May 2022

What’s on my mind this month:

• You might have heard that keeping your room dark is important for better sleep quality. This study looks at the impact of light exposure on HR, HRV, and glucose regulation. It’s worth the small effort to make sure you sleep in a dark room. I also use a sleep mask regularly, and always travel with it.

• Speaking of sleep, as the world opens up and people are traveling again, I thought I’d share my protocol for beating jet lag. It’s long been known that your circadian rhythm will entrain to light when food is plentiful, and entrain to feeding when food is scarce. Your organs also have their own circadian rhythm independent of the master clock in your hypothalamus, and nutrition plays a big role in circadian management. Here’s my protocol for beating jet lag, with an example: This has worked really well for me on numerous trans-Pacific flights. As an added bonus, I don’t need to bother with airline food.

  • Begin fast 24 hours before 7 a.m. of my first morning in the destination time zone.

  • Consume only water, and maybe some electrolytes, during that 24 hour period.

  • Example:

    • If I fly to Tokyo on Sunday, departing at noon, I will arrive in Tokyo around 4 pm on Monday (12 hour flight, 16 hours ahead).

    • Tuesday morning 7 a.m. in Tokyo will be my first breakfast.

    • I begin fasting at 7 a.m. on Monday morning in Tokyo. 7 a.m. Monday in Tokyo is 3 pm Sunday in CA. So I can eat before I board, and up to 3 hours into my flight.

• Anxiety can cause you to produce too much lactate when exercising and impede your work capacity. Article here. Aligns anecdotally with my experience that great athletes tend to be pretty chill, and don’t get their feathers ruffled easily.

• I’ve never had my coronary artery calcium (CAC) measured, but I plan to. It’s important: Coronary Artery Calcium Score - A Reliable Indicator of Coronary Artery Disease?

From the top of Bear Creek road, looking back toward Boulder Creek and the ocean way out there beyond the hills: