Could Sound and Light Actually Improve Your Brain Health?

How Very Well's Red Light Therapy and Modern Sound Bath connect to exciting new brain research… and how you can benefit

© Copyright 2026 by Dr David Meredith, DAc

When I added the Modern Sound Bath and our Full-Body Red Light Therapy bed to our lineup, the pitch I imagined for these services wasn't "these might help clear Alzheimer's plaques, sharpen your cognition, and protect your brain." It was more like: these are deeply restorative wellness experiences, the nervous system loves them, and people tend to leave feeling like a new person.

All of that is still true. (One doesn't like to pick favorites among their own children, but… one does notice their strengths. Of all our therapeutic technology services, people tend to feel the most immediately transformed after Red Light Therapy — glowing, energized, symptoms reduced. But it's the Modern Sound Bath that leaves people most deeply altered. Changed, somehow, in a deep way that's hard to put into words, but easy to feel.)

But lately, the research has been catching up with both of these technologies in some surprising ways. I wanted to share what I've been reading.

First, a little background on 40Hz

Gamma waves are the brain's fastest neural oscillations, flickering at around 40 cycles per second. They show up during moments of high cognitive function: focused attention, memory consolidation, active perception. And in brains affected by Alzheimer's disease, these brainwaves are notably disrupted.

Scientists at MIT have spent years investigating whether you can restore gamma activity through sensory stimulation — essentially, whether the right sound frequency can coax the brain back into healthy rhythms. In mouse models, the results have been striking. 40Hz light and sound stimulation reduced amyloid proteins, preserved neural connections and, in a study published in Nature, appeared to activate the brain's own waste-clearance system, the glymphatic network, which flushes debris (including amyloid plaques) out of brain tissue.

All of this is in mice, of course. We always have to be careful about how much we read into animal studies, and temper our expectations. But then came this:

A study that moved the needle

Earlier this year, scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences published a study in PNAS, one of the most rigorous journals in the world, that replicated the 40Hz findings in aged rhesus monkeys. Primates. Animals whose brains develop amyloid plaques in ways that look remarkably similar to human Alzheimer's disease.

The protocol was remarkably simple: one hour of 40Hz auditory stimulation per day, for seven days. A pure tone, pulsing at gamma frequency. After treatment, amyloid levels in the monkeys' cerebrospinal fluid rose by more than 200%, which sounds alarming, but is actually a good sign. It means the brain was mobilizing and clearing the plaques, moving them out of tissue and into the fluid where they could be flushed away. And that effect lasted more than five weeks after the stimulation ended.

Five weeks of results from… just sound. No drug. No procedure. No gene therapy.

Astonishing.

And then there's light

Red and near-infrared light therapy has its own growing body of research, working through a completely different pathway, and one that's relevant not just for people worried about cognitive decline, but for anyone who's ever felt mentally foggy, slow, or not quite sharp.

Here's the short version: your brain cells run on ATP, produced by mitochondria. When mitochondrial function declines — as it does with age, stress, poor sleep, illness — the brain gets less fuel. Thinking slows, focus frays. Specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light appear to interact directly with mitochondria in neural tissue, helping them produce energy more efficiently and reduce inflammation. A systematic review of 35 studies found that 82% reported positive cognitive improvements after this kind of light therapy. Another study found significant improvements in executive function, mental flexibility, and attentional control in older adults, exactly the capacities that tend to slip first.

(Which also, by the way, helps explain why people walk out of a Red Light Therapy session feeling so immediately clear-headed. It's not just relaxation. Something is actually happening at the cellular level.)

So where does Very Well come in?

Our Full-Body Red Light Therapy bed delivers multiple wavelengths of red and near-infrared light, including the specific ranges most studied for their effects on neural tissue and brain energy. And our extensive Modern Sound Bath catalog includes a dedicated 40Hz Gamma sessions — that exact frequency, delivered not just through speakers but as full-body vibration, immersing the entire nervous system in the signal rather than simply playing it into the ears.

We didn't build our services to match this research. But I keep noticing how often the research matches our services.

I want to be clear. None of this means we're offering a treatment for Alzheimer's or any neurological condition — we're not. But "not a cure" and "not worth your attention" are very different things. These are safe, gentle, relaxing, and non-invasive modalities with real science behind them. And if they can support a healthier brain while also making you feel more relaxed, energized, and clear-headed — well, that seems like a pretty good reason to try it out.

We find this stuff genuinely exciting. If you do too, come in and experience it firsthand. Book a Full-Body Red Light Therapy session or a Modern Sound Bath. Your brain might thank you.

Full-Body Red Light Therapy and Modern Sound Bath are available as individual sessions ($45 for Red Light Therapy, and starting at $12 for Modern Sound Bath.)

These modalities are also featured together in several of our packages, including “EVERGREEN: Optimized Aging and Longevity,” “IGNITE: Energy, Clarity, and Creative Flow,” and “PEAK PERFORMANCE: Strength, Stamina, Recovery, Drive.” All of our therapeutic technology sessions are also heavily discounted in our memberships.

Book a session today, or book a free consultation to discuss everything Very Well can help you with.

Click “Book Now” to schedule your appointment or purchase your package or membership.