In her quest to better understand how factors like when we eat and how much sunlight we get affect our ability to feel rested, happy and balanced, Lynne Peeples went 50 feet underground for 10 days.
Peeples, science journalist and author of “The Inner Clock: Living in Sync with Our Circadian Rhythms” find the Airbnb in Arkansas that was once a bunker during the Cold War.
“This guy had bought an old nuclear missile silo from the government and tampered with it,” she said in an episode of the “Every day is better with smart Leah“podcast.
In the bunker, “there was no daylight,” she said. Peeples also got permission from the Airbnb host to cover all the clocks on digital devices with black tape so she wouldn't know what time it was down there.
The lights in the bunker were red and red. “We know that that wavelength of light is red minimal impact on our circadian rhythms,” she said.
For her book, Peeples wanted to explore what would happen to her internal clocks “if I cut myself off from these cues that need to tell time.” “
During her stay, Peeples recorded her experiences through voice recordings with the plan to use the time sheets to see how closely she adhered to her usual schedule – such as when she ate breakfast or when she went to sleep.
“For the first couple of days, it was wonderful because I could look further into schedules from voice recordings I made, and I was quite right in living a 24-hour day, ” she said. “Our internal clocks keep good time.”
But about halfway into the experience, Peeples started feeling “so out of sorts” that she felt like major jet lag.
“At my worst, I was completely driven. I was living my day when everyone else above ground was sleeping. So, I was almost 12 hours off, ” she said. “I felt the impact of that.”
Peeples began to experience moodiness, “feeling hot and cold,” and hunger once her internal clock was out of sync with her normal schedule. She also noticed that her thinking was sharper, and that she was sharper than usual.
“Not that it wasn't expected, but to feel that, it was very deep. “
'Getting adequate bright light' is essential for your circadian rhythm
When your circadian rhythm is out of sync, you may experience fatigue, insomnia, headaches or even depression, depending Cleveland Clinic. The Peeples test results further confirm what research has shown about how certain factors such as exposure to sunlight can affect your circadian rhythm.
“To keep that calibration, that's about it get adequate bright light, especially in the morning“, said Peeples.
“Within the first hour or so of waking up, if you can get your eyes open to daylight,” you're in good shape.
Go for a 15-minute walk in the morning, and “be as close to a window as possible during the day,” she suggested. at night, dim the lights in your home as you approach bedtime to prime your body for bed.
Aligning your lifestyle with the 24-hour cycle is essential for your body's functions including processing foods properly and “priming our immune system” to put the -against certain pathogens. It's the best way to “keep all these body systems doing a better job of doing the right things at the right times,” i said.
Peeples also provided a list of things that can disrupt your circadian rhythm, and affect more than just the quality and quantity of your sleep:
- Darkness during the day
- Lots of light at night
- Eating at the wrong times of the day (anytime snacking)
- Changing the time on our clocks twice a year, when we “fall back” and “spring forward“
- Travel across time zones
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