Circadian Rhythm

Timing of Food Intake is Crucial for Weight Loss

With over half of Americans considered overweight, many people engage in the battle of the bulge on a daily basis. There are so many factors involved in weight loss beyond “calories in, minus calories out” that people can continue to gain even while making difficult lifestyle changes. Several studies have examined non-dietary factors that contribute to weight loss and found that surprisingly, the timing of food intake is an important piece of the puzzle.

Chronobiology and Metabolism

Chronobiology is a scientific field that studies how our body’s natural cycles are affected by solar and lunar rhythms. One of the most important cycles of chronobiology is the 24-hour circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm is an important part of your metabolism, controlling a wide variety of cellular processes. Your circadian rhythm can also affect your weight in a variety of ways. For example, people who work nights are more likely to be overweight or obese. Genes involved in the circadian rhythm also appear to be involved in the production of hormones associated with hunger and satiety, such as leptin and ghrelin.

Although these relationships have been known for years, the extent to which the timing of food intake could affect weight gain and weight loss is new information.

The Timing of Food Intake and Weight Loss

Our mitochondria are an integral part of metabolism, converting sugars and other sources of fuel into the type of energy that our cells use, ATP. The rate at which mitochondria perform this energy conversion appears to depend on the time of day. Peak energy burning occurs about four hours into our waking day. People who eat more of their calories early in the day, such as having a large breakfast and lunch followed by a light dinner, lose weight faster than those who eat more of their calories later in the day. While this is bad news for nighttime snackers, it offers one way for people to increase their weight loss while still enjoying the foods they love.

Losing Weight By Working With Your Circadian Rhythm

Cutting calories and getting plenty of exercise are still important lifestyle changes for people who wish to lose weight. However, changing when you eat can have a huge effect as well. Because mitochondria are working at maximum capacity four hours after you wake, this is the optimal time to take in calorie-heavy foods. In the evening, when your mitochondria are using less energy, eating lighter foods with less fat and sugar is a better answer.

Other Reasons to Eat Less at Night

There are other reasons that eating less at night can be a positive health habit. Acid reflux and other digestive issues are often worse at night if people eat heavy meals. Sticking to light foods in the hours before bed improves these conditions. In addition, our livers and other detoxifying systems do much of their work at night. The process of digesting food can interfere with this and other important aspects of metabolism that occur mainly at night. For this reason, many doctors and researchers recommend that people eat at least four hours before going to bed. This allows meals to be digested and metabolized before you fall asleep.

New research in chronobiology is offering insight into a variety of health issues. This increases understanding of the way our bodies work while presenting new ways that we can improve our health. With metabolic issues now one of the top public health concerns in the western world, research into the timing of food intake may improve and enrich lives.

Circadian Clock in the Liver Found to Regulate Hunger and Metabolism

Mar 23 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

When we talk about the circadian rhythm, most people think about the brain. However, every organ has its own internal biological clock. The liver’s innate 24-hour rhythm is especially important to your metabolism and even affects the central circadian clock in your brain. New studies suggest that the liver’s circadian clock may even regulate hunger, digestion and a variety of human behaviors.

Your Liver: A Key Part of Metabolism

The liver is the largest organ in the human body and also one of the most multifunctional ones. It plays a variety of important roles necessary for daily life. The liver is technically considered a gland due to its active secretion of a variety of important hormones that regulate metabolism. In addition, the liver detoxifies the blood, regulates glucose balance, breaks down red blood cells and produces a variety of proteins and vitamins. When the liver can no longer function properly, a person will quickly die unless they can get a transplant.

Many of the activities of the liver occur constantly or in response to environmental cues. However, some of these functions, especially metabolic activities, occur on a distinct cycle determined by a circadian clock in the liver itself. This internal clock appears to be in constant communication with pacemakers in our brains, potentially affecting a wide range of functions and behaviors.

The Role of the Circadian Clock in the Liver

When you travel more than a time zone away, you may suffer from jet lag and disrupted sleep. Many travelers notice that they are hungry at odd times as well. It may surprise you to learn that this is due to the presence of a circadian clock in the liver. This clock regulates, among other things, the times when you are hungry. The liver releases hormones that make us hungry along with important enzymes for digestion just before the times when we normally eat.

The presence of a circadian clock governing hunger and digestion was confirmed in a recent study of rats. Rats express certain genes related to circadian rhythm periodically, and this gene activity correlates with hunger and release of digestive enzymes. When fed only at certain times, the expression of these genes slowly changed to mimic the new feeding schedule. This is similar to the behavior of circadian rhythm genes that govern the sleep-wake cycle; people can gradually change their bedtimes or wake up times. Furthermore, this study found that there is a great deal of communication between the circadian clocks of the brain and those of the liver, presenting a possible mechanism for the Zeitgeber effect of food.

Liver, Brain, and Circadian Rhythm

It is exciting to find confirmation of previous studies concluding that the timing of food intake can affect the body’s circadian rhythm. In addition, these new findings are promising when it comes to finding new treatment possibilities for people who struggle with obesity, diabetes and other diseases that are affected by both liver function and the circadian rhythm. More effective treatment can result when people take their medications at the time of day when they will be most effective, or at times when the cell receptors that these medications target are most active. In addition, while there still needs to be more study in this area, the current body of evidence suggests that eating late at night may be detrimental to people who have sleep disorders.

Discovering the biochemical foundation of the circadian clock in the liver opens new avenues for study. Every organ appears to have its own internal clock, but that of the liver seems especially important in regulating metabolism and overall well-being. Understanding how our bodies work is always a first step to finding new and more effective medical treatments.

The Basics of Sleep From A-to-Zzz

Mar 16 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

We spend around one-third of our lives sleeping. This is not wasted time. On the contrary, our bodies have a long list of tasks that can only be completed while our mind is resting and our body is still. Getting the right amount of sleep can give you a clearer mind, more energy, and even lower your risk of developing common life-threatening illnesses.

What is the Purpose of Sleep?

Sleep is not just a time when we are unconscious to the world. When we sleep, our bodies go through five distinct phases, from the early light sleep to REM. REM is the best-known phase of sleep because it is when we dream, but it is not the only time at night when our brains are active. Different hormonal and cellular events happen during each phase of sleep in a manner tightly controlled by the brain.

Our body repeats the five-phase cycle of sleep roughly every 90 minutes. This is why people often wake up easier and with less fatigue if they sleep in increments of 90 minutes. This correlates with the time when they are transitioning to lighter sleep. During these cycles, our brains clean toxins and regenerate neurons. The brain also releases hormones that tell cells throughout the body to undergo DNA repair and replication, repairing the damage of the waking day. When people miss sleep on a regular basis, their bodies cannot complete these important housekeeping tasks. Over time, the wear-and-tear can lead to increased disease risk.

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

While not getting enough sleep can put you at higher risk of disease, getting too much sleep is not healthy. People who sleep too much have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and other deadly diseases. Most adults need around eight hours of sleep for optimal function. There is some variation, but getting between seven and nine hours is optimal for almost all people. As with food, exercise and other healthy habits, moderation in sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

The Health Benefits of Sleep

What does getting adequate sleep do for your health? To name a few short-term benefits, sleeping the right amount leaves you with a better memory, higher cognitive skills and a lower risk of having accidents at work or in your car. There are long term health benefits to sleep as well. People who do not get enough sleep are at higher risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even cancer. When you get enough sleep, you are increasing your chance of a better quality of life and a longer lifespan at the same time.

A lack of quality sleep is a serious health risk. Unfortunately, it is a very common one. Around one-third of modern people are not getting the right amount. Modern life, with 24/7 light sources and high levels of stress, makes it difficult to settle down. You can have a very real impact on your health simply by deciding to turn off the phone, turn off the light and get the rest you need.

What is sleep? It is a time when your body repairs and rebuilds to prepare you for a healthier, more energetic, and more functional day. Getting the right amount of sleep will leave you more alert, functioning higher and even in better health. There are many healthy, natural ways to increase not just the time that you spend asleep, but the quality of your sleep. Sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and should be a priority for everyone.

Skipping Breakfast Can Increase Your Stroke Risk

Mar 08 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Who has time for breakfast? In the modern world, many people succumb to the morning rush and run out the door with empty stomachs. However, this can have a negative effect on health in a variety of ways. People who skip breakfast tend to have lower cognition and poorer memory. A new study suggests that skipping the most important meal of the day can even increase stroke risk.

Blood Pressure and Stroke Risk

Health care workers and scientists have long acknowledged the link between blood pressure and stroke risk. In fact, there is a direct relationship between the two. High blood pressure can cause clots to break free from blood vessel walls and lodge in the delicate vessels of the brain, causing a lack of blood flow to key areas and a resulting loss of function, also known as an ischemic stroke. High blood pressure can also cause a hemorrhagic stroke, also known as a brain bleed, when the high pressure causes cerebral blood vessels to rupture.

Circadian Rhythm, Blood Pressure, and Breakfast

How can skipping breakfast contribute to stroke? While a recent study has confirmed that there is a connection, it seems to be counter-intuitive at first look. However, researchers believe that high blood pressure may be the link. Skipping a meal ultimately results in a rise in blood pressure. Because blood pressure is naturally higher in the morning, people who skip breakfast ultimately may end up with dangerously high blood pressure. The result is damage to blood vessels and a 30 percent rise in stroke risk.

Circadian Rhythm, Hypertension, and Health

Understanding the circadian rhythm can help people to reduce their disease risk. Our bodies create hormones and other important cell proteins on a 24-hour cycle. Understanding this cycle and its effects on our bodies can help people to make better health decisions. While few people would think that eating breakfast affects their disease risk, it indeed appears to be the case. It is important to eat breakfast because it helps us to think better and function better throughout the day, but also because it keeps blood pressure from spiking, thus prevents stroke risk from soaring.

Living With Your Circadian Rhythm

Our bodies are designed to live according to a 24-hour rhythm. While modern life often interferes, it is important to keep healthy habits. There is a reason our ancestors believed in eating a healthy breakfast, even if they could not perform double-blind studies on every benefit. They understood on some innate level that our bodies were intended to work on a 24-hour cycle.

Research in chronobiology is constantly helping people to understand their bodies better and thus to reduce the chances of developing deadly disorders such as stroke. Your healthy breakfast is not just a great way to start a productive day, but a way of reducing your disease risk as well.

Chronotherapy Offers New Hope for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Mar 02 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating autoimmune disease that can lead to joint pain and a host of other health issues. As with many autoimmune diseases, patients often have to try many therapies before finding one that works. Unfortunately, some never get total relief of debilitating symptoms. However, a new paper on chronotherapy and rheumatoid arthritis suggests that carefully timing medications may lead to more relief of symptoms as well as fewer side effects.

The Circadian Rhythm of Autoimmune Disease

The immune system runs on a distinctive circadian rhythm, as well as seasonal and other rhythms, so it is no surprise that autoimmune disease does so as well. Immune system tends to peak while we are sleeping, allowing the body to detect and repair inflammation when it can be quickly repaired. Glucocorticoids, which suppress immune activity, as well as performing many other essential tasks, peak early in the day. There are also many other hormones that affect the immune system and show a 24-hour cycle.

Because of the circadian rhythm involved in immune activities, it is no surprise that many autoimmune diseases show a 24-hour cycle. In rheumatoid arthritis, also known as RA, pain and stiffness in joints are worse in the morning, usually immediately upon waking. This timing of symptoms is so predictable that it is used to differentiate RA from other joint diseases in diagnosis.

A Day with RA

People with rheumatoid arthritis develop inflamed nodules on their joints that can make movement painful. Over time, these nodules can degrade healthy joints so that they don’t function well. In general, people with rheumatoid arthritis wake with joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. This is likely to due to an increase in IL-6, an important immune mediator of inflammation. The glucocorticoid peak in the morning gradually decreases symptoms, which are generally manageable throughout the day.

The intense morning pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis begins early enough in the morning that it can interfere with sleep, leaving people who have this disease fatigued. While people with RA are more likely to use pain medication in the morning, other medications such as immune suppressants generally are not given at any particular time. A new paper suggests that this may be a mistake.

Chronotherapy and Rheumatoid Arthritis

How can chronotherapy be used to help rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases? Researchers suggest that taking a delayed release glucocorticoid at night that prevents the immune system from reaching as high of a nighttime peak, may alleviate much of the morning stiffness and other symptoms. People with RA commonly take glucocorticoids but often do so in the morning. Levels are often too low at night to have a large effect at the time when they are most needed.

This approach may also be helpful with methotrexate, monoclonal antibodies and other medications used to treat RA. These drugs target very specific cellular processes. Taking them when they are most likely to have an impact could mean a more effective treatment, as well as lower dosing and fewer side effects.

New and sophisticated drugs are coming out every day for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, offering hope to people who desperately need answers. Understanding the circadian and seasonal rhythms of autoimmune diseases will lead to more effective treatments, which ultimately means more quality of life for those who desperately seek it.

Chronobiology of the Skin: The 24-Hour Cycle of Your Largest Organ

Feb 27 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

All life on earth and each organ in our body follow circadian rhythms that revolve around the 24-hour light/dark cycle. Scientists are discovering more and more about the unique circadian rhythm of the skin.

You are probably not aware that your skin follows its own circadian rhythm, but this cycle determines every action of your skin cells from the growth of new tissue to damage repair. Understanding the chronobiology of the skin can help you to better take care of this important organ, as well as also protect against some of the damage that occurs with aging.

The 24-Hour Cycle of Skin Cells

During the day, your skin is exposed to a variety of damaging elements from the environment. Radiation from normal sunlight can cause the formation of free radicals, and even DNA damage. The wind, pollution and other harsh environmental factors also damage delicate skin cells. Our skin would quickly become aged and dysfunctional if we didn’t have cell cycles that allow for repair and rejuvenation.

Most of the repair and growth of our skin cells occurs at night. This makes sense because nighttime is when skin is least likely to be exposed to damaging environmental stressors. Throughout most of human history, people spent the night asleep in dark areas where further damage was unlikely to occur. At night, DNA repair agents begin fixing the DNA damage from the day, while toxic elements and waste products are removed. Cells begin to replicate, undergoing mitosis to generate new cells to replace those that are dead or damaged. Blood and lymph flow to the skin also increases at this time so cells have the nutrient supply that they need to complete these essential processes. Skin cells are most susceptible to damage when they are actively repairing themselves.

When the Chronobiology of the Skin Is Disturbed

When the natural circadian rhythm of the skin is disturbed, your skin cannot recover as effectively from daytime damage. Waste products can build up and cause further damage to the skin cells. New cells are not made as rapidly, giving skin a duller and older appearance. If DNA repair does not occur, the mutations and damage over time can lead to health concerns like skin cancer. The negative effects gradually build up over time, leading to noticeable damage over a lifetime. It does not take a lot to disturb the circadian rhythm of skin cells; exposure to elements and pollutants at night or simply not getting adequate sleep can interfere with these vital processes.

Preventing Aging by Working With Internal Clocks

Understanding the chronobiology of your skin can allow you to prevent damage and also to develop skincare routines that complement your internal clock. Dermatologists recommend that people use external skin products that prevent damage during the day, such as sunscreen and gentle moisturizers. At night, external skin products that assist in damage repair, such as retinol and alpha and beta hydroxy acids, will have more effects. In addition, certain lifestyle changes and the addition of a chronobiology-based dietary supplement that promotes skin health can help your skin to rejuvenate itself. Getting high-quality sleep at night consistently allows more stable circadian rhythms. Preventing nighttime exposure to toxins, such as cigarette smoke and weather, protects skin at a time when it is most prone to damage.

Our skin is our largest organ, protecting our bodies from the elements and performing essential activities such as synthesizing vitamins. Understanding the chronobiology of the skin will allow people to enjoy a healthier, more youthful appearance and to prevent health problems that are caused by accumulated damage.