Circadian biology, part 1
I am a nerd. 😁 I get so excited to learn about how amazing we are and I can't get enough. I feel like I'm bursting at the seams sometimes, and I need to get this information out because it helps all of us. As I have studied energy medicine more and more, it brings me back to our miraculous bodies that we get to inhabit, and yes, this plays into even how our skin looks and functions because it's all connected.
As many of you know, my facials are focused on working with the fascia, the loose connective tissue that holds every structure of our body. If your fascia is hydrated and moving, then circulation of blood, lymph, and qi (energy) is flowing. In addition, my sessions are working with your nervous system so your mind can get quiet, your body feels safe, and it goes into its healing mode.
How do we keep our fascia healthy? We eat water rich foods and drink water that is mineralized, move the body often, touch the earth, AND, we move in rhythm with CIRCADIAN BIOLOGY. What is this?
Every single cell, organ, system, and chemical reaction in our body relies on a system of receiving clear signals from our circadian environment. Giving cues on how to function based off of whether it is light or dark. Your body knows how to heal itself, and it knows how and when to do this based off of the instructions received from your eyes and skin perceiving light and dark.
To put is plainly, upon waking in the morning, when the sun starts to rise we should immediately step outside and let our eyes and skin get exposure to first light. This signals to our cells to start making energy to get going for the day. It tells our body which hormones to start pumping, and it tells our digestion to get ready for energy through eating. It says “Wake up! We have things to do.” Infrared light is also present which is very healing for our body.
It also tells your skin to prepare for more light in the coming hours, so it preps your skin to be able to take in UV light in the afternoon, which increases melanin, and helps us make Vitamin D, a super important hormone for many other functions in our body.
At sunset, more healing infrared is present, and the dimming light signals to our bodies to lower our stress (action) hormones, and to produce melatonin which is not only a “sleepytime” hormone, it is a powerful antioxidant which will go to work to cleaning up our body as we sleep. Light timing and moving to darkness tells our body that it's time to get ready to rest and repair as you sleep.
This is incredible! You function all day, and then your body gets to detoxify, repair tissue, make new tissue (hello collagen and elastin production), alleviate any inflammation, defeat unwanted characters in the body, your brain gets a bath, and so on. Our bodies are the coolest technology on the planet!
And yet.
I believe we have all come to see that our food quality has been tampered with, we are exposed to a gazillion more chemicals through all of the products being sold to us, stress has become the norm with information overload and the desire to ‘keep up’ and health overall seems to be a struggle, despite all of the wellness hacks out there.
But what few are saying, but now we need to shout it from the rooftops, is that our modern civilization has done a doozy with our relationship with light and dark, and that is having an affect on how are bodies can repair from the stress of daily life.
And I'm going to leave it right there as a big tease for a second part that I will post in a few days. 😁
If you are needing some extra help with some rest, repair, and detoxification, or if you are noticing in this very moment that your body is tense, book yourself an appointment to come in and let me help guide your body into doing what it knows how to do,
