Timing Your Light, Food, & Exercise for Optimal Sleep, Energy & Mood | Dr. Samer Hattar

In this episode, I host Dr. Samer Hattar, Ph.D., Chief of the
Section on Light and Circadian Rhythms at the National Institute of
Mental Health. Dr. Hattar is a world-renowned expert on how viewing
light at particular times adjusts our mood, ability to learn,
stress and hormone levels, appetite, and mental health. We discuss
how to determine and use your individual light sensitivity to
determine the optimal sleep-wake cycle for you. We also discuss how
to combine your light viewing and waking time with the timing of
your food intake and exercise in order to maximize mental and
physical functioning. Dr. Hattar is credited with co-discovering
the neurons in the eye that set our circadian clocks and regulate
mood and appetite. He explains why even a small shift in daylight
savings leads to outsized effects on our biking because of the way
that our cells and circadian clocks integrate across many days. And
he offers precise tools to rapidly adjust to jet lag, shift work,
and reset your clock after a late night of work or socializing.
This episode is filled with cutting-edge data on the biological
mechanisms of human physiology and practical tools for people of
all ages.  Read the full show notes for this episode at
hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1:
https://athleticgreens.com/huberman LMNT:
https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab Waking Up:
https://wakingup.com/huberman Momentous:
https://livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps 00:00:00 Introducing
Dr. Samer Hattar, Ph.D.   00:02:33 Sponsors: AG1,
LMNT & Waking Up 00:06:15 Light, Circadian (24-hour) &
Circannual (365-day) “Photoentrainment”   00:14:30
Neurons in Our Eyes That Set Our Body Clocks: Similar to Frog
Skin   00:18:55 What Blind People See  
00:20:15 When, How & How Long to View Light for Optimal Sleep
& Wakefulness   00:30:20 Sunlight Simulators,
Afternoon Light Viewing, Naps   00:33:48 Are You Jet
Lagged at Home? Chronotypes & Why Early Risers
Succeed   00:38:33 How to Decide Your Best Sleep-Wake
Schedule; Minimal Light Test   00:42:16 Viewing Light in
Middle of Day: Mood & “Light Hunger”   00:44:55
Evening Sunlight; Blueblocker Warning   00:48:57 Blue
Light Is Not the Issue; Samer’s Cave; Complete Darkness  
00:53:58 Screens at Night   00:56:03 Dangers of Bright
Light Between 10 pm and 4 am: Mood & Learning  
01:01:05 The Tripartite Model: Circadian, Sleep Drive, Feeding
Schedules   01:05:05 Using Light to Enhance Your Mood;
& The Hattar-Hernandez Nucleus   01:07:19 Why Do We
Sleep?   01:08:17 Effects of Light on Appetite; Regular
Light & Meal Times   01:18:08 Samer’s Experience with
Adjusting Meal Timing   01:22:51 Using Light to Align
Sleep, Mood, Feeding, Exercise & Cognition   01:30:15
Age-Related Changes in Timing of Mental & Physical
Vigor   01:31:44 “Chrono-Attraction” in Relationships;
Social-Rhythms   01:33:40 Re-setting Our Clock Schedule;
Screen Devices Revisited   01:37:50 How Samer Got into
the Study of Light   01:39:33 Clock Gene mRNAs & More
Accurate Biomarkers   01:41:08 Light as
Medicine   01:42:48 ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder)   01:43:35 How to Beat Jet Lag: Light,
Temperature, Eating   01:50:44 Vigor: The Consequence of
Proper Timing   01:52:15 Waking in the Middle of the
Night: When Your Nightly Sleep Becomes a Nap   01:54:10
Melatonin, Pineal Calcification   01:55:25 Our Seasonal
Rhythms: Mood, Depression, Lethargy & Reproduction  
01:59:08 Daylight Savings: Much Worse Than It Might
Seem   02:05:27 Eye Color & Sensitivity to Light,
Bipolar Disorder   02:09:28 Spicy Food, Genetic
Variations in Sensory Sensitivity   02:10:52 Synthesizing
This Information, Samer on Twitter, Instagram   02:13:00
Conclusions, Ways To Support the Huberman Lab Podcast &
Research   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about
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