BODY CLOCK BOOSTERS

Use sleep to boost your mood and productivity

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Have you ever tried to be active, or even just to feel healthy, when you are jet-lagged? It is almost impossible. All the body signals are in the wrong time zones.

When our body clock is out at home, it is like being jet-lagged all the time. It is just not possible to function, physically or mentally. When all the body clock’s internal functions, like coordinating the release of cortisol, adrenaline, insulin, melatonin, and the activity of immune cells, are chaotic and all its behavioral signals (like when to eat, rest or sleep) are mixed up, our health quickly falls apart. You feel tired all the time, you fall asleep at the wrong time, you start grazing on food continuously and quickly gain weight, and your body’s release of insulin moves out of balance.

In addition, the risk of catching viral infections or having a heart attack or stroke increases. Muscle pains and aches increase in intensity, and other physical disturbances like headaches and gut disturbances become more frequent.

To prevent this long list of disasters from occurring, we need to take care of our body clock and keep it aligned with the day-night cycle.

THE NEED FOR SLEEP

While we are asleep, our brains are wide awake and actively processing the day’s information, rebooting and repairing. The active, alert, and energetic things we do in daylight generate many new connections between brain cells.