Colour therapy: a review that concedes little evidence (Azeemi 2005)

No controlled-trial evidence is offered. Even this sympathetic review admits a "severe lack of scientific work" on chromotherapy.

A plain-language summary from binaural's reading notes, edited by Jude Mc. Last updated 10 November 2026. Not medical advice.

The question: Is there scientific evidence that chromotherapy (colour healing) works?

What it found

• The review is favourable to chromotherapy, yet it admits a "severe lack of scientific work" and offers no controlled-trial data.
• Its explanations lean on quantum and "chromatized water" arguments.
• It conflates legitimate photobiology (circadian blue-light effects via retinal melanopsin, jaundice phototherapy, photodynamic therapy, light boxes for seasonal affective disorder) with unsubstantiated chakra, aura and energy ideas.
• Independent skeptical sources classify colour healing as having no effect beyond placebo or a relaxing context.

Limits

• The paper presents no controlled trials, so it cannot show any effect of colour on health.
• Genuine light biology, such as circadian and melanopsin light timing, is a separate field and is not evidence for colour healing.

Where this sits

More in the library on light, flicker and 40 hz. For the wider picture, read 40 Hz, gamma and the brain.

This is our plain-language reading of the paper. It is not medical advice, and one study rarely settles a question.