Hype Check: what the research says about trending kids’ brain products

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Showing 19 of 19

• Red-light therapy for short-sightedness

  Moderate evidenceOnly with your doctor

  The claim: A few minutes a day of low-level red light into the eyes slows short-sightedness (myopia) in children.

  Real trial results, but safety isn’t settled: only as a treatment an eye doctor prescribes and monitors.

  Lab tests of two home red-light devices found that 3 minutes of continuous viewing approached or exceeded the safe exposure limit for the retina, and a case report describes retinal damage in a 12-year-old after repeated treatment.

  In a randomized trial of 264 children aged 8 to 13, eyes treated at home with a red-light device (3 minutes, twice a day, 5 days a week) grew 0.13 mm in a year, against 0.38 mm with glasses alone. A meta-analysis of 6 randomized trials (820 eyes) also found slower eye growth. In a two-year follow-up of 114 children, eyes grew faster in the year after treatment stopped than with glasses alone (0.42 mm vs 0.28 mm), though over the two years they still grew less (0.50 mm vs 0.64 mm).^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}

• Red light or low-level laser for autism, focus or “brain health”

  Emerging evidenceSkip

  The claim: Shining red or near-infrared light on a child’s head improves behaviour, focus or brain function.

  Two small trials are not enough to put a home device on a child’s head. Skip it outside a clinical trial.

  Two small trials in autistic children reported improvements: one of 40 children and teens (21 treated, eight 5-minute sessions over 4 weeks; irritability scores), and a sham-controlled trial of 30 children aged 2 to 6 using an investigational device (autism symptom scores). The newer trial was funded by the device’s maker, which was involved in its design, analysis and write-up; its authors call for larger studies.^{[6, 7]}

• Nootropic “smart” supplements

  ExperimentalSkip

  The claim: Over-the-counter supplements sharpen children’s memory and focus.

  No good evidence of benefit for healthy children, and a real risk of unknown drugs.

  Supplements sold as brain boosters have been found to contain unapproved drugs at up to four times a normal pharmaceutical dose.

  When researchers tested 10 supplements whose labels listed unapproved “racetam” drugs, they found 5 unapproved drugs in total, some at up to four times a normal pharmaceutical dose, and 75% of the declared drug quantities were wrong. Separately, the American Academy of Neurology, the Child Neurology Society and the American Neurological Association concluded that prescribing “neuroenhancement” drugs to healthy children is not justifiable.^{[8, 9]}

• Binaural beats

  Emerging evidenceMaybe

  The claim: Two slightly different tones, one in each ear, tune the brain for focus, calm or sleep.

  Fine to try for relaxation if your child likes it; don’t expect it to replace sleep, routines or treatment.

  A meta-analysis of 22 studies found a medium effect on memory, attention, anxiety and pain (g = 0.45). But the theory behind it — that the beats pull brainwaves into step — was supported by only 5 of 14 EEG studies, and 8 contradicted it. The child trials we found tested binaural beats to ease anxiety during dental treatment (one with 45 children having fillings), not for everyday focus or sleep.^{[10, 11, 12]}

• Neurofeedback for ADHD

  Not supportedSkip

  The claim: Training brainwaves with a computer game treats ADHD.

  Not a substitute for ADHD treatments with stronger evidence. Talk to your pediatrician first.

  The largest meta-analysis (38 trials, 2,472 people) found no improvement in ADHD symptoms when the people rating them didn’t know who had real neurofeedback (SMD 0.04); trials using established standard protocols showed only a small effect. A double-blind trial of 144 children found real neurofeedback no better than a sham at the end of treatment or 13 months later, and an earlier meta-analysis of 13 trials found its effects disappeared under blinded ratings.^{[13, 14, 15]}

• Brain-training apps and working-memory games

  Not supportedSkip

  The claim: Games that train working memory raise IQ and school performance.

  Children get better at the game, not at school work. Spend the time on reading, play and sleep.

  A meta-analysis of 87 publications found working-memory training improves working-memory tasks for a short time, with no convincing gains in nonverbal or verbal ability, word decoding, reading comprehension or arithmetic. A review of the studies brain-training companies themselves cite found people improve on the trained tasks, with little evidence that everyday thinking improves.^{[16, 17]}

• Slow breathing and breathwork

  Emerging evidenceMaybe

  The claim: Breathing exercises lower stress and help children calm down.

  Low-cost and worth trying as a calming skill.

  Never combine breathing drills with breath-holding in water: hyperventilating before going under has made healthy swimmers black out and drown.

  In 122 Primary 5 (about fifth-grade) students, taking deep breaths before a timed maths test reduced anxiety and improved scores. In adults, a meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials (785 people) found breathwork lowered self-reported stress (g = −0.35); most of those studies had a moderate risk of bias, and the authors warn against hype outrunning the evidence.^{[18, 19, 20]}

• HRV biofeedback and “heart-brain coherence”

  Emerging evidenceMaybe

  The claim: Training your heart rhythm with a sensor reduces stress and anxiety.

  Promising for stress as a breathing skill; better-controlled studies are still needed.

  A meta-analysis of 24 studies (484 people) found a large drop in self-reported stress and anxiety after heart-rate-variability biofeedback training. The authors say more well-controlled studies are needed.^[21]

• Cold plunges and ice baths for kids

  ExperimentalSkip

  The claim: Cold-water immersion builds children’s resilience, immunity and focus.

  No benefit shown in a trial with teen athletes, nothing tested in younger children, and a known drowning risk.

  Cold-water immersion is a recognised lead-in to drowning, cardiac arrest and hypothermia.

  We found no trials of cold plunges or ice baths in younger children. In a trial of 20 competitive teenage swimmers, cold-water immersion (14°C) after training three times a week did no better than lukewarm water or rest for recovery and performance. A broad review of cold-water immersion research found the evidence for its claimed benefits varied, with some claims still at the level of “anecdotal speculation”.^{[22, 23]}

• Whole-school mindfulness programs

  Not supportedMaybe

  The claim: Teaching every student mindfulness in class protects their mental health.

  Not as a whole-class fix — and not as the answer for a child who is already struggling. If anxiety is the worry, ask about treatments with trial evidence.

  MYRIAD, a trial in 84 UK schools with 8,376 students aged 11 to 14, found 10 mindfulness lessons no better than usual social-emotional teaching for depression risk, behaviour or well-being a year later. A follow-up analysis found slightly worse depression-risk and well-being scores in students already at risk, and concluded the program may be contraindicated for students with existing or emerging mental-health symptoms. For children 7 to 14 with an anxiety disorder, a parent-based program (SPACE) worked as well as child CBT in a randomized trial.^{[24, 25, 26]}

• Learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic)

  Not supportedSkip

  The claim: Children learn best when teaching matches their learning style.

  Use methods that help every learner instead, like self-quizzing and spaced practice.

  A major review found virtually no evidence for the key prediction — that matching teaching to a child’s preferred style improves learning — and several properly designed studies contradicted it. The authors concluded there is no adequate evidence base for using learning-style assessments in general education. Self-quizzing and spaced practice, by contrast, were rated high-utility for learners of different ages and abilities.^{[27, 28]}

  Make a spaced, self-quizzing study plan →

• Music lessons to raise IQ or grades

  Emerging evidenceWorth it

  The claim: Learning an instrument makes children smarter and improves school results.

  Worth it for the music itself; any boost to other thinking skills is small at best.

  A meta-analysis of 54 studies with 6,984 children found that once study quality was accounted for, music training had about zero effect on cognitive skills or on literacy and maths. A reanalysis of the same data by other researchers found a small effect (g = 0.23), so the debate is between no effect and a small one.^{[29, 30]}

• Weighted blankets for sleep

  Emerging evidenceMaybe

  The claim: A weighted blanket helps children fall asleep faster and sleep longer.

  A small benefit at best, and only for children old enough to use one safely. Never for babies.

  Never for babies: the American Academy of Pediatrics says not to use weighted blankets, sleepers, swaddles or other weighted objects on or near a baby.

  Two randomized trials disagree. In 67 autistic children aged 5 to 16 with severe sleep problems, a weighted blanket did not increase sleep time or reduce waking, measured with movement trackers. In 94 children with ADHD, it added about 8 minutes of sleep a night and slightly improved sleep efficiency, but didn’t help them fall asleep faster. The American Academy of Neurology says there is no evidence for routine use, though a blanket may be reasonable for some children.^{[31, 32, 33, 34]}

• Blue-light-blocking glasses

  ExperimentalSkip

  The claim: Blue-light glasses protect eyes from screens and improve sleep.

  No clear benefit for eye strain or sleep in adults, and the review included no children.

  A Cochrane review of 17 randomized trials found blue-light-filtering lenses may not reduce eye strain from computer use over the short term (low-certainty evidence), and whether they help sleep is unknown (very-low-certainty evidence). The review only included adults.^[35]

• “Brain-building” videos for babies

  Not supportedSkip

  The claim: Educational DVDs and videos teach babies words.

  Babies learn words from people. Talk, read and play instead.

  12- to 18-month-olds who watched a popular word-teaching DVD several times a week for a month learned no more of its words than babies who never saw it. The most learning happened when parents taught the same words during everyday activities — and parents who liked the DVD overestimated what their baby had learned.^[36]

  See the talking milestones for your child’s age →

• Fish oil (omega-3) for ADHD

  Not supportedSkip

  The claim: Omega-3 supplements reduce ADHD symptoms.

  As an ADHD treatment, the best evidence says no.

  The 2023 Cochrane review of 37 trials found high-certainty evidence that omega-3 and related fatty-acid supplements had no effect on parent-rated ADHD symptoms, inattention or hyperactivity compared with placebo, with only low-certainty hints of benefit on other measures. An earlier, smaller meta-analysis (10 trials) had reported a small benefit; the larger review supersedes it.^{[37, 38]}

• Daily vitamin C to prevent colds

  Not supportedSkip

  The claim: Vitamin C every day stops children catching colds.

  It doesn’t prevent colds in ordinary daily life.

  A Cochrane review found that in the general community, regular vitamin C did not reduce how often people caught colds (risk ratio 0.97). Regular use did shorten colds a little — by 14% in children — but taking it only once a cold had started showed no consistent effect.^[39]

• Vitamin D to prevent chest and throat infections

  Emerging evidenceMaybe

  The claim: Vitamin D supplements protect children from respiratory infections.

  For preventing infections the effect is small. The AAP’s daily minimum of 400 IU for children stands regardless — ask your pediatrician about the right dose.

  A meta-analysis of randomized trials found a small protective effect against respiratory infections overall (odds ratio 0.92). The protection showed up mainly with daily doses of 400–1,000 IU and in participants aged 1 to 15, though the differences between these subgroups were not statistically significant. Separately, the AAP recommends at least 400 IU of vitamin D a day for all infants, children and teens, starting soon after birth.^{[40, 41]}

• Melatonin for sleep (including gummies)

  Moderate evidenceOnly with your doctor

  The claim: Melatonin helps children fall asleep, and it’s a harmless, natural supplement.

  A real treatment for some children, so the dose and the product belong with your pediatrician — “harmless and natural” it isn’t.

  Labels are unreliable: of 25 US melatonin gummy products, the 24 that contained melatonin held 74% to 347% of the labeled amount (only 3 were within 10%), and one had none. US poison centers recorded 260,435 melatonin ingestions by children and teens from 2012 to 2021, a 530% rise, including hospitalisations.

  The evidence is strongest for autistic children with sleep problems: the American Academy of Neurology advises behavioral strategies first, then melatonin from a clinician at a low dose, pharmaceutical-grade where available, with counselling about side effects and the lack of long-term safety data.^{[33, 42, 43]}