Many people are looking for a natural, drug-free way to support health.
In this article, we will focus on using red light therapy for hormonal and endocrine health, which supports the body’s organs and quality of life.
Read on for more information!
What is the Endocrine System?
The endocrine system is a network of glands responsible for regulating bodily functions by creating and secreting hormones. You need hormones to regulate your metabolism, sleep, growth, fertility, and much more.
Hormones are the body’s chemical messengers that coordinate different bodily functions to maintain homeostasis, a stable equilibrium of normally-functioning organs and systems.
An imbalance or dysfunction within the endocrine system can have far-reaching consequences.
Red light therapy shows great promise in treating hormonal and endocrine health at the cellular level. Let’s dive in!
How Red Light Therapy Influences Hormonal Balance
Sometimes, the body produces too little or too much of a particular hormone. Various organs and systems have very specific needs. Even a small imbalance can cause unwanted effects.
You may not associate chronic fatigue and sleep disorders as hormonal imbalances, but in some cases, they may be attributed to that.
Red light therapy uses specific wavelengths of visible red and invisible near infrared light that absorb into the cells to stimulate beneficial biological activity, having a positive impact on balancing the endocrine system. Academic sources are provided below, for more information.
Enhanced Energy Production Within Endocrine Cells
One of the ways that red light therapy influences hormonal balance is by stimulating cellular energy production in the cells, in the thyroid, and in other endocrine glands.
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the fuel your cells use to perform their daily functions. ATP synthesis happens in the mitochondria within each cell. This process can be disrupted relatively easily by internal or environmental factors. Without enough ATP production, a cell - and therefore the entire system - may begin to struggle.
Light-sensitive chromophores within the mitochondria absorb red and near infrared light. This increases the activity of cytochrome c oxidase, an enzyme responsible for ATP production.
Red light therapy boosts ATP production, directly affecting a cell’s ability to perform its specialized functions, repair itself, and replicate successfully.
This sparks a ripple effect. An energized cell helps its system perform better, and a better-performing system helps the body perform better.
Reduced Inflammation and Oxidative Stress
Red light therapy lowers inflammation and oxidative stress. Oxidative stress directly and indirectly damages cells. Red light therapy helps protect cells and promote cellular resilience to oxidative stress. The result is simple: better-performing cells!
Targeting the Thyroid: Light Therapy for Metabolic Regulation
The thyroid regulates your metabolism. Red light therapy may improve thyroid function by increasing mitochondrial activity, and reducing oxidative stress, boosting production of two key thyroid hormones related to metabolism, T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine).
In one study, 20 overweight and obese women were given red light therapy for 30 minutes twice a week for 8 weeks. Researchers found a significant improvement in abdominal and thigh measurements, and regulated eptin concentrations. Leptin is the hormone responsible for maintaining normal weight.
A review focused on the treatment of autoimmune thyroiditis found that red light therapy reduced thyroid gland inflammation and improved the regeneration of the thyroid gland.
The thyroid works in tandem with the pancreas to regulate metabolism. Regularly supporting both the pancreas and the thyroid can lead to better insulin synthesis and could potentially help prevent insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance is a condition where the cells become less responsive to insulin. This causes unstable blood sugar levels and even more hormonal imbalances.
Supporting Adrenal Health and Stress Hormones with Red Light Therapy
The adrenal glands produce corticosteroids, a group of hormones that regulate metabolism, the stress response, and the immune response.
The adrenals are especially vulnerable to prolonged stress, which can often lead to chronic overproduction of stress hormones and hinders the adrenals’ ability to regenerate.
Supporting the adrenals can help regulate stress hormones like cortisol, which helps with wakefulness and alertness during the day, but in excess, it can lead to sleep disturbances.
Regulating cortisol with red light therapy by focusing on boosting adrenal cellular energy and reducing oxidative stress may help the body regulate the release of cortisol and take the body out of chronic “fight or flight” mode.
The Impact of Red Light Therapy on Testosterone and Estrogen Levels
Testosterone and estrogen are the primary sex hormones in men and women, respectively. Dysregulated levels can lead to infertility and other reproductive health problems.
Red light therapy is a promising treatment for fertility in both men and women. In men, increased blood flow - another way that red light therapy supports the body - can help reduce erectile dysfunction. Red light therapy also supports the Leydig cells which are responsible for testosterone production.
Red light therapy can improve ovarian function and help treat infertility. In one case, three women with “unexplained age-related infertility” including failure to conceive and miscarriages, were treated with red/near infrared light. For all three, the outcome was a full-term pregnancy.
Red light therapy also reduces inflammation in reproductive organs to improve fertility.
Red Light Therapy for Menstrual Health and Menopause Support
Menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes, insomnia, and mood swings can be alleviated through preventing age-related estrogen decline. Currently, there aren’t any studies linking red light therapy to estrogen levels. However, the treatment can potentially help restore hormonal balance.
One study found that women with Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM) experienced relief from vaginal dryness / atrophy by using red light therapy. Red light therapy can boost collagen and elastin production to strengthen the tissue in the vagina.
Imbalances of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone contribute to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and menopause. Red light therapy can help normalize levels of all sex hormones by supporting the endocrine system.
Red light therapy can also help increase levels of melatonin, which regulates the sleep/wake cycle. Poor sleep is a common menopausal symptom.
Improving sleep quality can also help ease sleep disorders and help with the emotional upheaval that often comes with menopause.
The Role of Mitochondria in Endocrine Function and Light-Based Treatments
The success that red light therapy has seen in treating a huge variety of conditions largely rests with tiny organelles called mitochondria.
Each cell in the body contains anywhere from one to hundreds of thousands of mitochondria, depending on the type of cell and its functions. The human egg, for example, has extremely high energy needs so it contains 100-600,000 mitochondria.
But when hormones are unbalanced, the first problem that sparks the chain of unwanted symptoms is mitochondrial dysfunction, a condition that can have many different causes, but results in low cellular energy production. Low energy cells simply can’t perform like they should.
Research has confirmed that red light therapy stimulates mitochondrial activity. And it is the underlying reason red light therapy has been shown to be so effective.
The Skin: the “Secret” Endocrine Organ
Red wavelengths absorb through the layers of the skin. This is important because the skin is actually part of the endocrine system!
The skin contains cells that produce vitamin D, various neurotransmitters, steroids, retinoids, and more. Many of these processes depend on light.
Sunlight promotes the synthesis of vitamin D, for example, but sunlight can become too much of a good thing. Harmful UVA and UVB rays can damage the skin.
Fortunately, we can isolate beneficial wavelengths like red and near infrared light to stimulate the skin to play its role in the endocrine system.
Near infrared wavelengths absorb deeper to reach the cells within most of the endocrine glands, with the exception of the endocrine glands deep in the brain (pituitary, pineal, and hypothalamus).
Near infrared waves can reach the thyroid and parathyroid glands in the neck, thymus gland in the chest, the pancreas and the adrenal glands in the abdomen, and the ovaries and testes in females and males respectively.
Boosting the vitality of the mitochondria in these reachable glands may even have a ripple effect on the endocrine glands within the brain.
Red Light Therapy with the BIOMAX PRO Series
The best way to treat hormonal and endocrine health using red light therapy is to use a powerful LED panel that delivers the highest possible light energy output as well as red and near infrared wavelengths.
Regular use - just a few minutes a day, 3-5 times a week - can help support the endocrine system and boost your overall health and wellbeing.
The BIOMAX PRO series is the most advanced way to benefit from the most widely studied therapeutic wavelengths. Choose from four different sizes, which can be combined in pairs of two or four to increase light energy output and treatment area.
We wish you the best of luck in your endocrine-system-optimizing journey!
