WEBVTT - Understanding Circadian Rhythms

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<v Speaker 1>Stay Calm as a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>to Stay Calm, your daily dose of calmness. I'm Bob Roth,

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<v Speaker 1>and I've been teaching people to meditate for fifty years,

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<v Speaker 1>helping them to stay calm under pressure, reboot and re

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<v Speaker 1>energize their lives, and basically be a happier, healthier version

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<v Speaker 1>of themselves. And now I want to help you do

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<v Speaker 1>the same. Ready, sit comfortably, take a few deep breaths,

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<v Speaker 1>and let's begin today's journey. Just before the coronavirus lockdown

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<v Speaker 1>happened in March, I took a night flight from Los

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<v Speaker 1>Angeles to New York City. The seat didn't recline and

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<v Speaker 1>I couldn't really sleep. I meditated and that helped, but

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<v Speaker 1>basically I pulled an all nighter. It took me a

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<v Speaker 1>few days to recover. It reminded me of the old

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<v Speaker 1>days when I was in college and I would pull

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<v Speaker 1>an all night or studying for an exam. In both cases,

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<v Speaker 1>I messed with my circadian rhythm, throwing off my biological clock. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>during the coronavirus pandemic, millions of us are throwing off

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<v Speaker 1>her circadian rhythms. But it's not because of all night

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<v Speaker 1>travels or cramming for an exam. It's because of the

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<v Speaker 1>irregularity of our lives. Because there's so little structure, the

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<v Speaker 1>days all seem to blend together, and the line between

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<v Speaker 1>work and leisure time is obscured when your living room

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<v Speaker 1>doubles as your home office. Well, now I'd like to

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<v Speaker 1>introduce you to my very good friend, doctor Norman Rosenthal, psychiatrist,

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<v Speaker 1>medical researcher, and best selling author. He was also the

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<v Speaker 1>first to describe something called seasonal effective disorder effect of

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<v Speaker 1>light on moods. With so much frustration and so many

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<v Speaker 1>concerns about sleeplessness and other problems coming during the quarantine,

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<v Speaker 1>I asked him to explain circadian rhythms and why they're

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<v Speaker 1>so out of whack these days. Doctor Rosenthal said Circadian

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<v Speaker 1>rhythms are changes in your mind, your body, and your

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<v Speaker 1>behavior that follow a daily cycle. These changes respond mainly

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<v Speaker 1>to light and darkness in your environment when you sleep

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<v Speaker 1>at night and are awake during the day. That's an

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<v Speaker 1>example of a circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms also regulate your

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<v Speaker 1>body temperature, the release of hormones, how you digest your food,

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<v Speaker 1>how hungry you are, and whether or not you're sleepy

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<v Speaker 1>during the day. These rhythms are controlled and synchronized by

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<v Speaker 1>a master clock in the middle part of your brain.

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<v Speaker 1>Light sends a signal to the master clock when you're asleep,

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<v Speaker 1>and the light from the morning sun hits the retina

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<v Speaker 1>of your eye and travels through the optic nerve to

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<v Speaker 1>the master clock. This basically signals your brain it's time

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<v Speaker 1>to wake up. The master clock then alerts other parts

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<v Speaker 1>of your brain that control body temperature, hormones, and other functions.

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<v Speaker 1>The response is just the opposite when the sun goes

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<v Speaker 1>down and it it's dark in the evening. Then your

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<v Speaker 1>brain releases the sleep hormone melatonin, and you feel sleepy

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<v Speaker 1>and you want to go to bed. The big problem

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<v Speaker 1>here is with the city lights that some of us

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<v Speaker 1>live with and the blue lights from the TV screen

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<v Speaker 1>and computer screen that we all live with. All this

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<v Speaker 1>light suppresses the release of melatonin, and now you can't

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<v Speaker 1>go to sleep, even though it's late and your body

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<v Speaker 1>is exhausted over time. Disrupted circadian rhythms can lead to

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<v Speaker 1>sleep disorders, obesity, diabetes, depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal effective disorder.

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<v Speaker 1>The list goes on. What can we do to bring

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<v Speaker 1>our circadian rhythms online so we feel healthy, resilient, clear, energetic, happy.

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<v Speaker 1>Amazingly simple things, even if your schedule is crazy. As

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<v Speaker 1>much as possible. Go to sleep on time, wake up

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<v Speaker 1>one time, exercise if possible when the sun is up,

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<v Speaker 1>rest when it's dark, Meditate, eat regular meals. Also, maintain

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<v Speaker 1>a regular structure to your day. Make your bed in

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<v Speaker 1>the morning. We're nice clothes around the house, not fancy ones,

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<v Speaker 1>but not a robe either. Maintain a normal routine and

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<v Speaker 1>a normal feeling about your life. And since getting enough

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<v Speaker 1>sleep is one of the single most important things we

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<v Speaker 1>can do to restore balance to our circadian rhythms, Dr

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<v Speaker 1>Rosenthal recommends minimizing the impact of that dreaded blue light

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<v Speaker 1>from your computer screen. Blue light will just suppress your melotonin,

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<v Speaker 1>which means odds are you're not going to get a

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<v Speaker 1>good night's sleep. And here's my tip of the day.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're determined to watch TV or work on your

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<v Speaker 1>computer late into the night, Dr Rosenthal recommends you get

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<v Speaker 1>a pair of orange goggles. Orange goggles will block the

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<v Speaker 1>blue light. They help Dr Rosenthal get a good night's sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe they'll help you too, all right, let's end this

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<v Speaker 1>time together doing something that I think should be a

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<v Speaker 1>feature of our everyday life, and that's appreciation and gratitude.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's take thirty seconds of quiet, thirty seconds to

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<v Speaker 1>take a break, just take a moment. It turns out

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<v Speaker 1>when we do that, it's good for our health as well.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll be right back all right. Thank you for joining

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<v Speaker 1>me today. I hope you heard something that in spires

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<v Speaker 1>that uplifts you and that you can incorporate into your

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<v Speaker 1>own life. This is Bob Roth. Stay calm, hey, all

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<v Speaker 1>of you out there, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your stories, your questions, or anything

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<v Speaker 1>else on your mind. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook or Instagram at meditation Bob. You can also send

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<v Speaker 1>me an email at meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to hearing from you.