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How to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.
Topics Discussed in this Episode:
Leanne talks about the importance of a healthy circadian rhythm and the benefits this provides for getting better sleep.
What we can learn from our ancestors to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.
Key Takeaways:
Managing a healthy circadian rhythm doesn’t require any equipment bar a couple of inexpensive, optional items.
Back in caveman/woman times, our ancestors would have woken up to natural light and moved around a lot during the day, outdoors.
They would have had good levels of serotonin upon waking, and low levels of cortisol when they went to bed.
Populations around the world who live the longest have these behaviours in common:
They are outdoors during the day, in natural light.
They do lots of low level physical activity (not structured exercise) throughout the day.
These are great for maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm.
They would have also (unconsciously) managed their exposure to blue light in the evening. This is a frequency emitted by the sun but nowadays also by smartphones, TVs etc.
If you’re interested in tracking sleep, you can invest in an Oura ring which is a great bit of kit.
Blue light blocking glasses can also improve sleep. Two brands we recommend but have no affiliation with are https://truedark.com/ or https://raoptics.com/
Action Steps:
If you’re looking to get better sleep, try to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm and follow these three rules:
1.) Do low level, physical movement during the day
2.) Get exposure to natural light during the day
3.) Manage exposure to blue light in the evening
Leanne said:
“For a lot of people, we’re not moving enough during the day, we’re getting over-exposed to blue light in the evening, and we’re not getting enough natural light during the day.
The good news is, this is quite a fixable situation.“
As always, if you would like to register your interest in some of the ideas that I’m putting together with Bodyshot Performance, send an email to anne@bodyshotperformance.com.
If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.
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