Night shift friends: Ever wake up and find yourself unable to fall back asleep, even though you know you’re tired? Or find yourself unable to fall asleep in the first place, even though you’ve been awake for 20 hours? Blame it on your circadian rhythms. Yup, those internal body clocks that tell you when it’s […]
The Chrono-Diet: Timing Meals for Optimal Satisfaction
My family spent the last week of the year visiting my wife’s family in the Seattle area, filled with the warmth of family. Even though we were also filled with lots of great food, it didn’t lead to lots of satisfaction with said food. Maybe I would feel full (or overfull) temporarily, but soon enough, […]
3 Benefits of Time-Restricted Eating for Shift Workers
Shift work can add a layer of complexity to your daily routine, setting you apart from the typical 9-to-5 crowd. Daily activities, like when to eat, can become a question that you don’t have time to answer. That’s where the magic of circadian science comes in. Increasingly, it looks like shift workers can do better […]
Mastering Jet Lag: How We Outsmarted Time Zones
It’s a common term, but what do we really mean by jet lag? I would say jet lag is a kind of circadian misalignment that happens when: 1. your body is aligned to your environment, meaning you’re sleeping at night and active when the sun is up, then … 2. you quickly travel to a […]
Exploring Circadian Medicine: A Conversation with Dr. Marc Ruben
In the realm of medical research, the study of circadian rhythms has gained increasing attention in recent years. Dr. Marc Ruben, a postdoctoral researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, is at the forefront of this exciting field. In a candid and insightful interview, Dr. Ruben discusses his work, insights, and the potential impact of circadian medicine […]
Chronomedicine and Immunity: How Circadian Rhythms Impact Our Bodies’ Immune Systems
Cold and flu season are starting in the southern hemisphere, while allergy season is in full swing in the global north. Both of these are linked to our immune systems, which are built out of many different organs, hormones, and free-roaming, invader-killing cells such as T-cells. Because infection can happen anywhere, our immune systems interact […]
What is circadian sleep sufficiency?
Here’s a weird thing about shift workers: Their sleep duration doesn’t always predict how sleepy they feel. Which is weird because… shouldn’t it? After all, somebody who sleeps for a longer period of time should feel less sleepy than someone who sleeps only for a short period of time, right? This paradox isn’t actually that […]
Interview with Dr. Gena Glickman
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your research? I’m an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences as well as Director of the Chronobiology, Light, and Sleep Lab in Bethesda, Maryland. Immediately prior to arriving at USUHS, I was in San […]
Interview with Dr. Hrayr Attarian
Thanks for joining me today. You have such an impressive resume. Would you mind telling me about yourself and how you got into sleep medicine? While studying for my undergraduate in biology, I took a class in abnormal psychology, and one of the lectures was about dreams, which piqued my interest in psychology and sleep […]
The Dark Side of Daylight Saving Time
Welp, here we are yet again. We are once more setting our clocks forward one hour to have more evening light. Why? That’s a good question. The history of Daylight Saving Time (DST) is complex and goes back to 1918 (in the United States). But lately more and more people are asking if it’s even […]