Issue #300: The Power of Light
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, February 6th.
300 issues - are you kidding me?? Thanks to all of you for reading and supporting Thrive25 - especially those that have been with us since the beginning.
Here’s to hoping that reading Thrive25 has made even the slightest positive impact on your quest to live your best life…here’s to the next 300!
In today’s email:
Learn: A Light Diet
Try: Go Red
Measure: White Blood Cells
Move: The “300” Workout
In the News: No More Cereal
Stat of the Day
Increase in cortisol when you view bright sunlight in the morning - which is tied to higher energy during the day and lower cortisol at night (i.e., better sleep). (Dr. Peter Attia)
Learn
A Light Diet
Light is probably one of the most underrated tools we have to boost our health.
It feels so passive - seeing something isn’t the same thing as, say, eating something, right?
But light is actually energy and it changes our electrical signals, our hormone signals, even the expression of our genes (See: epigenetics).
We take for granted the power of light. Want proof that it changes the structure of living things - it’s light that changes an unripe green banana to a bright yellow; it’s light that burns or tans our skin; it’s light that wakes us up; and it’s the lack of light that helps put us to sleep.
Light penetrates our skin and affects our brain and cells in so many ways.
We can only see a sliver of the light spectrum around us:
Other animals can see well beyond what we can - like the reindeer that can see UV light or the rattlesnake that can sense infrared light.
Side note: the book An Immense World by Ed Yong is absolutely fascinating to see how other animals can leverage senses we can only dream about.
But we can leverage the light we can see and the light we can’t.
For example - this time of year most of us spend more of our day indoors (90%+) and don’t get enough light in our eyes or on our skin.
There is more and more research coming out with the basic finding:
We need MORE light exposure during the day - especially in the morning.
We need LESS light exposure at night.
Getting light in the morning doesn’t just reset our circadian rhythm, but also boosts our dopamine (morning motivation) and serotonin (positive mood).
The greater the exposure to light, the greater the effect. It’s why Dr. Andrew Huberman talks so much about getting light in your eyes at sunrise.
On the flip side - there’s research that shows even the slightest light at night (50 lux) can significantly impact our nervous system as we sleep.
The crazy part about this study was that the people slept through the night in the added light - their melatonin wasn’t affected and their insulin levels didn’t change. But…their heart rate went up and heart rate variability (HRV) went down - showing a hugely negative impact to the sympathetic nervous system.
Might be why we wake up already feeling stressed and anxious.
Try
Go Red
Get outside for 5-10 minutes in the morning to see the sun at low angle and get tons of lux into your eyes. If you can’t get outside (most UVB doesn’t get through windows) and you feel like winter puts you in a bad mood or you struggle to sleep, then consider checking out a 10,000 lux light.
Change your bedroom lights to a Red Light that’s shown to NOT affect our melatonin production or keep us as stimulated as bright, overhead lights. This isn’t a fancy “red light therapy kit” - it’s an $4 red light bulb from Amazon.
Thrive25 Partner Spotlight
When you’re not outside and absolutely have to be in front of a screen - get breathing.ai. Their quick break feature improves your health and your mind with quick 10-second breaks throughout the day.
Get a gentle guide to breathe better, a quick reminder to drink more water, or simply improve your posture. Your body and mind will thank you for it. Download the free browser extension now and give it a try.
If you'd like to bring this powerful wellness tool to your workplace, simply reply to this email and let us know where our partners at breathing.ai can reach you.
Measure
White Blood Cells
White Blood Cells (WBCs) are an essential component of our immune system. They defend us from infections, viruses, and bacteria - basically anything “foreign” that gets into our body. We need them to heal and repair anything that’s gone wrong. There are five types of WBCs and they all play a key role in the body:
Neutrophils (55-70% of our WBCs): the first line of defense against infections - they engulf and destroy pathogens through phagocytosis
Lymphocytes (20-40%): part of the adaptive immune system, you may know these as B cells, T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. B cells produce antibodies, and T / NK cells destroy infected or cancerous cells
Monocytes (2-8%): the garbage men - these are the largest WBCs and remove pathogens or dead / damaged cells
Eosinophils (1-4%): combat multicellular parasites and help with allergic response
Basophils (<1%): also help with the allergic and antigen responses
WBC Count is a hematological biomarker and standard on the Complete Blood Count (CBC) test. You can get this test with or without differential - the differential gets you the count for the specific types of WBC. Here’s the range for total count:
Normal: 4,500 - 11,000 cells per microliter (cells/µL)
Are you low?
If you have a low WBC count it might affect your body’s ability to defend itself, here’s how you can increase your count:
Exercise - always the #1 answer
Better Food - are you getting enough nutrients, antioxidants - especially foods with Vitamin C and Zinc
Lower stress/anxiety
Get more sleep, especially deep sleep
Drink more water (10+ cups per day)
See if you’re affected by any medications - antibiotics, beta-blockers, blood thinners, and others may affect WBC
For more - see Issue #79.
Move
The “300” Workout
In honor of Issue #300 - just a reminder of the workout I did for a while in my attempt to become a Spartan warrior like the great Gerard Butler in the movie 300.*
Pull-ups = 25
Barbell Deadlift = 50 reps (135 lbs)
Push-ups = 50 reps (remember perfect form)
Box Jumps = 50 reps
Floor Wipers = 50 reps
Pull-ups = 25 reps
*Note sarcasm - but that doesn’t change the fact this workout does hit all the major muscle groups for an intense strength day.
In the News
Et Tu Gut Microbiome: We’ve talked about the gut-brain highway before (Issue #274), but new research from Emory shows the more subtle ways gut bacteria interfaces with our brain and potentially causes Parkinson’s Disease. (Knowable)
No More Cereals?: We grew up with cereal - but most of them are just sugar in a box. Some companies are trying to serve up fortified cereals full of synthetic vitamins and minerals without the added sugars, but if you can, skip the aisle and go for whole foods. (Big Think)
Is It Working Yet? Hear about a new supplement? Have you done your research on the brand, its clinical efficacy? Or have you answered the most important question - what is your goal by taking the supplement? Taking supplements leads to “licensing” your other actions, which may leave you worse off than when you started. (Outside)
Thanks for joining us today!
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Why Thrive25
We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
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To health!
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25, Inc. does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.