From eNewsletter 5/29/2019
DID YOU KNOW that in a new study from American Journal of Public Health, researchers found yoga, tai chi, and qigong use is increasing substantially in the US? This is great news!
Top three reasons for using: was beneficial, focused on the whole person, and was natural. Acute and chronic pain, arthritis, and depression were the top three medical conditions for which people used them the most.
IN TUNE WITH YOUR CIRCADIAN CLOCK?
Bonnie & Steve: Circadian clock genes are expressed in all tissues in the body, with the highest levels found in skeletal muscles, according to research presented at American College of Sports Medicine 2019 Annual Meeting.
Scientists used to think the clock was only in the brain, but now we know that the clock genes are expressed throughout all tissues in the body.
The circadian clock is a gene network that turns on and off once each day. Those genes are actually master-control genes that turn on and off many hundreds of thousands of other genes that are involved in every process in cells and in the body.
The implications for areas such as sports medicine are obvious.
Peak performance occurs when the body is in sync with its circadian clock. If you want to perform your best in any athletic endeavor, it is essential to know the optimal times to eat, sleep, rest, and exercise, all of which are regulated by your clock.
When the clocks in your body are out of alignment, it can feel like jet lag. Your brain is in one time zone, your heart is in another, your intestines in another, muscles in another, and so on. And you only start to feel better when things get back in synchrony.
Certain activities, such as using an e-reader late at night can expose us to light when we would not typically be exposed to it, and eating late at night can affect our circadian biology.
A lot of Olympic and world records are broken in the afternoon and early evening hours, because that's when our circadian system is really optimizing our performance. Peak performance times are different for early birds and night owls, characteristics that are determined by the circadian clock. But either way, adequate sleep is essential. If your sleep is disturbed, then your performance, including reaction time and decision-making ability, is impaired.
5 UNIQUE HOMEMADE DRESSINGS
Steve: These dressings are a bit more "spiced" than what we usually recommend, so make substitutions for intolerances and allergies as needed...this article is reserved for NCI Well Connect Members. You can get this article by signing up here. You can get our free eNewsletter by signing up at the top of our website.
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