Mental Health & Red-Light Therapy
5 Facts About Red Light Therapy You Should Know
March 22, 2023Since Covid, a new awareness of mental health has come to the forefront. Here at Renewal, our goal is to provide you “strength for life.” That is spirit, soul, and body! We know that depression, anxiety, or seasonal affective disorders affect everyone differently and there are a lot of treatment options out there. Red light therapy has growing research supporting its benefits for physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
Better Sleep, Better Mood
A balanced sleep schedule is crucial to good mental health. Inadequate sleep causes exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, irritation, worry, anxiety, and other issues. These problems all exacerbate mood disorders and other mental health challenges. A healthy and consistent sleep schedule helps reduce stress, improve your mood, and optimize your body’s energy to reduce feelings of exhaustion.
How does red light therapy work? Exposure to light stimulates the hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain that regulates your circadian rhythm. This is your natural wake-sleep cycle. Even standing at your brightest window first thing in the morning will get your rhythm started! The red light also stimulates the powerhouse of your cells, the mitochondria, which increases energy production. This helps you feel more energized during the day but rest better at night. Having a balance circadian cycle helps with mood regulation and lessens the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.
Neurotransmitter Regulation
Did you know that red-light therapy also helps with the production and regulation of neurotransmitters? These are essential chemicals that carry messages between cells that can affect mood. For example, serotonin which boosts happiness, focus, and a sense of calmness. Dopamine is another neurotransmitter that affects rewards and motivation. Both chemicals influence mood and behavior, which means they play a key role in many mental health disorders.
Red light therapy enhances the natural processes of the mitochondria—including neural mitochondria, which are responsible for producing neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. By supporting and boosting neurotransmitter production, red light therapy helps stabilize and improve your mood.
Supporting Better Brain Metabolism
Red light therapy supports total wellness in many ways, but one of the most important factors is its effect on metabolism. Metabolism is the process of converting food into the fuel your body needs for life. Since all energy production occurs in the mitochondria, red light therapy can play a valuable role in stimulating energy production and optimizing metabolism.
What does this have to do with mental health? Many symptoms and issues associated with mental health stem from metabolic dysfunction in brain cells. Red light therapy helps improve metabolism and energy production throughout the entire body, correcting metabolic dysfunction and soothing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other disorders.
Using whole-body red light therapy system supports sleep, energy production, and much more. Discover how the holistic treatment of red-light therapy can improve overall mental and emotional well-being when you work with the experts at Prism Light Pod today.
Claustrophobia?
Are you worried about getting into the Prism Pod and the lid coming down? You’re not alone! We have a FULL pad system in place to meet the needs of those that do not feel comfortable getting into the pod system.
