If there's one thing that many of us experience during the holiday season, it’s stress. As much as it can be a time of joy, there’s a lot of pressures that come along with this time of the year. And now, the holidays come with yet another set of stressors that we're not so unaccustomed to: an ongoing global pandemic. None of us have gone through a holiday season during lockdowns and quarantines, making it stressful and difficult to navigate.
With many of us unable to see our families, we are potentially having to spend the holidays alone, only seeing our loved ones over Zoom or Skype. It’s an unusual time we’re living in right now and it can bring up various emotions. The chronic stress we’re currently living in can lead to serious health problems, including inflammation, headaches, insomnia, digestion issues, and loss of sexual desire.
On top of everything, the winter season brings SAD (seasonal affective disorder), resulting in many people suffering from low energy, depression, and appetite changes. So, as you can see, we’re dealing with a lot this holiday season, and it’s evermore important to take care of ourselves.
Of course, the fact that we're separated from our families is difficult, and sadly, there's not much we can do about it. However, we can help ourselves find mental, emotional, and physical balance during these stressful times, and reduce inflammation stemming from stress in the body.
If you're suffering from inflammation and have experienced pain, heat, swelling, and discomfort, you've probably done some Googling to find the cause. As you know, endless search results point to diet, weight, and exercise, which are all valid causes, but they are not the only ones. But there's one main cause we tend to ignore: stress.
What happens to us when we’re stressed? When we're stressed, our inflammatory response jumps into action and our body enters allostasis. Allostasis is the process of adapting to acute stress by producing stress-related hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. In other words, our bodies go into "flight or fight" mode.
This isn't necessarily unhealthy; this is part of the natural human response. However, the problem comes when we're experiencing chronic stress as our bodies cannot return to homeostasis. This causes the body to believe we're fighting for our lives continually, and ultimately causes inflammation.
Naturally, in today’s world, you’re going to experience stressful situations. And yes, yoga and meditation help to reduce stress, but they don’t reduce inflammation entirely. So, what can you do? When it comes to bringing your body back to a state of balance, red light therapy works wonders.
If you've ever visited the doctor for inflammation issues, you've probably been prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or steroids. Though they're useful, they don't deal with the root cause of your inflammation.
Red light therapy does combat the root of inflammation by sending wavelengths of red and near-infrared (NIR) light to the skin and cells, cutting down the oxidative stress and enhancing cellular energy to boost your immune system, even preventing diseases that are caused by chronic inflammation. In addition, red light therapy also increases the cell's healing process, improving blood flow and reducing any existing inflammation.
Aside from the inflammation, red light therapy also aids in treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Red light therapy’s benefits are particularly powerful during the winter season, as you can eliminate or reduce winter-related conditions such as inflammation and SAD.
Inflammation is a natural part of the human body, but chronic inflammation can cause serious health risks that can significantly reduce the quality of your life. Therefore, we’re intent on helping people reduce inflammation at Lunas through our state-of-the-art red light therapy devices that are MDA and FDA approved and can be used from the comfort of your home during this holiday season.
Winter can be a dreary and gloomy time of year, but that doesn’t mean you need to feel poorly, too. With red light therapy, you’ll be able to reduce inflammation, eliminate symptoms and get your life back.
