The Circadian Code Quotes

“Our modern lifestyle, in which we spend most of our time indoors looking at bright screens and turn on bright lights at night, activates melanopsin at the wrong times of day and night, which then disrupts our circadian rhythms and reduces the production of the sleep hormone melatonin; as a result, we cannot get restorative sleep. When we wake up the next day and spend most of the day indoors, the dim indoor light cannot fully activate melanopsin, which means that we cannot align our circadian clock to the day-night cycle, making us feel sleepy and less alert. After a few days or weeks, we get into depression and anxiety.”
― Satchin Panda, The Circadian Code: Lose weight, supercharge your energy and sleep well every night

“Sitting here in my lab, I can imagine you scratching your head again: Dr. Panda, what’s the big deal? Aren’t we talking about just a few ounces of fat gain after a late-night snack? Won’t my metabolic rhythm come back the next day? Actually, it’s worse than you think. It is hard enough for the body to monitor hormones, genes, and clocks for someone with a strict eating routine. But when eating occurs at random times throughout the day and night, the fat-making process stays on all the time. At the same time, glucose created from digested carbohydrates floods our blood and the liver becomes inefficient in its ability to absorb glucose. If this continues for a few days, blood glucose continues to rise and reaches the danger zone of prediabetes or diabetes. So, if you’ve wondered why diets haven’t worked for you before, timing might be the reason. Even if you were diligently exercising; counting calories; avoiding fats, carbs, and sweets; and piling on the protein, it’s quite likely that you weren’t respecting your circadian clocks. If you eat late at night or start breakfast at a wildly different time each morning, you are constantly throwing your body out of sync. Don’t worry, the fix is equally simple: Just set an eating routine and stick to it. Timing is everything.”
― Satchin Panda, The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight

“Delaying a child’s natural sleep pattern has become an important health problem, and it affects brain development. In fact, even in adults, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are now linked to going to bed very late in the evening, not getting enough sleep, and then staying indoors most of the day.4 Of course, children are sometimes kept up later at night because it’s only natural for parents to want to spend time with their babies.”
― Satchin Panda, The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight

“lots of light during the day, no light at night, less noise, relatively cooler temperatures at night, and earlier dinner. Each of these factors has been shown to contribute to better sleep.”
― Satchin Panda, The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight

“When to Get a Flu Shot Plan your vaccination day in advance, and try to get a week’s worth of good sleep beforehand. In one study, when participants had poor sleep for a few days before vaccination, nearly half of them showed significantly delayed response to the vaccine.13 This raises an important issue about the flu vaccine, as some people who are inoculated do not develop protection against the flu. These people might want to pay attention the next year and make sure that they slept well in the week prior to taking the flu shot. In addition to sleep history, time of day appears to be another factor to consider while going for your flu shot. Preliminary studies have shown that morning vaccinations produce better protection than those given in the afternoon.14”
― Satchin Panda, The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight