What was morning like for most of humankind one hundred years ago? A vast majority of people were living rurally and owned farms and ranches so they woke up with the “chickens” and went to bed with the sunset. In doing that, they were in the Circadian Rhythm of their body’s.
Fast Forward One Hundred Years
Many of us wake up in the “pre-dawn” hours of the day (without the chickens and instead of an annoying alarm!). Do you have a routine (I do) that gets you ready for your day? Are you still working and commuting so you get on the road as the sun is coming up. You may take time and have a cup of coffee, jump on your cell phone for the latest Facebook posts, weather, emails or news (or read this blog). We don’t think much about getting outside and letting the sun hit our face and eyes, but we should.
Nobel Prize 2017
The Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded in 2017 for the research on the “body’s clock”, our circadian rhythm. First identified in fruit flies, the tiny molecular components of the clock are at work in all multicellular life, humans included.
The beauty of the body’s clock is that it allows an organism to anticipate the rising and setting of the sun, rather than simply reacting to it. There is no single body clock that bangs out the hour. Instead, molecular timepieces are dotted through the different cell types, like watches in a jeweler, where they control great areas of physiology from sleep patterns and body temperature to blood pressure, metabolism and the release of hormones.
The body clock is more than just an interesting find. A study’s done on shift workers and evidence supports a higher rate of cancer among those who work nights. The research shows it may be because Melatonin is produced at night when we sleep. And melatonin this is a very cancer-preventive antioxidant. Many mechanisms are activated at night (such as autophagy, cellular clean-up). When one does not get proper sleep these are reduced or stop completely.
There are two things that we have lost in this modern world of ours, morning sun in our eyes and reducing the exposure to light after the sun goes down. We rarely get outside in the morning and we stay up way past sunset with artificial lights (especially blue light from “devices”) shining into our eyes. This is a recipe for a messed up Circadian Rhythm!
Ok, I’ll add one – ok more than one – more: As the result of our environment (especially EMF’s from devices), work schedules As well as nutritional deficiency’s, toxins and stress, many of us are deficient in multiple compounds needed to make melatonin.
Tips to Get Back in Rhythm with the sun
- Try and get outside for 10 minutes in the morning sun. Got out on the back or front porch. Get to work early and find a spot to just enjoy the morning sun.
- Decrease the blue light entering your eyes at least 3 hours before bed. You can wear blue-blocking glasses (this is what I do). Put blue light shields on your smartphones and a computer program called “f.lux” for your screen.
- Keep all light as dim as possible in the evening. Replace any fluorescent and LED lights with incandescent or halogen lights.
- Do your most stimulating or stressful activities early in the day, including exercise.
- Take an Epsom salt bath with lavender essential oils. Using only use candles for light. The magnesium in the Epsom salts calms the nervous system and essential oils calm the brain waves.
- Remove all electronic devices from your bedroom and set your wi-fi router on a timer to go off once in bed.
I’m really passionate about helping you understand that we have lost so much of what our bodies were designed for with this modern life we live. I believe this is what has lead to an increase in cancer, auto-immune, neurological and cardiovascular disease. We have really messed up the world we live in and our bodies are talking!
You have control over this, take a baby step and make it a lifestyle change.
Your health is in your hands…..
Chris
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