Spring Forward, Health Behind.
Spring forward. We like extra light in the evenings and longer days, but notice how jet-lagged you feel for days after the time change?
Let's talk for a bit about our circadian rhythm, or to get all nerdy, the study of Cronobiology. The Western world has long disregarded the idea of cronobiology, but there is fascinating evolutionary evidence dating back billions of years, how our species evolved with not only one, but trillions of clocks within our body.
These clocks respond to the natural rhythm of our environment, sunlight and sleep patterns. Our nervous system, each organ, and each cell within our body has a master clock, in sync with our environmental patterns of sleep & wake, eating, and movement.
You can imagine how easily we disrupt this balance with late bedtimes, irregular eating and exercising patterns, and artificial light at night. When all of these clocks are thrown off, the body feels out of sync and is at risk for chronic disease, sleep and metabolic disorders, and the list goes on.
Okay, don't freak out! We have been working towards the very lifestyle that supports our biological health, and you see now how everything in the natural world is woven tightly together, nothing existing on its own. Calling out this piece of science is yet another reason why we continue to improve ourselves!
So what can we do to ensure our circadian rhythm is working for us, not against us? You'll recognize every one of these recommendations from past posts about health, metabolism and longevity.
1. Sleep. We can't put enough emphasis on sleep! Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on the weekends. The later or earlier you sleep and rise, the later or earlier your clock will look from the one in the image. Remember that sunlight is the master clock, so the farther off rhythm you are, the worse you will feel.
2. Sunlight is the master clock, limit bright lights in the evening after the sun goes down, so your body can begin releasing melatonin at the proper time. This means limiting digital screen time, especially close to bed, as the shorter wavelengths in this light have a big impact on our circadian rhythm. Use blue light glasses in the evening to help filter these wavelengths if you need to!
3. Step outside and get sunlight in your eyes as early in the morning as you can, even if it’s a cloudy day (make sure you take off your glasses)!
4. Establish meal and exercise times that remain fairly consistent. Do your best to eat early in the evening, at least 2-3 hours from sleep. Avoid late night snacking, as this can “reset” your metabolic and digestive clock, throwing you out of balance with the rest of your body.
Enough messing around, let’s get our clocks together, why don’t we!! Vote to keep Standard Time, and avoid the catastrophic health implications that staying in “Daylight Savings Time” may cause!!
Curious and want to read more? Here’s a great article by Charles Schmidt from The Magazine of Harvard Medicine School
