Why Your Hormones Are Begging You to Step Into the Light

Most people think their eyes are just there to help them avoid walking into walls. But your eyes are actually the command center for your entire hormonal system.

You can think of your eyes as the microchip in a smartphone. It sends signals to start and shut down processes.

Behind your retina sits a cluster of light-sensitive cells that have nothing to do with vision. Instead, they send signals straight to your suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)—the master clock in your brain that tells every hormone when to rise and fall.

What does that mean for menopause? Everything.

When morning light enters your eyes, it triggers:

• Balanced cortisol 

• Proper thyroid function

• Serotonin and dopamine production 

• Estrogen and progesterone regulation 

When evening darkness arrives, it should signal:

• Melatonin release 

• Lower nighttime cortisol 

• Growth hormone secretion 

The problem is that most women are unknowingly blocking these natural light signals, throwing off this entire rhythm. 

And when that happens, menopause symptoms hit harder, last longer, and feel like an losing battle.

If your menopause symptoms feel relentless, your biggest enemy might not be your hormones—it’s your light environment.

Here’s how the modern world is wrecking your hormones without you even realizing it:

1. Wearing Sunglasses 

Sunglasses block the full spectrum of natural light your brain needs to regulate hormones.

When you put on sunglasses first thing in the morning, your brain gets confused. It thinks it’s still nighttime, suppressing cortisol, serotonin, and dopamine when you actually need them to wake up and function.

For years, I never left the house without sunglasses. I liked the way they looked.

When I stopped wearing sunglasses everything changed.

I slept better, my skin tanned better, and weight loss became effortless. My energy improved, cravings faded, and my body felt in sync for the first time in years.

2. Artificial Light at Night (AKA “Why Can’t I Sleep Anymore?”)

Your body needs darkness at night to signal melatonin production.

But when you’re scrolling Instagram or working under bright LED lights late into the evening, your brain gets mixed signals. It still thinks it’s daytime, keeping cortisol high and melatonin suppressed—which means you stay wired instead of winding down.

Minimizing the use of artificial light at night was another massive one for me. For years I had stayed up past midnight having “me time” after the kids went to bed. 

3. Not Getting Morning Sunlight 

Skipping morning sunlight is like baking bread without yeast—you’re missing the key ingredient that makes everything rise and work properly.

Morning light tells your body what time it is so it can start producing hormones at the right time. Without it, your cortisol rhythm gets thrown off, your metabolism slows, and your entire hormonal system becomes sluggish.

Menopause is Hard—But You Might Be Making It Harder Without Realizing It

Most menopause advice focuses on medicating the symptoms, not fixing the root cause.

Take this supplement. Get on HRT. Balance your estrogen.

But here’s the thing: hormones don’t operate in isolation. 

They respond to light, timing, and your environment.

If you don’t fix the root cause—your circadian rhythm— you’ll be fighting an uphill battle, no matter what hormones you take.