How Light Affects Your Thyroid

Light shapes life - how is it shaping yours?

In my last post on the thyroid, I wrote:

“Because the thyroid controls metabolism, when we consider its dysfunction, we should really ask ourselves, why would it be low in the first place?”

Why might your body want to dial back your metabolism?

Your body dials back your metabolism when resources are scarce.

When are resources scarce?

When it's dark and cold outside. When the bears and rodents are hibernating, when the ice is thick on the lakes and ponds, and when the birds have flown south for the winter.

I then went on to discuss why diet is important to thyroid balance. What I didn't write about was how LIGHT figures into this equation.

I’ll be explaining this in more detail in my upcoming webinar on thyroid health. Make sure to register today.

We know from the studies done by Fritz Hollwich, MD in the mid-1900's that the intensity of light hitting your eye determines your hormone and neurotransmitter levels. More recent literature on seasonal affective disorder confirms this, at least for neurotransmitters. If modern trends in infertility and hormonal imbalances are any indication, low levels of indoor lighting are ruining our hormone levels.

Thyroid hormone is a circadian hormone. It is secreted in a circadian rhythm, which is why I'm very picky about only checking it with fasting labs in the morning (before 9 am preferably).

We know that heat and light are our body's main signals for abundance. This is why I am a big fan of photobiomodulation, UV-B light therapy, and sauna for people with thyroid problems. This is why I use the (affiliate link alert) EMR-Tek Firestorm and the Sperti D everyday as part of my daily routine. I would double down on this if I had thyroid problems.

Why do I love sauna therapy for people with thyroid issues? Because most of them have some level of detectable toxins in their bodies, and because sauna is the best way to get those out. Furthermore, the accumulation of mercury in fish is creating more and more mercury poisoning, and one of the best ways to get rid of mercury is to sauna! You do need to be careful not to deplete your minerals in the sauna, but that's a story for another day. I start patients at 20-30 minutes of sauna daily once their magnesium and potassium levels are approaching adequate.

Most people with low thyroid hormone complain of feeling cold.

What do you naturally do when you feel cold and tired?

You seek warmth.

What is sauna? What is infrared light?

What if hypothyroidism is your body telling you that you need to get more LIGHT in your life?

This is why I’ve put together an entire webinar on thyroid hormone - don’t forget to register here.

But there's more to this story...

This isn't just about sauna and photobiomodulation.

What else do people with hypothyroidism complain of?

Fatigue. Fatigue so terrible they feel like they can't even get out of bed. What a terrible way to feel! Fortunately, there's so much that we can do about it!

What do people who are fatigued do?

Rest.

Why might you need to rest?

Because you had been over-active. Because you have exhausted your resources.

Why might you have been over-active?

The Arctic Circle is the latitude north of which the sun never sets on the summer solstice.

Try sleeping when the sun is up. It's challenging. In fact, few people can do it, unless they stay up late at night.

Hypothyroidism is in part being driven by cycles of chronic over-activity.

What allows us to be over-active? As in, more active than nature and God intended?

Artificial light. Take artificial light away, and you would go to sleep with the sun and rise with it too.

This is why I’m a big fan of blue blockers and a big fan of fixing your light environment.

Instead, we've created a world of artificial light, where we can work around the clock. No wonder people are tired!

Does light control thyroid hormone levels?

Thyroid hormone is clearly secreted in a circadian rhythm. It is one of our circadian hormones. This means that light controls thyroid hormone.

Is it a surprise that in a world of artificial light, thyroid problems are extremely prevalent?

I certainly don't think so.

What if hypothyroidism is your body telling you that you need to slow down, relax, and REST?

"But I'm already resting! I'm so tired I can't get out of bed!"

I know! But it's not just about rest... It's about darkness and quiet at night. And that's why I wrote this blog post about how to fix your light environment. There's so much more I have to teach you about light and your thyroid - sign up for the webinar if you haven't already!

And it's not just about darkness and quiet at night...

It's about bright light during the day! Light is the trigger for hormone and neurotransmitter synthesis. Fritz Hollwich and his colleagues proved this decades ago, but medical doctors ignored the profound power of his discoveries and have gone after drugs and surgeries instead.

Most people today are living in dim environments. There are caves that are brighter than many modern office buildings!

I know what you're thinking at this point... What about leaky gut? What about thyroid autoimmunity? What about infections and toxins and EMF?

There is so much more that I have to teach you about thyroid hormone, so make sure to sign up for the webinar! You can register here. I'll be sharing the secrets that I use to help patients get above and beyond results in this webinar - you don't want to miss it!

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman