photobiomodulation, photomedicine, and laser surgery · 68 participants
3 Small study in people Photobiomodulation therapy and 5% minoxidil in female pattern hair loss: a case series focusing on hair growth phases over a shorter timeframe.
2025 · Lasers in medical science