by Dr. Debbie Smrz, BSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor
Your body lives at one with nature more closely than you think.
Our superchiasmatic nucleus (SCN), strategically positioned in the hypothalamus of our brain detects light and dark, and then, like the floor manager of a factory, decides which workers (systems) should be most active; and barks orders as to speed and efficiency.
People come into my office and say "I don't want to take anything that might change my bodies natural rhythm". Honestly, if you use light bulbs in your house, you have already tampered with you bodies natural hormone and endocrine system. For optimal living, and managing weight, aligning your sleep patterns with that of the sun is critical. During the day the floor "Boss" has scheduled the metabolic workers "on" who are skilled at eating by prompting hunger, storing glucose, amino acids and fat. At night with darkness, your cortisol and catacholamines should be the lowest, such that the night shift workers are scheduled, who are better at digestion, lipid and cholesterol synthesis in the liver, fat burning in the mitochondria and overall wellness. This diurnal pattern of cortisol is very important for wellness, and research has found people who do not have a cortisol spike in the morning are more likely to have insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Talk to your Naturopath about other strategies to help you sleep more and weight less.