Issue #312: Our Internal Clock
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, March 5th.
Stat of the Day
The time the average American goes to bed. Might that be why Netflix has a market cap of $266B? You’ve already seen Night Agent - you don’t need to watch it again and no, Love Isn’t Blind. (source)
Learn
Our Internal Clock
What’s crazy - the first time I tell someone about Thrive25 the most common response I get is “oh yea - I’m totally into that health stuff now. I started getting sunlight in my eyes in the morning. Heard it on Huberman podcast.”
I mean this wasn’t even a thing just a few years ago.
For most of my life, I’d jump up when my alarm jolted me in the morning after staying up too late studying, working, watching TV, or hanging at the bar drinking. Then on the weekend I’d try to catch up on all that sleep that I missed during the week by sleeping in.
I’d complain that the world was out to make life more stressful by starting so damn early. And guess what - when I was 16 this was true.
Teens actually have a circadian rhythm that’s 1-2 hours later than most adults.
But as we get older, most of us have a circadian rhythm that should align with the natural cycle of light.
This “biological clock” is made up of proteins that switch thousands of genes on and off in a specific order. Humans have aligned to the axis of the earth with the sun so that we optimize our energy and body functions based on when food is available and when we should sleep to preserve this energy.
So if we screw up our clock, we screw up our health.
Now some experts will say - ditch the alarm clock for a week and see what time you wake up naturally. But before you do that, this might not be your natural time of waking up. It might just be the time your body finally gets you out of bed after trying to make up for staying up too late - it’s trying to make up for all that sleep debt.
Plus, for better or worse the world starts in the morning. Most of us - whether starting work or getting the kids off to school - can’t sleep in during the week.
There are studies that so-called “morning people” are actually happier. Is this because the world is built on getting a jump start on the day or is it just those that have a morning gene?
The answer is - we don’t know. Maybe it’s the people who adjusted to modern life or maybe it’s a selection bias of people who are just ready to go super early.
But here’s what I’d say - it’s rare I come across people that get up early with a plan and feel bad.
These people are simply more intentional. They own the day instead of letting the day own them. See the Thrive25 Morning Routine.
For example - there’s an entrepreneur I know that gets up at 4:30am and is in bed before 9pm every day. He’s got two pre-teen kids, managing a VC-backed startup, and never seems to run out of energy when I talk to him.
“Live out today so that you look forward to tomorrow.”
But it’s not enough to get up earlier - our entire body is wired to a day-night clock, including our hormones and organs like our liver and kidneys.
Eating Schedule
Sleep and light are key to our circadian rhythm - but so is when we eat.
Our cortisol is highest right when we wake up and it’s best to workout and then eat a hearty breakfast when this hormone is near its peak. It optimizes how we use our energy and boosts our metabolic health.
I know some of you are big on intermittent fasting and don’t have much breakfast (I was on this kick too). But I made the switch to finishing dinner earlier and moving up the time I have that breakfast smoothie after my workout, because…
It’s just the opposite at night. When our melatonin is high - getting us ready to sleep, we don’t want to eat too much. It actually will disrupt our melatonin production AND we don’t process food as well as night (remember our liver is on a day-night clock too - it needs some rest) so we’ll be fighting all that food just being stored as fat.
Keeping your clock on schedule will boost your energy during the day and get you better sleep at night.
Try
Reset Your Clock
Rather than staying up to watch John Oliver at 11pm ET or the end of the college basketball games on the west coast - get yourself to bed early, wake up early, and yes - go get sunlight in your eyes.
But it’s not just getting to bed early - help yourself get to sleep by staying out of the kitchen (i.e., no more food) 2-3 hours before you plan to go to bed.
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Laugh
Early Bedtime
How early is too early to go to bed?
In the News
$100M for Women’s Health: The White House has earmarked this amount to close the gap on research for women - who are still wildly underrepresented in too many health studies. (Source)
Being Resilient: Curious to see how your body reacts to stress? Oura’s new feature allows you to track your “Resilience level” and see how your body can bounce back from acute or chronic stressors. Build resilience through high-quality sleep, eating healthy and staying active. (Oura)
Setting Up Camp: Are you looking for a new tent this year? WIRED has some ideas for those hiking the Appalachian Trail to playing with the kids in the backyard. (WIRED)
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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.