How Red Light Therapy Impacts Your Hormones: A Natural Path to Balance

Rachael Summers
Jun 30
6 min read

red light therapy in beaverton massage and spa clinic with rolled up towels on massage table

I've been in the wellness world for over twenty years, and I thought I had this whole self-care thing figured out. Then I became a single mom and literally everything changed—including my self-care routine, which pretty much disappeared overnight.

Being a parent is the hardest thing I've ever done. It's made me realize how desperately we need to take care of ourselves if we want to function at even a basic level. After I restarted my practice postpartum, life got intense fast. Between breastfeeding, those brutal sleepless nights, growing my business (which I love, don't get me wrong), and dealing with old emotional stuff while watching my body completely transform—my health started falling apart.

First came the headaches. Then digestive issues that made eating miserable. Then things got so bad I thought I'd need an upper endoscopy. Sadly...no more Indian food for me. But something inside me kept saying that wasn't the answer. Medication wasn't the answer either. There had to be something else going on underneath all this chaos.

American medicine is great when you need surgery, but prevention? Not so much. So I did what comes naturally to me—I researched the hell out of everything. My Virgo rising kicked in hard, and I dove deep into studies and started experimenting. Thankfully I've been into herbs and alternative medicine for most of my life, so I wasn't scared to try different approaches.

It actually worked. Took me over a year of trial and error—herbs from the co-op, different supplements, tons of books from Powell's, late nights googling studies while my little one finally slept. I'm still healing, but I finally cracked the code. Every weird symptom I had? All connected to my hormones being completely out of whack.

The histamine thing was the worst—I couldn't eat half the foods I used to love. My skin looked terrible. Sleep was a joke even when the baby wasn't waking up. But once I understood it was all hormonal, everything started making sense.

That's how I discovered red light therapy. I started using it at home first, then realized I had to bring it into the studio. When you combine it with massage? It creates a compounding, synergistic effect.

What This Light Thing Actually Does

Red light therapy sounds like something from Star Trek, but it's legit science. Been around for decades. You're basically shining specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light on your skin, and it gives your cells this energy boost right at the mitochondrial level.

My naturopath explained it like this—plants use sunlight for energy, right? Your cells can do something similar with these particular light wavelengths. Pretty cool when you think about it.

This isn't some Instagram wellness trend. It's called photobiomodulation, and it genuinely affects how your body makes and manages hormones.

Red Light Therapy and Sleep—The Thing We All Need More Of

Here's what blew my mind about melatonin. It's not just about falling asleep. It's like the boss of all your other hormones. When melatonin's doing its job, everything else follows suit.

Red light therapy bumps up melatonin production. Better melatonin means better sleep cycles. And when you're actually getting decent sleep (wild concept, I know), your body can handle cortisol, insulin, growth hormone—all of it—so much better.

I noticed this first with my own sleep. Started using the red light device about an hour before bed, and within a couple weeks I was falling asleep faster. Even when my kiddo woke up at 3am, I could get back to sleep easier.

How Red Light Therapy Impacts Stress

Living in Portland, everyone talks about stress like it's just part of life. Traffic on 26, work deadlines, kids, money—it all adds up. Your cortisol gets stuck in this high gear and never comes down.

When cortisol's constantly elevated, it messes with everything. Your sleep sucks even when you're exhausted. Your immune system tanks. Digestion goes haywire. Other hormones can't do their jobs because cortisol's hogging all the resources.

I was definitely stuck in this cycle. Running a business as a single mom? My cortisol was probably through the roof. Red light therapy actually helps bring those levels down. Gives your stress response system a chance to reset instead of being constantly fired up.

Red Light Therapy and Reproductive Health and Energy

For both men and women, red light therapy shows real promise for reproductive health. Research shows it can boost testosterone levels—and that's important for way more than just libido. We're talking muscle growth, bone health, and mood regulation for everyone. There's also emerging evidence that it might help regulate estrogen and support overall reproductive function by reducing inflammation in reproductive organs.

How Red Light Therapy Helps Temperature Regulation

Your thyroid hormones control how efficiently you burn energy, regulate temperature, and maintain healthy weight. They're like your body's metabolic thermostat. Red light therapy may help improve thyroid function, supporting that delicate balance of hormones that keeps your metabolism humming along.

Massage and Hormone Regulation

Here's where my personal disaster story connects with what I do professionally. Red light works on your cells directly, but massage hits your hormones through your nervous system. Different approaches, but they work together like magic.

I've experienced both sides of this—the client side when my health was falling apart, and now the practitioner side watching people get better. Massage doesn't just reduce cortisol like red light does. It actually triggers your body to make more serotonin and dopamine. Those are the neurotransmitters that make you feel good and keep your mood stable.

The touch aspect is huge too. It releases oxytocin—that bonding hormone you get when you hug someone you love. Plus massage gets your blood moving better, which means hormones can actually get where they need to go in your body.

The research backs this up beautifully. Studies show massage has real physiological effects on the endocrine system. A relaxed body naturally produces beneficial hormones like oxytocin, endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine.

scheduling red light therapy Into Your Life

Both red light and massage are gentle approaches that don't force anything. They just create the right conditions for your body to figure things out. Something I learned when my health went sideways—you can't force healing, but you can support it.

Being a single mom with a business means I need stuff that actually works with real life. Red light sessions are usually 10-20 minutes. You can do them every day if you want. It's not like going to the gym where you need a whole production. I literally do mine while checking emails or folding laundry. Or now...while getting a massage.

The key is being consistent. Just like you wouldn't expect to get strong from one workout, red light builds up over time. And honestly, if I can make time for this while juggling everything—pick-ups from daycare, client sessions, grocery runs to New Seasons, trying to keep my house from looking like a tornado hit it—anyone can.

The Combined Effects of Massage and Red Light Therapy

I love how red light and massage attack hormone problems from totally different angles. Red light works on your cells—improves energy production, cuts down inflammation. Massage works through your nervous system—gets you into that relaxed state where healing actually happens, improves circulation.

Both of them respect something I've figured out after twenty years doing this work—your body is incredibly smart and wants to heal. It just needs the right support and environment to do what it already knows how to do.

How to Heal Using Red Light Therapy Over Time

Hormone stuff didn't get messed up overnight, and it won't get fixed overnight either. Trust me on this one. Both red light and massage need patience and consistency. But if you're willing to stick with it, the changes can be pretty amazing.

My own healing journey taught me that sometimes what we need isn't the dramatic intervention. It's supporting our body's wisdom with the right tools and giving it time. Took me almost a year to figure out my symptoms were all connected to hormones, but once I got that piece, everything else started falling into place.

We're learning more about these therapies all the time, but one thing's clear—hormone health isn't about forcing changes with aggressive treatments (note: I'm not a doctor and sometimes more aggressive treatments are necessary. I cannot diagnose, treat, or prescribe). It's about working with your body instead of against it.

Whether you're dealing with sleep issues, stress hormones gone wild, reproductive stuff, or just want to feel better in your own skin, red light therapy might be worth exploring. Add massage to the mix and you've got a powerful combination that works with your body instead of against it.

Your hormones are running the show behind the scenes. Maybe it's time to give them some actual support.

Disclaimer: This blog article was written for the sole intent to share my personal experiences with you. It is NOT intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe. As always, you should work with a licensed healthcare provider if you are ever going to take herbs or start any health practice.

[Sources] HigherDOSE. (2023). How Red Light Therapy Improves Hormone Health.https://higherdose.com/blogs/the-high-life-blog/how-red-light-therapy-improves-hormone-health