This video explains how light, both natural sunlight and red light therapy, is essential for our health. It describes how light affects our body's internal clocks, called circadian rhythms, which control hormones, metabolism, and sleep. The speaker also discusses how artificial blue light from screens can disrupt these rhythms and offers tips for using light to improve energy, mood, and overall well-being, including benefits for skin and eye health.
Key Takeaways
1
Light is an essential nutrient that directs every cell clock in your body, impacting hormones, metabolism, and sleep.
2
Morning natural light exposure synchronizes your internal body clocks, improving metabolism and energy, and setting a timer for melatonin release later.
3
Ultraviolet B rays from the sun help your body produce Vitamin D, which regulates over 200 genes supporting insulin sensitivity, immune defense, and serotonin production.
4
Exposure to blue light from screens and LED lights at night suppresses melatonin, raises nighttime blood sugar, and increases daytime appetite, disrupting your circadian rhythm.
5
Red light therapy, also known as photobiomodulation, uses specific wavelengths of light to penetrate tissues, enhancing oxygen use, boosting cellular energy (ATP), and reducing inflammation.
6
Red light therapy can improve insulin sensitivity, aid in exercise recovery, downregulate pain and inflammation, stimulate collagen and elastin production in the skin, and enhance melatonin release for better sleep.
7
Three minutes of red light therapy at 670 nanometers has been shown to improve color contrast in older adults and may help stabilize early macular changes.
8
Consistent use of red light therapy masks can lead to measurable improvements in wrinkles, skin elasticity, dermal density, and even hair growth.
9
To improve your circadian rhythm, get 15 minutes of morning light, eat meals within a tight daylight window, dim lights and avoid screens an hour or two before bed, and maintain a consistent sleep schedule.
10
People with fatty liver, metabolic syndrome, adrenal fatigue, thyroid dysfunction, mood disorders, stress, or autoimmune conditions can particularly benefit from optimizing their light exposure.
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0:00
Good morning friends and welcome to
0:02
today's nutrition and this is Dr. Deb
0:04
Ford dietician and doctor of clinical
0:07
nutrition. Today I want to talk about
0:10
something a little bit different and
0:12
something you can't buy in a bottle but
0:14
it is as essential as food. The nutrient
0:18
is light. We have spent decades counting
0:22
carbs and macros, but very few people
0:25
count the hours of sunlight on their
0:28
skin or the quality of the light around
0:31
them. Yet, light directs every cell
0:36
clock. Yes, you have clocks in your
0:39
cells. Not the ones that go tick- tock,
0:41
but ones that in your body, from your
0:44
brain to your liver, from your thyroid
0:46
to your fat cells, they have clocks.
0:48
When your light rhythm is off, hormones
0:52
are going to misfire. Metabolism is
0:54
going to slow. Sleep is going to suffer.
0:58
But when you live in sync with natural
1:00
light, energy can flow again. So, let's
1:04
kind of explore how sunshine and sleep
1:08
and even red light therapy can reset
1:11
your circadian rhythm, that internal
1:15
24-hour clock that governs everything
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from hunger to healing.
1:22
First, light speaks to your cells. Light
1:25
is information. Your eyes don't just see
1:29
it, but through the retina, your brain
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reads it through the super kayazmic
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nucleus in your hypothalammus. It kind
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of acts like a conductor of the
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orchestra. When morning light hits the
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retina, it signals
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daytime has begun.
1:52
What happens then is cortisol gently
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rises.
1:56
Melatonin shuts down. Body temperature
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starts to climb and digestion wakes up.
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The whole body starts to shift. Every
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organ, your pancreas, your thyroid, even
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your fat tissues have their own clock
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genes. They all take cues from that
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morning light. Studies from Harvard and
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the University of Colorado show that
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regular morning light exposure keeps
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these clocks synchronized. While indoor
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artificial lighting that we've had for
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over a hundred years really throws them
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hours off course. When your circadian
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rhythm drifts, your metabolism drifts
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with it. Insulin sensitivity can drop.
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appetite hormones surge and you can even
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gain weight even if your diet has not
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changed. Morning light is not just
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feel-good light. It's a metabolic reset.
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The first 10 to 15 minutes outdoors
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within a half an hour of waking tells
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your adrenal glands to give the right
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release of cortisol for alertness. Not
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the stress kind, the chronic stress
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kind, but the wakeup rhythm the body
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thrives on. That same signal influences
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your thyroid. Proper daylight exposure
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improves the conversion of inactive T4
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to active T3, giving you better energy
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and fat burning capacity.
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Light stimulates dopamine in the retina,
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lifting mood and motivation while
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setting a timer for melatonin to be
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released 14 to 16 hours later. The
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perfect sleep cue at the evening time.
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So, one of the simplest prescriptions,
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free prescriptions I can give you is
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before you have that cup of coffee, get
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light in your eyes and movement in your
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body. Okay. Now let's talk about the
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sunshine vitamin that's really a hormone
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vitamin D.
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Ultraviolet B- rays transform
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cholesterol in your skin into D3 which
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is later converted in the liver and the
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kidneys and the gut to the active form
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that regulates over 200 genes supporting
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insulin sensitivity, immune defense, and
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even serotonin production. Vitamin D
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sunshine deficiency which is below 30
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nanograms per milliliter so 30 is linked
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to obesity fatty liver disease
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depression frequent infections and even
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cancer for optimal function I say
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somewhere around 60 50 to 70 beautiful
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always supported with K2 and magnesium
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for proper utilization a little sun 10
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to 20 minutes on your arms and legs midm
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morning, mid-afternoon often does more
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than a handful of pills.
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Not just the light that heals, but that
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same technology that brightens our
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nights can hijack our biology. TV,
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phones, tablets, LED lights, they have
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strong blue wavelengths that tell your
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brain it's morning, not 1000 p.m. This
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late night exposure suppresses melatonin
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by up to 80%.
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Raises nighttime blood sugar and
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increases daytime appetite. So much
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research on this. Who knew? Long-term
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circadian rhythm disruption is
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associated with insulin resistance. High
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CRP, which is an indication of
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inflammation, higher obesity risk,
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especially in shift workers. Simple
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fixes. So, get some amber filters or
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wear blue blocking glasses after sunset.
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Use warm, dim bulbs in the evening, not
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those super white ones where you're
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going to be at night. You know, that
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teases the body to know it's bedtime.
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And I think it's a good idea to create a
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digital sunset. So, no screens or bright
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lights an hour or two before bed. Your
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hormones will thank you. Now for the
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exciting part. Okay, red light therapy.
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Sometimes called photobiio modulation.
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Okay, not just new age stuff. It is pure
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biochemistry. certain wavelengths. Red
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is like 620 to 700 nm or near infrared
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that's higher 780 to 850 going to
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penetrate deep into tissues and interact
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with enzymes in your mitochondria
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those little energy factories called
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cytochrome C octase. When photons,
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little light packages, hit the enzyme,
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they release compounds like nitric
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oxide, dilating blood vessels, enhancing
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oxygen use, and boosting ATP, the energy
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frequency of the cell. The result, of
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course, better energy, faster repair,
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and lower inflammation. Researchers from
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Harvard, especially Dr. Michael Hamlin
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shows that red light therapy
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inflammation markers to get technical
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here IL6 and TNF tumor necrosis factor
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alpha improve under mitochondrial gene
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expression. So what are some of the
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benefits? Metabolically going to improve
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insulin sensitivity and exercise
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recovery. Not going to be stiff and sore
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the next day. also going to downregulate
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pain and inflammation.
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NFCappa B and COX 2. So that's going to
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ease arthritis and muscle pain. And then
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we get to the skin and the collagen for
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all you ladies out there. It stimulates
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fibiberblast and microirculation.
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Nature's anti-aging facial. Okay. And
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then of course sleep and mood. Evening
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exposure to red light therapy enhances
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melatonin release and sleep quality. So
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practicality,
8:38
where would you use this? So if you
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wanted to do morning or preworkout, you
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do 10 to 15 minutes of red light therapy
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on large muscles, energizing that
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mitochondria. Evening wind down, 5 to 8
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minutes red light therapy, no blue
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light. That's going to cue melatonin and
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relaxation. All right. Avoiding direct
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eye contact with these highintensity
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LEDs. So, you know, when I I look in my
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heavenly framework I talk about all the
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time, the H for hibernate,
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red light instead of blue light is going
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to help you sleep. And E for the
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exercise, it's going to help recovery.
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And avoiding aggravations. The a it's
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kind of a non-drug pain relief that
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lowers some of the stress on the liver.
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Even light itself, the first creation in
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Genesis, separating the light from
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darkness, has healing coated right in
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there. You've probably heard me talk
9:45
about how red and near red light
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energizes the mitochondria. But did you
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know that these are the same wavelengths
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that support eye and skin health?
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Starting with the eyes, fascinating
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study from University College of London.
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They've done some really interesting
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research over the years. They found 3
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minutes of the red light therapy, which
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you're about 670 nanometers, improved
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color contrast in older adults by about
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17%. And the benefits lasted for a full
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week, which is kind of remarkable. It
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fits perfectly in what we know about
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mitochondrial renewal. The retina is
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super packed with energy hungry cells.
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And as we age, the mitochondria kind of
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slow down in there. So a short pulse of
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red light appears to retune the energy
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so they can work more efficiently.
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Also, animal and early human studies
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show that red light therapy can reduce
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retinal inflammation and oxidative
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stress. even helping to stabilize early
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macular changes. So, some interesting
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things coming down the pike for macular
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degeneration. But a word of caution
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here, these studies are controlled
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medical grade wavelength and doses, not
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a random red flashlight. So, please
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don't stare into bright lights or self
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treat without professional guidance. The
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key takeaway is that light nutrition for
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the eyes is real. Science needs to be
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done safely and research is coming on.
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So, it's really kind of cool. So, now
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let's talk about the skin. There are a
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lot of clinical trials using these LED
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red light therapy mask in the 630 to 850
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nanometers range and shows measurable
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improvements in wrinkles, elasticity,
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dermal density, and even hair growth
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after 8 to 12 weeks of consistent use.
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One study shows nearly a 30% reduction
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in the periocular, those little crows
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crows feet that we earn from smiling.
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And the mechanism is the same. Red light
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therapy stimulates fibroblasts that grow
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new collagen and elastin, increases
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circulation, and calms inflammation. Not
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an overnight miracle, but it is genuine
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tissue repair. a way to remind aging
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cells how to behave youthfully again. So
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whether it's sharper vision or whether
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it is smoother skin, red light therapy
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is about cellular communication teaches
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your mitochondria to sing in tune once
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more. And when your cells hum with
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energy, healing follows. So like in
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everything whether it's the world of
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light therapy precision and safety
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matter but the future of that
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photobiomodulation
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looks really really bright and now we
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are carrying the red light therapy masks
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at the shop and I think they'd be a
13:03
perfect gift for Christmas. So for
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clients who want data, I understand that
13:09
you can measure your cortisol awakening
13:12
response with the Dutch test. If you see
13:15
a flat curve, you know you got burnout.
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And we can measure melatonin in the same
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Dutch test, which is going to indicate
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oxidative stress or too much light
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exposure at night.
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Other data, vitamin D levels, you want
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to keep it somewhere around 60 nanogs
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per milliliter. looking at 60 I think
13:36
one of the most important ones fasting
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insulin that is so important more
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important than fasting blood sugar or
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hemoglobin A1C it goes way upstream
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before there's ever irregularities in
13:48
the other tracks metabolic response to
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circadian repair and then of course HSCP
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the C reactive protein love that that is
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a very very very important inflammatory
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marker you want to keep it under one you
14:04
They're going to say under three is
14:05
normal, but uh-uh, under one. And then
14:08
heart rate variability.
14:11
Okay, I love heart rate variability. You
14:13
can measure that a little bit in your
14:16
Apple Watch, but if you wear one of the
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rings, the Aura ring or the ultraum
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ring, it's going to measure your heart
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rate variability. And it's kind of like
14:25
how a stress response between your brain
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and your heart. It's trainable. And I'll
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tell you,
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when I'm super busy, it's typical to
14:37
have it lower. When I'm holding my
14:39
grandbaby and just breathing in that
14:43
just beautiful
14:46
baby perfume or if I've just had a
14:49
massage, oh my gosh, heart rate
14:52
variability goes skyhigh. So, it's good
14:55
to measure so you know what your stress
14:58
resilience is. and where you are on a
15:01
regular basis. I love to use function
15:03
health panels and that helps me
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personalize people's protocol especially
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before winter hits. So if you want like
15:11
an example of what a functional
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lifestyle prescription would be for your
15:18
circadian rhythm tuneup first thing
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morning light therapy get outside 15
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minutes minimum when you first wake up.
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No sunglasses, no glasses, no contact
15:30
lenses. Move your body a little bit and
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let that real light anchor in your
15:36
clock. That will help you sleep better
15:39
at night. It sets that melatonin as
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well.
15:44
Number two, eat with the sun.
15:47
Timerestricted eating keep that window
15:50
tight during daylight hours. Early meal
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time, early supper time with no evening
15:55
snacking is going to help insulin
15:58
sensitivity.
15:59
And then your evening darkness ritual.
16:02
Dim those lights an hour or two before
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bed. You might even want to use a little
16:07
magnesium, a little herbal tea, a little
16:09
prayer, a little journaling. Wonderful.
16:12
Sleep needs to be a sanctuary. Number
16:15
four, keep the bedroom like a cave.
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cool, dark, no lights, no devices, and
16:25
quiet. And then keep a consistent
16:28
bedtime and wake time. If you need some
16:30
supplements at first to kind of get
16:32
things locked in, keeping your B
16:34
vitamins, your magnesium, and your zinc,
16:36
and your tryptophane really does support
16:38
melatonin. And then, of course, we all
16:41
need omega-3s. And I love curcumin to
16:45
take down any brain inflammation.
16:49
really important. Okay, so now we all
16:51
benefit, but who would benefit the most?
16:55
People with fatty liver or metabolic
16:57
syndrome, people with adrenal fatigue or
17:00
thyroid dysfunction, people with mood
17:02
disorders, oh stress,
17:05
or anybody with an autoimmune condition.
17:09
My favorite story, one client began
17:11
walking outside every morning, shutting
17:14
down screens two hours before bed.
17:16
Within three weeks, her sleep
17:19
normalized. Her fasting glucose dropped
17:22
10 points and her mood lifted. No new
17:25
supplements, just good natural light. Or
17:29
you can try this. This This is
17:32
exceptional. Everybody notices. Go
17:34
camping for a weekend. Leave your phone
17:37
in the car. Get in touch with nature.
17:40
See how much better you feel. What a
17:43
great prescription that is. Go camping.
17:46
So from the words of the scripture, let
17:48
there be light. Our bodies are designed
17:50
to live with rhythm. You know, we're
17:52
never meant to glow under the artificial
17:54
bulbs 24 hours a day that they've been
17:57
exposed to for the last hundred years.
17:59
Honoring the natural cycles of day and
18:01
life is kind of a way of honoring the
18:04
original design, how we were designed to
18:06
live. So when you step outside in the
18:09
morning or sit under gentle red light at
18:12
night, you're partnering with that
18:14
natural rhythm to restore what modern
18:18
life has disrupted.
18:21
So here's your invitation this week in
18:23
the morning. 10 minutes of real sunshine
18:26
within 30 minutes of waking up. Maybe go
18:29
out there and just sit or do a little
18:31
gentle movement. Walk around the block
18:34
during the daytime. Eat your meals
18:36
within a 10hour
18:39
window, maybe 12, but you know, in the
18:41
winter time, maybe you're better off
18:42
with 10. In the evening, lights low, red
18:45
if possible, no screens. Tracking sleep
18:50
quality and mood and energy. Watch how
18:53
they improve. Now, optional, you might
18:56
want to try some red light therapy
18:58
sessions in the morning or night and
19:00
recheck your energy after a couple
19:02
weeks. So friends, the power of light
19:06
isn't mystical. It's metabolic. It's
19:09
science. It resets your hormones, heals
19:12
your mitochondria, balances your mood,
19:15
and anchors your spirit. So step into
19:18
the sunlight, honor the darkness at
19:20
night. Let your body remember the divine
19:24
rhythm. Until next time, this is Dr. Deb
19:27
Ford reminding you to live heavenly.
19:30
Love yourself through every season.
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Light Therapy for Your Body, Brain, Beauty and More
Deb Ford DCN RDN
30 views
Nov 2, 2025
19:40
Let’s talk about something you can’t buy in a bottle — but it’s as essential as food. That nutrient is light. We’ve spent decades counting carbs and macros, but very few people count the hours of sunlight on their skin or the quality of light around them. Yet light directs every cell clock in your body — from your brain to your liver, from your thyroid to your fat cells. When your light rhythms are off, hormones misfire, metabolism slows, and sleep suffers. But when you live in sync with natural light, energy can flow again. So let’s explore how sunshine, sleep, and even red-light therapy can reset your circadian rhythm — the 24-hour internal clock that governs everything from hunger to healing.