Circadian (16): What Do I Do Doc?
As I have said before, science is an amusement. Whether its findings benefit us or not is not based on how much we know, but rather how close we are to living in equilibrium. This is the term for the body’s naturally balanced state, which allows it to go in the direction it was meant to go. In our simple minds, we call it "healthy aging." The more ambitious among us term it "optimal living." When we feel so good we are prone to getting ahead of ourselves, that is when we call it "biohacking for longevity." They share the same root concept—equilibrium—and the knowledge does nothing on paper until we practically live it. So, if your circadian clock is discordant, there are a few things you can consider doing to help it realign.
I suggest the first thing you attempt is controlled UVB exposure. You can only get an effective amount of UVB when you stand out in the sun and find that your shadow is at your height or shorter. If your shadow is very close to your height in length, you may want to do a minimum of 20 minutes of exposure time. Wear little or no clothing and make sure to lie down flat to ensure an even distribution. This will help mitigate shoulder burns that often happen if you are busy in the sun in an upright position. Burning is strictly counterproductive—not just from its cancer risk, but also from the way it stops your cells from registering the body clock message amidst the thick inflammatory smoke that comes out of the toasted skin. You can break the 20 minutes up into two blocks of 10 minutes, one block on each side (front and back). Yes, I know, it sounds similar to what you would have done on the beach some years ago, only more cleverly controlled. Put our foolish sun-baking days behind us, shall we?
If you miss catching the sun when it is gentle, you may still proceed but with a much shorter period, depending on the season and your skin characteristics. Personally, even with my tan, I would avoid true summer middays—i.e., when the shadow is so short it hardly escapes our feet. A two-foot shadow may mean you can go out for 10 minutes in total; a shadow shorter than that might only allow you to be exposed for 5 minutes before your skin turns red. In medicine, this is called the minimal erythemal dose, or MED. You need to know what your MED is for different times of the day and seasons of the year. If you are in doubt, do half of your predicted MED. Better be safe than sorry.
Some of us are blessed with more protective melanin to mitigate the harm of too much UV exposure; therefore, their exposure time will differ significantly from my general guidance above. Your skin tone, more than the severity of your circadian disruption, dictates how much daily UVB exposure time you will need. Your level of sunlight deficiency determines how long you need to do it for, in terms of months or years, before reaching equilibrium again. Finally, the chronicity of sunlight deprivation—how long you have lived without it—gives a clue on how much of the circadian rhythm you can reverse and how much of it you might be stuck with (remember, BMAL1 and CLOCK are entrained).
If you need to do your monthly fishing, boating, or camping, I would cover up—except for the short UVB exposure time we discussed, which you will still need to continue doing if your clock is broken. The same is true with prolonged gardening, lawn mowing, swimming, etc. My UVB exposure advice is not an excuse for anyone to be "sun ignorant." We can’t live without UVB, but we don’t want too much of it either. Our bodies aren’t the only vessels maintaining equilibrium; the whole universe does this too. I see this as proof of intelligent design.
Talking about intelligence and design, we need to be careful about using smart devices outside of the intended circadian daylight time. Avoiding them from dusk to dawn is ideal, but I still recommend everyone invest in blue light blocking glasses, as there will be instances when we will need to look at them long after the sun has set. It also saves you from having to swap all of your light bulbs to red, which can be impractical, costly, and, more importantly, weird. I don’t necessarily wish to see everyone converting back to incandescent bulbs, which will hurt the bank, nor do I advocate using candles due to their fire hazards. Blue light blocking glasses are a convenient compromise—you can even continue to do your twilight shift at work if you really have to. Just make sure the lenses are fully amber. The lightly tinted lens does not work for circadian purposes.
Nighttime is best for family bonding, relationship building, journaling, singing, prayer, and meditation. As much as we have culturally accepted reading into the night routine to "wind down," it is harder for me to decide on this one as it totally depends on the material you pick. You want to avoid going into a mental adventure or a rise in negative emotions, which are selling points for a lot of books out there. If you woke up from sleep for whatever reason, keep your AANAT active by using your blue light blocking glasses when getting around. When you are done with what you need to do, get back in bed and meditate. Even if you are not immediately asleep, your brain waves and hormones are.
I don’t recommend missing breakfast in the morning. In fact, I advocate the opposite: try to make breakfast your richest meal of the day. If you want to slack, slack on dinner. If you want to keep all of your meals heavy, I don’t have a problem with that as long as you don’t miss breakfast and you have your last meal early—the latest at around sunset. Go heavy on protein in the morning, as much as 30 grams if you can. And carbohydrates are not another name for poison. For circadian purposes, carbs are not your enemy. It is when you have them and what you do with them that might be the problem.
The closer you have breakfast to your waking up time, the better it is for your overall clock. You want to get your eyes to feast on the morning light too—this is their version of steak and sausages. Don’t cry about missing sunrise; your circadian has a lot more appetite for the bright morning light as the sun is higher and the lux is more intense. Try not to miss this one before your work. Enjoy the beautiful view of our lovely planet under the sun’s gentle beam. With a broken body clock, you want to avoid working out in the dark, so the best time is actually 2–3 hours after breakfast. Find something to do somewhere where your eyes still have access to what the sun is shining on to maintain the minimum 1,000 lux.
These are the general guidelines on fixing a broken body clock. The more broken your clock is, the stricter you need to adhere to the guidance. If your circadian rhythm is perfect, I wholeheartedly congratulate you. It takes a lot more than the occasional deviation from this habit to break it. You are not the one who should be worried. The concern starts if we regularly allow circadian disruptors like caffeine, alcohol, antihistamines, blue light, shift work, drugs, etc., to dictate time for the body.
Now for the disclaimer:
The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical diagnosis, treatment, or a personalized consultation.
Always seek the advice of your personal physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before undertaking any diet, exercise, or supplement program. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this article.
The author is a qualified healthcare provider, and the information shared is based on professional knowledge, research, and opinion. However, this article does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship or personalized medical care. Reliance on any information appearing in this article is solely at your own risk. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or emergency services immediately.