Your liver, sleep and anemia problems might all be connected
The light-based secret to a healthy liver, good sleep, and recovering from anemia
In the previous post in the Anemia Series, we established circadian health as key to the daily blood cell recycling process. When healthy, this process should scavenge 80-90% of the iron you need to create new blood cells each day.
The iron recycling process mainly takes place in the liver and spleen.
Thus, to understand anemia, we also need understand the liver and spleen better.
Where the spleen is generally unknown to most people, the liver is actually quite misunderstood.
The liver is not a filter
Calling the liver merely a filter is such an insult to the beauty of what the liver does for you. The liver itself actually has a very beautiful color. If you have never processed the liver of an animal, I highly recommend as your homework to buy a chicken or beef liver at the store—you should be able to find this easily—and examine the color and texture. Livers are extremely smooth with very fine texture. Livers have a rich color that is not the bright red of blood, but much deeper. This liver color is very important and gives us some clues about this amazing organ.
What gives the liver its color?
Yes, the liver is rich in blood, but the color of the liver is not exactly like the color of blood. The color of the liver is a deeper red, closer to brown. It is rich in iron stored in ferritin—a clear protein we will be learning more about soon—as well as other pigments, including bilirubin, bilverdin, and melanin. The combination of all that stored iron and pigment is what makes liver have its unique color.
Ferritin—a clear protein that can store iron and that also has significant other biological activity relating to redox homeostasis
Bilirubin & bilverdin—these pigments, long thought to be “waste” products, are now beginning to be understood as signaling molecules with significant redox activity
Melanin—melanins, far from merely being “UV shields”, are also now known to sequester heavy metals (including iron and copper), to harvest electrons from water in a manner similar to chlorophyl, and to support cellular redox activity
Notice the trend here that all these relate to redox?
Here are a few posts from the archive to read and get more familiar with the idea of redox as an actionable health consideration.
What does it mean that the liver is chock-full of molecules with powerful redox activity?
All this will be coming back around later in this series, as right now we are still in the beginning stages of laying the groundwork of a new conceptualization of anemias and how we can best support the body going through it.
I also wrote a post about Melanin, the food chain, and toxic minerals that may be helpful.
Once you’ve had the chance to read those posts (or bookmark them for later), let’s jump back in to our exploration of the liver’s health needs.
Circadian health and the liver
To balance the liver, it needs strong signaling from the circadian rhythm. This information needs to come through the light/dark signals from the eyes, as shown below:
And, this information also needs to come through the peripheral circadian system, which is also programmed by food timing, light & temperature through the skin, and noise & social cues.
Sleep problems and the liver
Given the deep ties between circadian rhythms and the liver, it then makes so much sense why liver problems and sleep problems go together! It also suggests why liver dysfunction and anemias also go along with other metabolic problems, including a more difficult time with reproduction (which is a significant focus in this publication working from preconception onwards through the lifespan).
The metabolism and the reproductive axis are together under the regulation of the endocrine system, which in turn, is regulated by the circadian rhythm.
This is extremely relevant given that many of the problems we face as adults likely began when we were in the womb.
Thinking back through the circadian realities of our recent ancestors may help offer some breakthrough insights in terms of inherited patterns of activity that show either circadian stability and strength, or irregularity and flatness.
In the graphic above, notice how hepatic rhythms (hepatic referring to the liver) are one of the listed outputs of the circadian rhythm.
Thus, when we want to make sure our liver is able to properly recycle iron each night, we need to make sure our circadian health is impeccable.
How else does light affect the liver?
In addition to the relationship between the light-dark cycle and the health of the liver, those amazing pigments in the liver make the liver especially sensitive to light in its own right.
Ultraviolet light and the liver
The most well-known benefit of UV light is the production of solar Vitamin D. What many don’t realize is as liver processes all of this Vitamin D:
And as the body is exposed to that intense UVB-sunlight, the body has many direct benefits beyond simply Vitamin D processing.
You may want to review this post if you need a refresher on what UV light does for the body, who UV light is truly dangerous for, and how to maximize your benefits while reducing the risk of harm from UV light.
Visible light and the liver
Many rodent studies show adverse effects on the liver from artificial light, especially when mistimed against their activity cycle.
We know from human studies that artificial light at night disrupts circadian rhythms, thus disrupting the regeneration processes that should be happening overnight.
Thus, visible light needs to be timed to match daylight so as not to disrupt the liver’s function at night.
Even if you are awake at night, you still need a dim environment.
Being awake at night in a dim environment is not as bad for your circadian health as being asleep in a bright environment.
Infrared light and the liver
New studies are linking positive effects of photobiomodulation with longer wave red and infrared frequencies on liver health.
Many speculate the benefits for the liver from photobiomodulation is because of the beneficial effect on hepatic mitochondria.
Mitochondria play a key role in the liver’s ability to regenerate itself and improve function1.
Thus, supporting mitochondria offers a great way to amplify the benefits of stabilizing and strengthening the circadian rhythm for better iron recycling efficiency.
Here’s a post that will help you explore more about the different kinds of light and how to safely incorporate them into your healthy lifestyle.
I originally wrote this post for pregnant families and perinatal practitioners, but all the same principles apply to any stage of life:
Liver, Sleep Problems and Anemia Q&A
Still have questions about liver health, iron recycling, or how they may relate to anemia? I’d love to hear what sparks your curiosity. Share in the comments and I’ll try to get back to you here or in a future post.
Updates from Nikko:
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Lamanilao, G. G., Dogan, M., Patel, P. S., Azim, S., Patel, D. S., Bhattacharya, S. K., Eason, J. D., Kuscu, C., Kuscu, C., & Bajwa, A. (2023). Key hepatoprotective roles of mitochondria in liver regeneration. American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, 324(3), G207–G218. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpgi.00220.2022
So useful and interesting. Thank you, Nikki!
Hi! I’m curious if you might have any thoughts on how hEDS might affect iron recycling in the liver (or in any other way)? I understand if that’s too niche or specific to comment on! I can’t say for certain if I’m still experiencing anemia, as I haven’t had bloodwork done in about four years, but it certainly feels like something that’s still a big issue for me.