Structured Water? How Hydration and Light Influence Cellular Energy

Water, Light, and the Hidden Layers of Hydration

Can water be more or less fluid? Beneath every sip of water and every moment of light exposure, your body is quietly re-structuring its internal water. Let’s unpack how that shapes your energy.

For decades, we treated water as a passive backdrop for biology - a solvent that carries salts, hormones, and nutrients. Today, a more nuanced picture is emerging: water at biological interfaces behaves differently from the water in your glass. It forms structured layers, holds charge, and responds to light. In other words, interfacial water is dynamic, ordered, and exquisitely sensitive to your environment.

This is the quiet frontier where hydration, light exposure, and cellular energy meet.

Interfacial H₂O: The Many Faces of Biological Water

Inside the body, very little water is truly "bulk." It clings to membranes, wraps around proteins, and lines blood vessels and fascia. This interfacial water shows altered mobility and dielectric properties compared with free flowing water, and it is now considered an active player in cell function rather than a passive background.[1]

Near strongly hydrophilic (water loving) surfaces - such as certain polymers, gels, and ceramics - researchers have described exclusion zones (EZs), regions where microscopic particles and some solutes are pushed away over surprisingly long distances, sometimes hundreds of micrometres.[2][3][4] Within these zones, water appears more ordered, more viscous, and often carries a net negative charge, while the surrounding water becomes enriched in protons (positive charge).[2][3][4]

This has led to bold proposals of a partially ordered, "fourth phase" of water acting as a reservoir of charge and structural information.[5]

Not all scientists agree. A rigorous critical review concluded that while the exclusion phenomenon is real and reproducible, many observations can be explained by ion gradients and diffusiophoresis (standard colloid suspension physics) without invoking an entirely new phase.[6] In parallel, neutron radiography and other advanced tools have failed to confirm the large density shifts expected from a crystalline "fourth phase".[6]

The consensus today? Biological water is more structured than we once thought, particularly near surfaces. Exclusion zones exist. But the language of a fully fledged new phase remains speculative.[1][6]

When Light Touches Water: A Battery-Like Effect

If interfacial water is not passive, the next question is obvious: what drives its structure?

One potent candidate is light.

Experiments on hydrophilic polymers such as Nafion™ show that infrared (IR) light can markedly expand exclusion zones and increase the surrounding region of free protons (positive charge). Mid-infrared wavelengths near 3.0-3.1 μm enlarged EZ width and deepened the electrical potential difference between the zone and bulk water, in a manner that could not be explained by simple heating.[3][7] Near-infrared (NIR) light - closer to the wavelengths used in photobiomodulation (PBM) devices - also expanded these zones at higher intensities.[7]

Ultraviolet (UV) light appears to matter as well. Interfacial water adjacent to Nafion displays a distinct absorption peak around 270-275 nm. Targeted UV at this surface made the interfacial potential more negative.[8]

Together, these findings suggest a simple but powerful idea: interfacial water can store radiant energy as positive and negative charge. Negative within the ordered zone. Positive in the surrounding fluid. A soft, “aqueous battery” made of a positive and a negative zone.[3][7][8]

In living systems, this hypothetical battery-like system does not replace mitochondrial ATP (cellular energy currency). But it may influence how easily protons and electrons move across membranes, how enzymes function, and how cells sense their environment.[9]

Mitochondria, Interfacial Water, and Cellular Energy

The best-validated story of light and energy still centres on the mitochondrion (singular for mitochondria). Red and NIR wavelengths are absorbed by cytochrome c oxidase (CCO), a key enzyme in mitochondrial energy production, increasing electron transport, mitochondrial membrane potential, and ATP synthesis.[9][10] Clinical and preclinical data link this photobiomodulation to improved tissue repair, reduced inflammation markers, and more resilient cellular metabolism in multiple models.[10][11]

Interfacial water may add another, more subtle layer to this picture. Water inside mitochondria lines the ATP synthase nanomotor (enzyme that assembles ATP) and shapes proton flow along the inner mitochondrial membrane. Theoretical work suggests that small changes in the viscosity and organisation of this water could alter how efficiently ATP synthase rotates and how quickly protons return through the enzyme.[9]

If light not only activates CCO but also reduces the viscosity of interfacial water or augments charge separation along membranes, then mitochondrial energy production may be amplified through two intertwined pathways:[9][10][11]

• Chromophore-based activation (CCO and other light-sensitive proteins)
• Interfacial water facilitating proton and electron dynamics

At present, this dual-pathway model is elegant but not fully proven. What is clear is that light consistently reawakens mitochondrial metabolism. Whether water's restructuring is a major co-conspirator remains an active area of research.[9][10][11]

Hydration, Redox, and the Everyday Ritual of Light

Why does any of this matter for your daily routine?

First, it reframes hydration. It is no longer just about volume. It is about distribution and structure: how water organises along blood vessels, fascia, and cellular membranes; how easily it can move and carry charge. Studies using far-infrared-emitting ceramics show that water exposed to these surfaces can behave more like an antioxidant in vitro.[4] These are laboratory models, not human trials-but they underscore a key point.

Water can restructure itself.[1][4]

Second, the combination of light and water offers a coherent explanation for why simple rituals - morning daylight, evening red light, intelligent sauna use - feel disproportionately powerful. Daylight not only entrains your circadian rhythm via retinal and skin photoreceptors; it also interacts with the interfacial water that underpins vascular tone and cellular communication.[1][9][10][11] Red and NIR light not only support mitochondrial engines; they may gently help reshape the aqueous scaffolding in which those engines are embedded.[9][10][11]

In practice, this translates into choices:

• Prioritising morning outdoor light to synchronise circadian timing and energise both photoreceptors and interfacial water.
• Using targeted red and NIR light in the evening as a quiet ritual of recovery, aligned with the body’s natural descent into rest and repair mode.
• Viewing sauna and thermal contrast not just as heat stress, but as stimuli that reshape flow, viscosity, and the micro-architecture of hydration.[4]

Each of these habits is small. Together, they create a ritual of energy and dynamic equilibrium.

A Thoughtful Way Forward

The science of structured water and light is still maturing. Exclusion zones are real, but their exact structure, prevalence in living tissues, and contribution to whole-body energy remain debated.[1][6]

What is not in doubt is that:

• Water near biological surfaces is more ordered and electrically active than bulk fluid.[1][4][6]
• Light-especially in the red and infrared bands amplifies mitochondrial metabolism and influences oxidative stress.[9][10][11]
• Your daily environment of light, movement, and temperature continuously rewrites the layers of hydration within you.[1][4][6][9][10][11]

In this context, light-aligned tools - whether a circadian-friendly reading lamp, a red-light device designed for evening wind-down, or a carefully timed sauna ritual - are wellness tools for tuning the relationship between water, energy, and rhythm.

Using them becomes less about chasing a hack, and more about curating an environment where your inner flow can organise itself intelligently.

BON CHARGE: This content is for general education and is not medical advice. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always follow product instructions and consult a qualified healthcare professional for guidance tailored to you. Individual results may vary.

References

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2. Zheng, J. M. & Pollack, G. H. Long-range forces extending from polymer-gel surfaces. Phys. Rev. E 68, 031408 (2003).
3. Chai, B., Yoo, H. & Pollack, G. H. Effect of radiant energy on near-surface water. J. Phys. Chem. B 113, 13953-13958 (2009).
4. Hwang, S. G. et al. Exclusion zone and heterogeneous water structure at ambient temperature. PLoS One 13, e0195057 (2018).
5. Pollack, G. H. The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor. (Ebner and Sons, 2013).
6. Elton, D. C. et al. Exclusion zone phenomena in water-A critical review of experimental findings and theories. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 21, 5041 (2020).
7. Wang, A. & Pollack, G. H. Effect of infrared radiation on interfacial water at hydrophilic surfaces. Colloid Interface Sci. Commun. 42, 100397 (2021).
8. Shen, Y., Theodorou, A., Li, Z. & Pollack, G. H. Ultraviolet light effect on the electrical potential of interfacial water. Colloids Surf. A 691, 133816 (2024).
9. Hamblin, M. R. Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation. AIMS Biophys. 4, 337-361 (2017).
10. de Freitas, L. F. & Hamblin, M. R. Proposed mechanisms of photobiomodulation or low-level light therapy. IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 22, 7000417 (2016).
11. Barolet, D. Photobiomodulation in dermatology: harnessing light from visible to near infrared for medical and aesthetic purposes. Med. Res. Arch. 6, 1-30 (2018).