The best healing and wellness support system we have is called Nature.
Each week I share the latest in 1 thing I’m doing, 2 things I’ve learnt and 3 things to explore.
Here’s this week’s edition incorporating ancestral wisdom, quantum health and biophysics as we tackle nightly light shows, brains, mindsets, actions and more.
Happy Reading!
1 THING I’M DOING
LIGHTS, MELATONIN, ACTION!
Being a circadian health warrior, and someone that aligns themselves with nature’s rhythms, takes you on some fun rides and being our home’s “Lighting Director” is now one of them.
As the days get shorter and nights become darker earlier, I find myself mirroring the outside environment, inside our home. Creating a ambient space, I start dimming our lights and turning some off once it’s dark outside. Here’s why.
Most people think our eyes are incredibly clever cameras, capturing every moment of our life and filling it with brilliant colors, shapes and movements. Yes, this is 100% true! But our eyes have other very important jobs to play – and no, rolling them at my kids’ latest request or mess isn’t one of them. It is to capture, perceive and detect light.
The light that comes into our eyes is transmitted to a very old and ancient part of our brain, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, but let’s call it SCN for short. This is our master clock. The conductor of our biological rhythms, the time keeper of our circadian beats, the maestro of our…OK, I’ll stop now.
At night, the absence of light in our eyes tells our master clock to start cranking up the melatonin production. Melatonin is a very important and ancient hormone made by our pineal gland. It not only tells our body that it’s night time, so time to wind down, sleep, rest and repair, but it is also a powerful antioxidant that has a host of other functions such as being anti-inflammatory, protecting against neurodegeneration (which is present in Alzheimers and Parkinsons), preventing metabolic disorders (type 2 diabetes) and having anti-tumoral and anti-cancer properties.
So, why the light show at home every night? Well, if we constantly have our bright LED lights on at night, and are looking at our devices such as phones, TVs, tablets and computers (which all emit a blue light that is even more damaging), the messages being sent to our SCN via our eyes, is out of sync with our natural rhythms and confusing our body. This means, our conductor (our SCN) is making the orchestra of our body sound off tune and out of beat. And no-one likes that!
Obviously switching off all the lights and bumbling around the home in the dark isn’t practical – although it does sound like a bit of fun – so what we use is a selection of 100% blue light free bulbs, lights and lamps which give off amber, orange and red light.
Artificial light at night is actually a massive topic and problem which I have no doubt I’ll be covering more of in the future.
✔️ Action Item – Start dimming lights after sunset, opt for candles, and switch off all devices at least 1 – 2 hours before bed 🕯️🕯️
Want to go one step further? You can invest in blue light free lighting like me!
2 THINGS I’VE LEARNT
CAN SOMEONE TURN OFF THE LIGHTS PLEASE?
In July 2023, Maui passed a law that made turning down the outdoor lighting to protect wildlife mandatory. 🐢
Looks like Hawaii sees the merit in playing “Lighting Director” too. 🤣
You know how I said indoor lighting at night messes with our biorhythms and and biological beats? Well, the same goes for our wildlife and Maui have taken it one step further lei’ing their laws on the line. 🌺🌺
As of last year, all outdoor lighting must limit the wavelength content to no more than 2% of blue light. Lighting must also be directed downward and be fully shielded so that no light shines over the ocean.
Light pollution is not only a health hazard for us but it is also a serious threat to our wildlife. Thousands of migrating birds, sea turtles and other wildlife are injured and killed every year in Hawaii alone. Endangered sea turtles get confused by bright onshore lighting and travel inland, sometimes crossing roads and getting hit by cars or attacked by dogs whilst endangered seabird fledglings get disoriented by bright lights while making maiden voyages from burrows out to sea, falling prey to rodents, feral cats or other animals.
There are some wonderful organisations around the world working on protecting our dark skys at night with DarkSky International and Globe at Night just a couple of them.
OUR BRAIN
Fun brain fats – oops brain facts.
🧠 Our brain is made up of 60% lipids (fats).
🧠 About 30% of the structural lipid grey matter made up of DHA, a very special type of omega-3 fatty acid called docosahexaenoic acid?
🧠 Interestingly, our brain is capable of synthesising ALL the lipids it needs, except for DHA.
🧠 This makes getting intimate with our brain and DHA something we need to do so let’s go.
Firstly, we know brain health is important and in fact, higher DHA intake has been associated with a bigger brain and a lower risk of cognitive decline, brain aging and dementia. DHA also makes up a large portion of our cerebral cortex which is responsible for just a few functions like “voluntary movement, attention, learning, memory, motivation, planning, decision making, problem-solving, conceptual thinking, perception of sensory stimuli, language processing, visual processing and comprehension and modulation of emotion”.
The important thing about DHA is that animal products are the best and highest source of it. Foods like SMASH (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring), grass fed beef and eggs are best. Whilst some plant foods such as chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts contain ALA, which can be converted to the active form of DHA, the human body is very inefficient in this conversion.
✔️ Action Item – If you eat animal-based products, try and include a few more DHA rich foods in your weekly meal plan (that would be me! 🙋). And if you don’t eat animal-based products, it may be worthwhile doing some research and seeing how you can make sure your DHA levels are sufficient.
3 THINGS TO EXPLORE
SLEEP TIP OF THE WEEK – FALL BACK ASLEEP IN 60 SECONDS
Who hasn’t experienced the joy of staring up at the ceiling at night, repeating to yourself “go back to sleep…you’re not asleep yet…why are you not asleep?” I’ve been there too my friend. It’s not comfortable, it’s not fun and getting your mind to stop thinking about work, family, to-do lists and things not done, is like trying to stop a freight train.
The 4-7-8 breathing method is a technique that could help you get back into la la land in 60 seconds. I have used it myself and whilst 60 seconds was probably a bit ambitious for me, it did help to relax me and calm my nervous system down, which is exactly what you want when you’re trying to fall back a sleep.
Here’s a step by step guide to the 4-7-8 breathing method
😴 Step 1. Close your lips and inhale silently through your nose. Count to 4 in your head.
😴 Step 2. Hold your breath for 7 seconds. This is the most important part of the practice.
😴 Step 3. Exhale for 8 seconds, making a whooshing sound.
That counts as one cycle of breath. Repeat this cycle 3-4 times and hopefully those sweet dreams will be floating through.
If holding for 7 seconds is too hard, just speed up the cycle to make it do-able. And if you have any breathing difficulties such as asthma, please seek advice from your trusted health advisor.
ARE YOU CREATING CALM OR CHAOS?
We know that what we eat affects us physically – 100% – and anyone who has picked up a child from a birthday party that was laden with sugar and a bucket full of artificial colors, flavours and additives, knows, without a doubt, that food can affect our mood and mental state. But it’s not just the kids that are affected.
There is a growing group of people that are looking at the connection between diet and mental health and wellbeing. More specifically, how our diet can contribute to anxiety, depression, self-harm and the need for medication.
I attended the Regenerate Health Summit last week and the question we were presented with is this. Is the food you are eating creating calm or chaos in your body?
This is absolutely not about guilt or judging – we’re all on this planet trying to do the best we can. This is about is reflection, self-observation and awareness and using this statement to help us make the best decisions for ourselves and our family.
✔️ Action Item – If you’re deliberating about eating something, stop and pause for a moment and ask yourself, is this going to create calm or chaos? You’ll know the answer and go with that.
MINDSET SHIFT
“I’m not hurt, I’m healing. I’m not losing, I’m learning. I was not rejected, I was redirected. Negative things happen. Negative mindsets make them harder.” James Clear
The next time something bumpy happens, can you reframe to make the story and outcome better? 💎
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