Timing is Everything: The Daily Cycle
Over ¾ of your body processes at the cell level have a daily cycle. Each of our cells changes its production depending on the part of the daily cycle. The cell factory has a workday and rest periods.
Keep cells on track
To keep your cells in optimal working condition, you have to keep a daily schedule. Without a regular daily schedule, some of our cell factories make the wrong molecule at the wrong time. The wrong hormone at the wrong time can have bad health effects. When all the cell factories are aligned with the schedule, the body runs better, and health improves.
Light and food
The two primary drivers of our daily cycle are light and food. Not a big surprise that light sets the clock for our bodies. The sun is the clock for all of nature. Plants go through a daily cycle that depends on the sun. Animals also set their schedule by the sun. Some are active in the dark and some in the day, but they all use the sun to set their schedule. Humans are no different. Your body is in a different mode during the day than at night, whether you are asleep or awake.
Light up your day
To keep a daily cycle, get up at the same time every day, no matter when you go to bed. You will find you have more energy. Also, when you wake up, get into the light, preferably natural light. Natural light during the day is the primary signal to start the daily cycle.
Eat on schedule
Eating at regular times helps the body get on a schedule. Your body is in a different state after you eat compared to fasting periods between meals. To help align your cells to a daily schedule, try to eat at the same time every day.
Morning protein
Before noon is the best time to eat protein. Protein eaten earlier in the day is used to build and maintain muscle. During the morning hours, your cells are in the rebuilding phase and will take protein and use it to build and rebuild muscle.
Extend the sleep fast
Don’t eat in the first hour after waking. Let your body become awake without food or coffee. At the end of the day, don’t eat during the 3 hours before bed. Begin the process of winding down for sleep by halting food intake. Also, avoid any bright lights at night. The light should gradually dim in the evening.
Cool it
To sleep, you need to cool down at night. Because the temperature naturally lowers at night, we are programmed to sleep better in coolness. Avoid intense exercise a few hours before bed, as that can warm your body’s core. A shower or warm bath actually helps cool you off as the water on your body as you step out of the tub or shower cools you down.
Relive the past
To help you fall asleep, relive a happy memory. Think of something great that happened to you in the past and recreate it in your mind. Don’t use an imagined event. Use something real that happened to you. Try to recapture the feeling of being in that time and place. This will keep your brain thinking about something joyful while you fall asleep. To get sweet dreams, daydream of a happy memory as you fall asleep.
Schedule your cells
Keeping your cells on a daily cycle will improve your health markers and make you feel better. Set a schedule for your cells today. Timing is everything.
