The Hidden Signal That Calms Hormones
The signals inside your cells that makes hormones work better
I very commonly get this message from a friend or client:
“My labs just came through. Everything looks fine…I think. The doctor says I’m in the normal range. But I still don’t feel great.”
You may know how this goes. The labs show all green in that column down the side. No red (yay!). You want to feel grateful, but instead you’re just more confused.
I’m a fan of functional testing to an extent. Not upfront though, usually. Yes, it can be useful when you know how to read it and take it with a grain of salt. But here’s the thing: those numbers are snapshots. Helpful, honest, even important.
But snapshots don’t capture what’s going on behind the scenes. And most of the time, there are simple, basic things we can do to tip things back toward balance before an action plan needs to be built from numbers and lab findings.
This post is about the part that labs don’t measure well yet.
Here’s the best way I can think to explain this:
I’m going to tell you a quick story.
When I was living in NYC after undergrad, I discovered a brand new musician to the scene. His name is Brendan James. I went to see him play in a small, charming hole in the wall off Bleecker Street in SoHo. The room was quiet, his piano playing and voice were brilliant, and you could literally hear his breath before the lyrics. It was the kind of show that brings tingles to your arms. I was in awe. I noticed every movement, heard every note, and was flooded with emotion.
Fast forward about five years, and Brendan has gotten much bigger. He’s touring the country, and I’m now living in Denver, Colorado. I’ve moved here solo from NYC, pledging to start over all by myself, a dream I always had. I knew no one and felt lost and a bit lonely in the beginning. But then I discovered that Brendan James was coming through the city on tour the following weekend. I was thrilled and made his show into a date night for myself. I arrived to a larger auditorium. It was filled with people, lots of chatter, loud and a little smelly. When he came on and played, it was much of the same music I had heard back in that quiet NYC room. Just more background noise. Still wonderful, but I missed details I knew were there.
Same song, different experience.
Both of these performances I saw were spectacular experiences. But they landed differently.
Your hormones are the song.
Your internal music venue is the room that either lets every breath and every note through, or turns it all into soup.
It was the same musician. But different spaces, different experiences, and different perceptions of the music.
Where the light comes in
Here’s where this story turns into physics and explains how hormones are working inside of us. Hormones aren’t working alone. They are big announcements, loud messengers if you will.
But there is also a quiet layer underneath that can shape how hormone messages are received in the body.
These are tiny packets of light, called biophotons, that help messages actually land inside cells. If that sounds woo, hang for a second. We’re not replacing endocrinology. We’re adding a layer that explains why the same hormone can feel like magic in one person and meh in another.
Here’s the plain, biological version, which is one of my favorite things that the body does because it is so cool:
Living cells give off tiny flashes of light as part of everyday metabolism. You can’t see them, but sensitive cameras can. Think of this as the body’s quiet layer of coordination.
When your inner environment is steady, with good energy, calm membranes, and balanced rhythms in the body, those tiny signals look coherent, which basically means orderly enough to carry a message. Scientists can detect these tiny flashes and their patterns. The specific details are still being worked out.
That quiet layer moves really fast, inside and between cells, and it helps line up slower chemical signaling, our hormones, so the bigger message lands.
Here’s the takeaway from what I just said:
There is an underlying layer that often acts faster than hormones. Light from cells can influence how ready cells are to respond to hormones. If the light action from the tiny biophotons doesn’t happen because the signal is messy, the hormones may not be activated properly either.
What that really means and why it matters
When the inner environment is orderly, with steady daytime light, real darkness at night, decent sleep, and regular movement, receptors tend to behave, genes are more likely to respond, and hormone pulses keep a healthier rhythm. Two people can have the same lab value and two very different days. That difference often lives in timing and clarity.
What I ask clients, and myself, to do for two weeks
Not forever. Just long enough to feel the contrast.
Morning, 10 to 15 minutes
Go outside within an hour of waking. Let real light hit your eyes.
Eat protein, usually around 20 to 30 g at breakfast, though this can be bioindividual. Starting the day with protein is the goal.
Daytime, pick two
Walk 10 to 20 minutes after your carbiest meal.
Two short strength sessions this week, 20 to 30 minutes. Slow reps.
Drink water; add a pinch of minerals if you cramp, run cold, or crave salt.
Evening, where most of the magic is
Dim the house 60 to 90 minutes before bed.
Lamps over overheads.
Close the kitchen a bit earlier, even 30 to 60 minutes helps.
Make the room cool, dark, boring.
Fascia and mobility, two times per week
Take 3 to 5 seconds to lower the weight on basic lifts.
Slow foam roll or ball work. Not aggressive, think unstick.
Disclaimer: Of course, none of this replaces medical care. If you’re on meds or troubleshooting a diagnosis, you will still want to loop in your clinician.
How you’ll know it’s working, before labs move
You get sleepy at a sensible time without forcing it.
Afternoon feels less like falling off a cliff. Your energy stays steadier and the shift in energy through the day is barely noticeable.
Hunger feels predictable.
And if you like seeing the science, like I do, there’s a great 2025 analysis you can review that goes into this deeply, called The concept of biophotonic signaling in the human body and brain: rationale, problems and directions. I’ll include the source below.
But here’s the takeaway, friends:
Light is powerful. Our cells can absorb light, produce light, and respond to it. That is why getting the proper light from the outside is important too. Light is a signal, and it is time that we focus on more than biochemistry alone. Our bodies do not operate only on chemicals, which is why supplements are not the only answers.
xx,
Dinah
Source:
Nevoit, G., Poderiene, K., Potyazhenko, M., Mintser, O., Jarusevicius, G., & Vainoras, A. (2025). The concept of biophotonic signaling in the human body and brain: Rationale, problems and directions. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 19.https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2025.1597329