Photobiomodulation for Mums!

 

How photobiomodulation can improve skin, hair and metabolism and give you much needed energy when you need it most!

It isn’t just what you put in your mouth that matters, understanding light (and dark) has a huge impact on health and wellness. Adequate sunlight helps with vitamin D production and immunity, visible light spectrum helps with skin balance and red and infrared can help with inflammation, energy, skin and hair issues.

So what is photobiomodulation?

Photobiomodulation (sometimes called red light therapy, LLLT, PBMT, PBT) uses lasers or LED lights that emit specific wavelengths of light directly onto the body. These wavelengths of light don’t cause discomfort, are non-invasive and have terrific  bio-stimulatory effects.

Depending on the wavelengths used – different mechanisms and outcomes can be achieved. For the purpose of this article, we shall be concentrating on Red (625-680) and infrared (800-880). These are known as the most Bioactive windows.

For those that are a little skeptical – please understand that red light therapy is FDA approved for the following issues:

• improved natural production of collagen and fibroblasts
• increased blood flow
• enhanced muscle recovery
• soft tissue repair
• improved skin tone
• reduced incidence of skin conditions
• inflammation reduction
• oxidative stress reduction
• new capillaries formation
• lymphatic system activation

 

More research continues to be done every single day as we discover more and more wonderful benefits to light and specifically red/infrared light.


So you’re interested – but how does it work`?

PBT increases the efficiency of the cellular energy production. In doing so, many other areas are able to function more efficiently, gene expression can be altered and better health achieved.

 

Here comes the science (read on if you are not interested):

In order to function you need ATP (adenosine triphosphate), this is your bodies energy currency. Without any currency, you can do anything. You would simply cease to function properly.

When we are young, when we are healthy, ATP is produced at level that satisfies our needs – think of a child running around all day.

Healthy mitochondria ( the engines which produce energy) work hard, but when they are healthy they provide you with enough energy through cellular respiration.

• During cellular respiration, an enzyme, cytochrome c oxidase (CCO), helps oxygen bind with NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and hydrogen).
• This produces ATP synthase (necessary for ATP production).
• ATP synthase converts proton energy into ATP.

 

Sounds simple enough right?

As we age, our cells become less efficient, our mitchondria do not function as well. Each time we don’t sleep properly out mitochondria are not cleaned properly and don’t function as well. A poor diet doesn’t provide the necessary co-factors needed for energy production.  Not enough light means we don’t function anywhere near full capacity.

Mitochondria start to become dysfunctional through lack of sleep, illness, stress, diet, light, lack of exercise and impact our ability to produce ATP:

 

• Stressed cells create nitric oxide.
• Nitric oxide competes with oxygen and binds to CCO.
• ATP synthase production can’t be produced without NADH and oxygen.
• ATP can’t be produced without ATP synthase.

So you see – even one poor night sleep, or poor light exposure negatively impacts your ability to have energy the next day. To help yourself, help your light!

Up steps Photobiomodulation to rescue!

I touched upon it earlier – some parts of your body are literally solar panels. The absorb light which allows them to function at a much higher level. Specifically red and infrared light are absorbed by chromaphores. Red light for example is able stimulate reactive oxygen species and break the bonds of nitric oxide allowing it bind with oxygen again and create create ATP synthase. More ATP synthase means more ATP, which means more energy for you!


Photobiomodulation has a powerful effect on mitochondrial health, size and efficiency. This means that photobiomodulation should also be able to help any disease or state that is impacted by mitochondrial dysfunction. If you are unsure of diseases that have an element of mitochondrial dysfunction – here is a small list:

Autism

Bipolar disorder

Schizophrenia

Depression

Diabetes

Parkinson’s disease

Asthma

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Alzheimer’s disease

A variety of gastrointestinal disorders

And others…

So what about you new Mum’s – what else can PBT do to help you?

Besides the huge amounts of extra energy that the PBT will allow you to produce, PBT has been shown to help skin, hair, metabolism, weight, and aches and pains! Remember all these benefits come without side effects and discomfort.

Let’s start with Hair:



Many women experience hair loss during and after pregnancy. PBT has been shown to be a very useful remedy over 24 week period when using red light. There were significant improvement in hair density and hair thickness. There are two main hypothesis as to how this works:

1. LLLT devices stimulate chemical reactions within the cells of the hair follicle, causing essential cells to reproduce and become re-engaged in the hair growth cycle.

2. Laser therapy devices extend the life of individual cells within the hair follicles, reprogramming them to support healthy hair growth.



Skin:

There are many human and animal studies that have demonstrated the effectiveness of red and infrared light. So much so, that PBT is considered an anti-aging treatment. This treatment, unlike many creams on the market actually does have considerable positive benefits (At a cellular level, as mentioned earlier).



The skin benefits work by increasing circulation and in creation of new blood vessels and in generating and modulating collage production. Combine this with an increased production of fibroblasts (in the second skin layer) which helps maintain connective tissues and synthesise collage where it is needed and you have a powerful skin smoothing therapy.

More recent studies have shown the importance of “photobiomodulation, which makes use of low energy lasers or light emitting diodes, uses no heat and has shown positive effects in the reduction of wrinkles and improving skin laxity”. Improving wrinkles and tightening the skin is many people’s wish as they age.




Weight and metabolism:

PBT has been shown to increase sensitivity to glucose and insulin and has been shown to suppress a protein called CTRP7. Alongside this, red light therapy has also been shown to help control your hunger hormones (ghrelin and leptin) giving you more stable craving after a night of interrupted sleep.


Joint health:

One often overlooked issue with pregnancy and post pregnancy is joint health. Whether we are talking about aches and pains in the lower back, knee pain or hip pain. Increased weight through pregnancy, increased relaxin hormone or changes in how you moved during pregnancy have placed added aches and strains on your body.

The good news is that PBT helps with that too. If you think that cellular health, collagen, fibroblasts and energy production all play a part in joint health, you know why PBT might help you. Collagen fibres act as shock absorber and glue to help keep them closely aligned. The PBT helps reduce and modulate inflammation.

According to a 2009 study, patients with other degenerative tissue ailments also found lasting relief from PBM treatment. The great news is that research shows that if you have back issues and shine the light on an area on your back, you will get some of the anti-inflammatory and health benefits all over your body!



This blog is aimed at new mothers, but as you can see, the information is relevant to almost everyone! So please read, share and do your own research.

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have admin@lighttherapy.no or use the contact form.



References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4126803/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3944668/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28223291/

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ije/2012/530726/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32208063

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31345324