Hello Again!
Alright, are you studying Dr. Panda’s book, The Circadian Code?
Have you picked up a copy yet?
Have you at least watched a few minutes on YouTube?
If so, what do you think? If not, it’s some pretty interesting stuff.
Dr. Diane told me there is a Circadian Code summary book for $7, and it might be an easier read, and there is also an audiobook. Just a thought.
What I would like to do is discuss some of the main points concerning one’s circadian rhythm and how a person might be able to apply this technology to their life.
To begin with the word circadian was derived from two Latin words,
Circa meaning around or approximately and diem meaning day. So one’s circadian rhythm is a cycle that occurs repetitively day after day, every 24 hours.
Simply put each organ and organ system in our bodies, including the brain are governed by a series of “clocks” that work in a synchronized manner, and are controlled by our genes to work at certain times, and most importantly STOP working at certain times to rest and repair.
Our bodies are not designed to work 24/7, but rather rise and set with the sun each day, and get our work done while the sun is shining!
These clocks and rhythms evolved over eons of time and were meant to help the body function optimally.
To understand how the circadian rhythm works, one would have to look at it from four separate, though interdependent arenas, as it were:
Eating, Sleeping, Light, and Exercise.
The basic design of our bodies and function is that of a hunter/gatherer.
If you can use your imagination and consider what life must have been like for our early, early ancestors we can see that they would have gone to bed sometime after the sunset and rose as the sun came up.
They would have spent most of their days outdoors in the natural sunlight “exercising” you know, hunting and gathering.
They would have eaten in a short period of time, and not all day and night, and they would have eaten things that would have provided nutrition and energy to survive their demanding lives.
From this, the body evolved ways to store energy in terms of fat and glycogen, and developed various physiologic pathways to ensure the survival of the body.
I think you get the picture. So being outdoors in natural sunlight, exercising, limiting the amounts of foods one ate each day, and getting plenty of sleep would have shaped and formulated the bodies we have today.
Only…,
We spend most of our days indoors with very little natural sunlight, and our nights bathed in artificial light staring at electronic screens. We get very little physical activity as most have sedentary jobs and lives, and we can eat 24 hours a day if we so choose, even waking in the middle of the night to feed. And sleep? Forget about it- if you don’t exercise, get natural light, spend late hours staring at screens and eat all day and night long, quality sleep will be virtually impossible.
Without sleep, the body cannot repair itself, people become quite sick, and literally turn “mental” to borrow a British term.
Our modern-day lifestyles fly right into the teeth of our genetics and evolution. If you look at people you’ll generally see it’s not working.
The human body evolved to correct itself, heal and repair, rejuvenate and flourish on this very planet, and can, if given a chance. But I guess modern man knows better, huh?
I don’t think so.
Alright, well I think I’ll leave it at that for now and invite you to begin researching circadian rhythms and their importance on your own.
One will quickly see the vast array of diseases and disorders that come about from living an erratic lifestyle that challenges the body’s clocks and genes… spoiler alert… you’re gonna lose!
In the following blogs, I will talk about eating, sleeping, light, and exercise and how each one is a key component to living a circadian lifestyle.
Stay Tuned!
Dr. Dave
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