How Being “Boring” Can Save Your Life!

Dear Reader,

I get plenty of excitement in my life.

I hike, hunt, go mountain biking, and love to swim in an ice-cold stream by my house.

But if you followed me on a typical day, you might think I’m a little boring.

I get up and go to bed at about the same times every day… and I eat my meals on a pretty predictable schedule, too.

In other words, I have a routine.

And if you have a routine, too… if someone might say you’re a little “boring”… don’t get mad. Take it as a compliment!

Because research is showing that having a routine can be the secret to good and long-lasting health.

And it may even help you beat some of the most devastating diseases around.

The reason routine is so important is because it helps regulate the tiny clocks in your body.

Your body has a central clock in the brain, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. It responds to light entering the eyes, and then helps the body keep time with the earth.

Not having a routine can not only throw off this master clock, it can throw off the tiny clocks in your organs and tissues.

Three recent studies showed how something so seemingly simple can have such a big impact on health.

Heart surgery complications. If you’re planning on having heart surgery, better schedule it for the afternoon.

A study published in the prestigious Lancet journal found that people who have open heart surgery in the afternoon have a lower risk of complications than those who have morning surgeries.

That’s because the circadian rhythm influences the heart tissue’s ability to recover after being deprived of oxygen during surgery. It turns out that heart cells are at their peak later in the day – which means that’s when they do a better job of dealing with the trauma of surgery.

Back pain. You’re probably wondering what back pain could have to do with circadian clocks. More than you’d think.

We have intervertebral disks that function as shock-absorbers between the vertebrae and the spine. It turns out that tiny circadian clocks are located in those important shock-absorbers.

A study in mice found that any disruptions in the clocks in these disks caused the discs to degenerate (age faster) – a problem that leads to back pain.

Weight gain. When it comes to weight gain – or loss – when you eat is as important as what. Researchers compared people who eat from noon-11p.m. to those who ate from 8a.m.-7p.m. Both groups had an 11-hour window of eating, and both groups ate the same food.

But that’s where the similarities end.

The later eaters gained weight and had higher levels of markers associated with heart disease and diabetes.

This might seem strange until you factor in your circadian rhythm, and the fact that your body responds differently to food based on the time of day.

For example, the hormones that regulate glucose are controlled by internal clocks in those organs. Delaying meals can throw off the synchronicity of those clocks, causing your whole body to function less efficiently.

The best routine you can follow to set your body’s internal clock is to get plenty of morning light in your eyes, and reduce exposure to blue light at night.

And try to go to bed and get up at about the same time every day. You won’t believe how much better these simple changes can help you feel.

To a brighter day,

Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.