Clinical studies have identified promising health benefits resulting from LED lighting. Controlled trials specifically involving patients suffering from mood disorders such as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), Depression, Chronic Fatigue and Post Partum Depression have determined that the use of LED lighting is effective treatment for SAD. Studies by the American Psychiatric Association are continuing to investigate LED light effect on Alzheimer’s disease, jet lag, insomnia, eating disorders, sleep pattern disturbances and other behavioral problems.

Studies are also underway to determine long term beneficial effects of subjects exposed to LED lighting in the workplace compared to standard fluorescent lighting commonly used in office environments and manufacturing facilities. These should substantiate the health benefits of LED lighting in the workplace, industrial facilities, schools, farming and municipal industries.

NASA and researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee are investigating the use of LED lighting for pain reduction therapy in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Preliminary results show that the use of LED lights resulted in significant relief from side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, thereby significantly improving their quality of life. Initial research also demonstrated that only 53 percent of treated patients developed mucositis, a side effect of chemo and radiation, compared to the usual rate of 70 – 90 percent.

Positive results have come from commercial experiments on the Space Station by using LED lighting to promote plant growth. Biologists found that cells exposed to light from LEDs, grow 150 to 200 percent faster than cells not stimulated by such light. In the same process, the light arrays increase energy inside cells that speed up the healing process.