Risks of Nighttime Light (NEW STUDY)

💥 Just published in the Lancet:

Based on data from 85,000 participants in the UK Biobank tracked for 8 YEARS, this is the largest study to date to link diabetes risk to light exposure at night.

Sources of nighttime light included lamps, streetlights, and digital screens.

Participants in the top 10% of light exposure between 12:30am and 6am were 1.5 times more likely to develop diabetes than those in the dark.

Why would this be?

Light at night can disrupt the circadian rhythm, which regulates hunger cues, insulin release, and sugar metabolism around the clock.

Some ways I advise my patients to support a healthy circadian rhythm:

☀️ Sunlight on the face in the morning

☕ Keep caffeine to the first half of the day

🥣 Eat on a regular schedule

🌙 Wind-down routine at night

Sometimes simple habits make the biggest difference!

↗️ Share to your stories or your feed to spread the word!

Windred DP, Burns, AC, Rutter MK, et al. Personal light exposure patterns and incidence of type 2 diabetes: analysis of 13 million hours of light sensor data and 670,000 person-years of prospective observation. The Lancet. 2024. [link]

Sleeping Less than 5 Hours Per Night? Read This.

💤 Sleeping 5 hours or less per night? 

New research on the health of 70,000 men and women in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, showed a link between 5 hours or less per night and disease risk. 

Compared with those who slept 7 hours per night, those who slept only 5:

⬆️ were 20% more likely to be diagnosed with a chronic disease at age 50

⬆️ were 40% more likely to be diagnosed with 2 or more chronic diseases over 25 years

⬆️ had a 25% increased risk of death over 25 years

The study was published in PLOS Medicine. It relates to the series we’re doing this month on circadian rhythms and is a good reminder of how important it is to get a good night’s sleep!

If you need help with sleep, please book an appointment so we can help!

Reference

Séverine Sabia, Aline Dugravot, Damien Léger, et al. Association of sleep duration at age 50, 60, and 70 years with risk of multimorbidity in the UK: 25-year follow-up of the Whitehall II cohort study. PLOS Medicine, 2022; 19 (10): e1004109. [link]

Why to Skip the Midnight Snack

✨new research alert ✨

Previous research has shown that eating late at night increases obesity risk and body fat, while making it more difficult to lose weight. 

Now in a new study, investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital set out to find out WHY. 

16 individuals with obesity or overweight completed 2 protocols: one with a strict early eating schedule, and the second eating the exact same meals but 4 hours later in the day. 

Here’s what happened:

⬇️ Leptin levels dropped in the late eating condition. That’s the hormone that makes people feel full, so those who ate late felt hungrier. 

⬇️ Calories were burned at a slower rate during the late eating compared with early eating. 

⬆️ Expression of genes in fat tissue shifted toward promoting fat storage during the late eating.   

The takeaway? 

WHEN you eat does matter (contrary to popular belief), and it may be especially problematic to eat late at night. 

Drop a comment if you pay attention to the time of day you eat ⤵️

Reference

Nina Vujović et al. Late isocaloric eating increases hunger, decreases energy expenditure, and modifies metabolic pathways in adults with overweight and obesity. CellMetabolism, 2022. [link]

Beyond Light Therapy: Supplements for Better Rhythms

Light and dark exposure are not the ONLY ways to influence your circadian rhythm!

There are 2 key hormones that regulate your daily rhythms, and they not only respond to the light-dark cycle but also to the foods we eat and supplements we take. 

They are melatonin & cortisol.

The natural and healthy cycle of these hormones goes like this:

☀️In the morning, cortisol rises to make us alert and energized (and melatonin is at its lowest)

🌙 At night, melatonin rises to make is relaxed and sleepy (and cortisol falls to its lowest)

Some people who experience circadian disruption also lose this natural rhythm of hormone fluctuations. Maybe their cortisol stays low all day, maybe it rises at night, or maybe their melatonin doesn’t rise high enough. 

There can be lots of scenarios (that’s why we test!), but the good news is that we can use supplements to support these natural rhythms. 

For example:

💊 Melatonin can be taken at night to support sleep.

💊 Phosphatidylserine can be taken at night to support a healthy cortisol pattern. 

💊 Adaptogenic herbs (like ginseng) can be taken during the day to support the daily cortisol rhythm.

Please consider this info to be educational rather than prescriptive. If you struggle with energy or sleep and want to support your circadian rhythm, please work with a qualified practitioner. 

#circadianrhythm #melatonin #nutritionalsupplements #herbalmedicine

How to Support Your Circadian Rhythm for Better Health

When your lifestyle is at odds with your internal body clock (your circadian rhythm), it can cause everything from fatigue to insomnia, anxiety, depression, weight gain, and more. 

Whether or not you’ve disrupted your circadian rhythm yet or not, anybody can begin TODAY to live in better alignment with their circadian rhythms. 

Here’s how:

☀️ Get Natural Daytime Light

The most powerful external influence on your circadian rhythm is the 24-hour light-dark cycle. If you expose yourself to bright light shortly after waking in the morning, you will feel more alert during the day and fall asleep more easily at night.  

💡 Consider Light Therapy

Light therapy boxes or lamps emit light that simulates sunshine indoors (without the sunburn effects). If used in the morning, they may help to support energy and mood while resetting the circadian rhythm or hormones, like melatonin. 

📱 Shut Down Screens at Night

Humans evolved with dark nights, until electricity was invented about a century ago. Screens are especially problematic at night because of the blue light they emit—suppressing melatonin just when it should be on the rise.  

🍏 Try Intermittent Fasting

Our digestion and ability to manage blood sugar levels fluctuate on a daily rhythm. Studies suggest that restricting the eating window to certain hours of the day may align with our internal metabolic rhythms and support healthy metabolism. 

I have one more post coming your way on the topic of circadian disruption and it’s all about balancing the rhythm of our hormones with supplements. 

Be sure to watch for that post to drop soon!

#circadianrhythm #circadiandisruption #lighttherapy #intermittentfasting