Related Episodes for Red light therapy (photobiomodulation)

“Bright light exposure has a profound effect on regulating the circadian system in humans. Dr. Panda and colleagues discovered that melanopsin — a light-sensitive protein found in specialized cells of the eye — responds to blue light and synchronizes the body's day/night cycle.”

“Drinking two to three cups per day is linked to roughly a 60% reduced risk of developing diabetes, a statistic that highlights coffee's robust metabolic benefits that arise from its ability to activate AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a critical regulator of cellular energy metabolism.”

“Reducing inflammation may be beneficial for a variety of physical and mental conditions. In this clip, Wim Hof shares his personal story that led to his passionate pursuit of how we can harness the body's innate ability to heal itself.”

“Other hormetic responses to cold exposure include increased production of PGC1-alpha, a protein that promotes mitochondrial biogenesis, the production of new, healthy mitochondria, and the activation of brown fat – a phenomenon once thought to occur only in newborns, but now known to occur in adults, especially after cold exposure.”

“Perhaps the most clear-cut examples of cryotherapy’s beneficial effects are observed in the brain, where levels of the hormone and neurotransmitter norepinephrine – responsible for vigilance, attention, focus, and positive mood – increase markedly when the body is exposed to extreme cold.”

“The most compelling human signal appears when the brain is under acute strain. In a randomized crossover study, a single dose of 0.35 grams per kilogram during 21 hours of sleep deprivation changed cerebral energy metabolites and preserved selected measures of cognitive performance.”

“A recent meta-analysis also found small benefits in selected cognitive domains, including memory and processing speed, with responses that may depend on age, diet, baseline stores, stress, dose, and the cognitive test used.”

“A separate six-week randomized study in 30 healthy young adults found that neither 10 nor 20 grams per day improved the tested cognitive outcomes compared with placebo. The result is an important counterweight to the acute sleep-deprivation experiment.”

“Acute stress may create a different context. In a double-blind crossover study of 15 adults undergoing 21 hours of sleep deprivation, a single 0.35-gram-per-kilogram dose changed brain high-energy phosphate measures and improved selected cognitive outcomes.”

Dan Pardi: Ph.D. candidate studying sleep neurobiology at Stanford and University of Leiden, co-founder of Dan’s Plan online wellness company.