On The Importance of a Solid and CONSISTENT Morning Routine

For hormone health

Hormone health is all about LIGHT & ELECTRONS & SAFETY.

Establishing a solid, CONSISTENT morning routine that involves natural light, grounding and breakfast is a game changer for ensuring hormone health.

We need 3 main inputs, EVERY DAY, in order to ensure our bodies function optimally:

We need to know TIME, PLACE & SAFETY STATUS.

(Carrie Bennett, MS)

Input #1 - Time of day 

To ensure our body knows exactly what time it is, we need to expose our eyes to natural light throughout the day, starting with sunrise. Why? Well, the body tells time by sensing the amount of blue light present in the environment. Blue light first comes through the atmosphere at SUNRISE. This is nature's wake-up signal! When we are outside, or when our eyes are exposed to sunrise light, our body gets the signal that the day has started and it's time to produce all the hormones and neurotransmitters to run all the cell processes we need for day-time functioning. In addition, that first morning light sets a timer for melatonin production that night, and for cortisol production the following morning to wake us up for a new day.

Exposing our eyes to artificial blue light at night or before sunrise sends the wrong time signal to our brains, and propels us into a state of jet lag. When we're in jet lag we don't make hormones and neurotransmitters at the right time. This underlies assorted dis-ease presentations... Topics for separate posts. For now, I’ll just leave you with this quote from Dr. Sara Pugh, when talking about high cortisol and insulin resistance (references at the end):

“Don’t blame cortisol or carbs for what ALaN did!”

Dr. Sara Pugh

“Who’s this ALaN!?”, you ask. It’s not a person. ALaN stands for Artificial Light at Night. And it is quickly becoming a popular acronym in the circadian biology sphere. Study after study after study is showing that our continual 21st century-style marinating in highly processed, synthetic, artificial MAINLY BLUE light is wreaking havoc on our body’s ability to function efficiently. (The studies linked above are a mere sampling of all the information already out there - check out References, below).

Input # 2 - Location in space

We need to know where we are in space in order for all cellular processes to run smoothly and without interference. The most efficient way to accomplish this is to ground. Grounding/earthing involves connecting our feet and/or hands to the earth (dirt, sand, grass, concrete). In doing so our body is able to pick up geomagnetic information via special molecules that tell us where we are in space, effectively “geolocating us”. When we’re geolocated, our bodies can better optimize our “signal-to-noise” information ratios. We are better able to know what hormones and neurotransmitters and enzymes to make, and when. Knowing where we are in space provides key information regarding seasonality. And this is essential for gut microbiome health!

Being in New York in July, is very different than being in Buenos Aires, Argentina in July. Different locations. Different seasons. Different amounts of blues in the environment. Different amounts of infrared throughout the day. Different foods! Our gut microbiome changes throughout the seasons. The bacteria adapt to the amount of light in the environment, and to the geomagnetic information available at any given time, so that the type of gut bacteria present in summer is very different than that present in winter. Summertime gut bacterial composition is primed for carbohydrate absorption and assimilation. Wintertime microbiome? Not so much!

Think about it: when do veggies and fruits grow and thrive? Summertime! The light code needed to spur on seed sprouting and support growth in time for harvest is only available during those longer days of the year (namely: ultraviolet frequencies). As a result, our gut microbiome becomes tuned to that summer light code (which comes in through our eyes and photoreceptors on our skin) and morphs accordingly to be able to efficiently process and assimilate the carbs we eat. So, yes, a diet higher in carbs (i.e. veggies and fruits) for the summer months works just fine! And, NO, I’m not giving anyone license to gorge on cake and cookies and coronas on the beach. Those carbs are still no bueno. They are highly-processed food versions of the highly processed blue light your cell phone screen emits (and which I’m desperately trying to help you quit).

The flip side of this? When the days are shorter, as in winter, the light code is different; overall there’s less ultraviolet light and the blue frequencies are not as strong in their intensity as blues from sunlight in the summer. Our gut microbiome is designed to adjust accordingly. But the result is we are not as capable of digesting, processing and assimilating carbs in winter as we are in summer. So, yes - a more fat-and-protein-centric diet in winter is a circadian-friendly way to eat.

This light & location-dependent bacterial diversity is completely destroyed when we’re under fake lights and in doors all day, quickly devolving into a very simple, non-diverse gut microbiome that is now susceptible to all kinds of imbalances and dis-ease.

Living and eating for the latitude we’re in TODAY is the easiest, cheapest way to prevent dis-ease and reverse assorted health issues and hormone imbalances.

Another powerful consequence of grounding is that our body absorbs electrons from the earth. This drastically improves our REDOX potential and recharges our body water. A fully-charged body water (a.k.a. our bio-battery) ensures enough energy for all cellular processes necessary for optimal health! I have so much more to say about this topic, I will save it for a separate post, dedicated to all things True Hydration.

Input #3 - Is our environment SAFE?

On any given day, can we go ahead and optimize hormone levels for FERTILITY, or are we still in a DANGER SITUATION, requiring more cortisol and other stress molecules?

This is basically the main question our nervous system is constantly asking. The correct answer is important to our survival. The correct answer in the morning, based on the light and geomagnetic cues it’s already received is ESSENTIAL.

Cortisol (a master hormone) and adrenaline (a neurotransmitter) are our main stress molecules. Their levels rise in response to stressors. In an ideal situation, some stress is important, necessary for life. 

We evolved what is called a Stress Response. The natural, healthy stress response is the one where cortisol and adrenaline rise and we move into a sympathetic state (fight-flight-freeze) in order to wake up, avoid a threat, run away from a predator, stay alive. Once the threat is removed we instantaneously move back into a parasympathetic state, cortisol and adrenaline levels drop and melatonin (another master hormone) and acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) rise in order to mediate "rest-digest-reproduce" functions.

When we eat within an hour of sunrise, or consistently eat in the mornings after waking up, coupled with consistent exposure to natural light first thing in the morning, our body gets the signal that there is abundant food, there is no threat, there is no need to churn out cortisol in excess, it can rest and digest. When this signal is conveyed, pregnenolone, the master sex hormone, shifts from making cortisol to making sex hormones, supporting fertility (image simplified & adapted from assorted online sources):

An unnatural stress response is one where we persist in a sympathetic state, and don't move back into parasympathetic once the threat is removed.

An example of a daily habit that keeps us in a sympathetic state is when we fast until noon or later. This tells our brain that we’re in a scarcity situation and the body’s reserves must be protected at all cost (enter fat storage mode and increased glucose levels). Another even more powerful input that keeps us in sympathetic overdrive is ALaN (discussed above)! When we engage in these daily habits, our bodies don't get that needed safety signal and cortisol keeps getting made. Pregnenolone is diverted to sustaining cortisol production at the expense of sex hormones. This "pregnenolone steal" is at the foundation of infertility, adrenal fatigue, thyroid issues, weight gain, insulin and leptin resistance, and assorted sleep issues. To name a few situations.

Having breakfast each day and protecting your brain from artificial light at the wrong times so as to nourish healthy cortisol levels are but 2, low-hanging-fruit MUST-DOs for nourishing our nervous system. These steps are foundational for healthy nervous system regulation. Stress management tools like breathwork, massage and other forms of body work, and more involved approaches are also important and go a long way towards loving on cortisol and preventing pregnenolone steal. So much to talk about! So little time. More to come…

For now, ZEALOUSLY PROTECT YOUR MORNING ROUTINE! Sunlight, Grounding and Breakfast. Every day. No matter the weather. How?

Simply start by turning down (or off) the lights around your home each evening, as the sun sets. Then, purchase a pair of orange-toned blue light blocking glasses and wear them any time you’re in front of a screen (phone, iPad, TV) or under bright lights and it’s already dark outside. Here’s another blue light blocking option. This is the best $$ you’ll ever spend. I get a little commission for the first option (Block Blue Light is a great company!). I get nothing for the second. But that’s not the point. The point is your health and how easy it can be to reclaim it.

Next, as you are able to, begin waking up earlier each morning, and make it your goal to "catch" every sunrise - go outside, look east and just be. It can be 1 minute or 30. Or anything in between. The key is consistency. Every morning.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how to work together, feel free to book a complimentary discovery call.

If you want to dive even deeper and embrace nourishing your Autonomic Nervous System and learning even more about Light and Water, do consider leveling up and joining our Group Health Coaching membership!

Thanks for reading!

Amanda

References

Courtesy of the Institute of Applied Quantum Biology’s Circadian Protocol Compendium:

See the sunrise & get early morning sunlight

What it does: Sets your master circadian clock. Turns on multiple hormones: leptin, cortisol, melatonin production. Red & IR frequencies increase cellular energy production & cellular repair/healing

Effects of Artificial Dawn and Morning Blue Light on Daytime Cognitive Performance, Well-being, Cortisol and Melatonin Levels

Transition from Dim to Bright Light in the Morning Induces an Immediate Elevation of Cortisol Levels

Get bright natural light through the day & Get UVA sunlight on eyes and skin

What it does: Bright (high lux) light elevates hormones (eg testosterone, estrogen, melatonin) & neurotransmitters (eg dopamine, serotonin), elevates mood, decreases anxiety. Morning UVA light releases nitric oxide, lowers blood pressure

How UV Light Touches the Brain and Endocrine System Through Skin, and Why

Time spent in outdoor light is associated with mood, sleep, and circadian rhythm-related outcomes.

Avoid artificial light after dark

What it does: Bright white & blue light after sunset dehydrates cells, inhibits melatonin release, increases cortisol & blood sugar, inhibits sleep, causes mitochondria dysfunction, and is strongly linked to neurodegeneration, metabolic diseases & cancer

Blue light has a dark side

Acute Effects of Bright Light Exposure on Cortisol Levels

Circadian clocks and breast cancer

Light Exposure at Night Disrupts Host/Cancer Circadian Regulatory Dynamics: Impact on the Warburg Effect, Lipid Signaling and Tumor Growth Prevention

Altered Circadian Rhythms and Breast Cancer: From the Human to the Molecular Level

Blue light at night acutely impairs glucose tolerance and increases sugar intake in the diurnal rodent Arvicanthis ansorgei in a sex‐dependent manner

Suppression of Blue Light at Night Ameliorates Metabolic Abnormalities by Controlling Circadian Rhythms

Morning and Evening Blue-Enriched Light Exposure Alters Metabolic Function in Normal Weight Adults

The Complex Effects of Light on Metabolism in Humans

Grounding

What it does: Grounding = helps is know where we are in space; free electrons from the earth to build increased cellular redox (net negative charge)

The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases

Electric Nutrition: The Surprising Health and Healing Benefits of Biological Grounding (Earthing)

Mimicking seasonal changes in light-dark cycle and ambient temperature modulates gut microbiome in mice under the same dietary regimen

Seasonal Variation in Human Gut Microbiome Composition

Seasonal variation in gut microbiota composition: cross-sectional evidence from Ukrainian population

THE HUMAN GUT MICROBIOME DISPLAYS DIURNAL AND SEASONAL RHYTHMIC PATTERNS