- Joined
- Jan 15, 2011
- Messages
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Nooooo not like that. Just that my muscle fibers and DNA allow me to build strength more easily and that my muscles are better are providing power than endurance, if you catch my drift.
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Anyone ever try DNA testing from Muscle Genes?
- Thread starter nothuman
- Start date
Nooooo not like that. Just that my muscle fibers and DNA allow me to build strength more easily and that my muscles are better are providing power than endurance, if you catch my drift.
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2011
- Messages
- 13,162
Yea same but I don't really care about mine, I'm on TRT. My lactose test said I am NOT lactose intolerant (good thing).
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2011
- Messages
- 13,162
Agreed. It's pretty cool to see it. Mine says I am more of a power and sprint athlete than an endurance athlete.
Its the equivalent of a psychic friending you on Facebook before they do a palm reading. All they are doing is guessing while they build a database from everyone's surveys/tests.
once i got a palm reading the lady gently cuffed my balls and said i was a " good guy " despite what people have said about me. she offered me a bundle of visits and services after the initial visit
at the time had i had the money i would of thrown it at her!
just so she can continue the verbal seduction
same shit is going on here
at the time had i had the money i would of thrown it at her!
just so she can continue the verbal seduction
same shit is going on here
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2011
- Messages
- 13,162
My sleep results were just released this morning. So surprise here, although I have been sleeping 7-8 hours as long as I sleep in a bed alone with the right room temp.
YOUR RESULT: CC
There is a high likelihood that you have or will develop a disturbed circadian rhythm.
INTRODUCTION
Sleep duration and quality can affect many things; muscle recovery, muscle building, weight loss, athletic performance, learning and cognition. Many gene variants have been reported to affect the sleep cycle or the circadian clock. FitnessGenes tests for the Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (Clock) gene. Your result tells you whether you do or don't carry any alleles associated with a disturbed circadian rhythm and whether you are likely to be a night owl, morning lark or intermediate.
YOUR PERSONAL ANALYSIS
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Compared to alternative genotypes, it is more likely that you have or will develop a disturbed body clock, otherwise known as your circadian rhythm. If you believe this to be an issue for you, you may want to consider taking supplements to help you sleep better.
As sleep is very important in muscle recovery, it is important to maintain a healthy and regular sleeping pattern. You may find the following advice useful in ensuring optimal sleep quality:
Allow natural awakening to occur if at all possible i.e without the use of an alarm clock, and sleep should be taken in an optimal environment (dark, quiet, comfortable temperature).
Napping in the middle of the day has been shown to be beneficial for performance in the subsequent afternoon. An afternoon power nap for 10-20 minutes is a good way to recharge after sleep restriction.
Light is one of the most important external factors that can affect sleep. Since the invention of the electric light bulb in the late 19th century, humans have been exposed to more light at night time. Avoid light exposure at night time from sources such as the TV, mobile phone and computer screen.
Background noise should be limited as increased frequency of awakening may prevent transitions to the deeper stages of non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM).
Maintaining a comfortable temperature in the room. Between 15.6 and 19.4 º C is generally considered optimal.
Consuming caffeine within 6 hours of bedtime could potentially affect your sleep, so avoid any caffeinated beverages in the evening. Check your FitnessGenes caffeine (CYP1A2) result for more details.
Poor sleep can make you irritable the next day, but stress can cause your body to release hormones that keep you awake! Keeping your stress levels low will help you establish a beneficial sleep pattern.
Smoking negatively affects sleep, which will impact your recovery and affect your muscle building goals.
Never compromise your sleep for training, disturbed sleep could lead to increased risk of injury.
It’s a good idea to only go to bed when you feel sleepy, and get up if you find yourself awake for longer than 15 minutes. This way you can reduce the time you spend in bed awake and can improve your sleep efficiency, and sleep quality.
Training & Exercise
Regular exercise may be a non-pharmaceutical way to improve sleep quality. Moderate intensity exercise 3 times a week has been linked to improved sleep. Studies have shown that night owls (those who, on average, spontaneously wake up just before 10 am) peak at around 8 pm, and this is when you may have peak muscle performance. For many athletes, major matches are often in the late afternoon/evening time so training at a similar time may be beneficial.
If training in the evening is not possible, then using caffeine (3 mg per kg body weight) before your early morning training can boost your performance to afternoon levels. Research has also shown that if you consistently train at a certain time of the day, your body will eventually adapt and perform best at that time. Training should fit in with your sleep routine, make sure you do not do intense training close to bedtime.
Jet lag
On average, your body takes about 1 hour to adjust for every time zone you cross. If you have an event or a competition, It is worth noting that eastbound travel takes longer to adjust to compared to westbound travel, so it will be good to arrive days in advance of the event to allow your body to adjust.
Your equivalent to breakfast, lunch and dinner (light and heavy meals) should be adjusted to the time zone of the place you are travelling to.
Dietary considerations
Your genotype indicates that it is particularly important for you to keep your saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake under 11.8% of daily energy to avoid excess weight gain. Too much SFA in your diet can be harmful; in the FitnessGenes Muscle-Building System or FitnessGenes Fat-Loss System nutrition plan, we recommend that saturated fats do not make up more than 20% of your total calorie intake.
Possible supplements to aid sleep
If you do suffer major problems with sleep disruption or an altered circadian rhythm, you may consider using nutritional support or supplements. Melatonin, magnesium and valerian are among the most commonly used sleep enhancers that have been scientifically reviewed and proven effective in some circumstances.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone and it is well known for inducing and regulating sleep. This supplement is seen as a way to induce regular sleep. Light suppresses melatonin synthesis, so supplementation is useful for people who engage in shift work or are jet lagged. 2 mg Melatonin is usually taken 2 hours before bed time.
Magnesium
Magnesium supplementation has been shown to improve subjective measures such as sleep efficiency, sleep time, sleep onset latency and early morning awakening. In one study in elderly patients in Iran, 500 mg daily magnesium for 8 weeks significantly improved the time it takes to fall asleep, sleep efficiency and sleep time compared to placebo.
Valerian
Valerian is one of the more common ingredients found in supplements that claim to promote sleep. The standard dose of valerian is 450 mg, and should be taken 1 hour before bed time.
WHY IS CIRCADIAN RHYTHM SO IMPORTANT?
Human sleep can be divided into 2 different states: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. NREM sleep is further divided into 3 stages; stage 1 is the stage between wakefulness and sleep, stage 2 is where the sleeper falls deeper into sleep and becomes more detached from the outside world and stage 3 is the deep sleep stage. The sleep cycle begins with NREM sleep and it rotates between the 2 stages.
In humans, this biological clock does not just regulate the timing of sleep, but also regulates a number of other physiological processes that are of fundamental importance to human health, performance, and well-being. This clock is very important in regulating processes such as learning, memory and cognition. A recent study suggested that toxins build up during the day and sleep is critical in removing these toxic compounds from the brain for detoxification by your liver and kidneys. Sleep is also very important in muscle building and recovery as your body releases a lot of growth hormones during REM sleep.
Figure 1 shows the circadian rhythm of an individual assuming that he/she wakes up at 6 am. In this case, high alertness occurs at about 10 am, with best coordination at around 2 pm and fastest reaction time at 3 pm. Greatest muscle strength occurs at around 5 pm, and melatonin (a hormone that is associated with sleep onset) secretion begins at around 9 pm.
Figure 1 The Circadian Rhythm
Figure 1 The Circadian Rhythm
DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
Fat is an important source of energy and helps the absorption of fat-soluble dietary components such as vitamins. However, high fat intake (especially a high intake of saturated fat) modifies circadian synchronisation to light and leads to metabolic abnormalities including obesity and insulin resistance.
What should you eat to obtain energy?
Studies have shown that replacing saturated fatty acids (SFA) with carbohydrates may increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The most efficient way to replace SFA (in order to reduce serum cholesterol) is to replace SFA with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The recommended range for PUFA is 6-11% of total energy and the total intake range for fat is 20-30% of total energy intake. Trans-fatty acids from commercial, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, should be less than 1% of total energy intake. One of the main considerations when trying to meet these recommendations is that the typical western intake of PUFAs mainly consists of omega-6 fatty acids and not enough omega-3 fatty acids.
Here is some dietary advice for balancing PUFA intake:
Try to avoid foods high in omega-6 fatty acids such as vegetable oil and processed food. Replace vegetable oil, corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and sesame oil with healthier oil such as olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil. The healthiest way to increase omega-3 fatty acids is to eat fish once or twice a week, with wild caught fish being the best source. If you are eating a lot of conventionally raised meat and don’t eat much seafood, considering taking some fish oil (such as cod liver oil) which is also rich in vitamin D and vitamin A. More whole foods should be consumed such as fruits, nuts, vegetables and foods with no or minimal processing. However, nuts such as walnuts, peanuts and almonds are high in omega-6 and should be limited and enjoyed as snacks rather than in meal-sized portions. There is also a caveat; healthy food such as avocado, eggs, chicken and pork can contain high omega-6.
It has been shown that consuming more of the day’s total energy at midday is associated with a lower risk of being obese, whereas consuming more than 33% of daily energy intake during the evening is associated with a higher risk. Similarly, late lunch eaters (after 3 pm) have slower weight-loss rate in comparison to early lunch eaters (before 3 pm). It’s recommended you have a regular eating pattern. Breakfast should be high in carbohydrate, whole grain and fiber. Lunch should provide the most energy (>33%) of the day and should be consumed before 3 pm.
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SLEEP FOR AND CAN YOU SLEEP TOO MUCH?
The National Sleep Foundation has issued a new recommendation for adults between the ages of 18-64 to sleep and suggested between 7-9 hours.
A recent study suggested that sleeping too much is not good for you. It showed that participants aged 42-81 who persistently slept for more than 8 hours per night had a 46% greater risk of stroke. The researchers proposed that it was likely that the subjects who slept more than 8 hours may already have had underlying health conditions that increased fatigue and made them sleep more, thus having a greater risk of stroke.
In contrast, there is a controversial study by the University of Stanford involving 11 healthy university basketball players. The players were asked to follow their habitual sleep pattern (e.g. 8 hours a night) and then subsequently to extend this, with a minimum goal of 10 hours for 5-7 weeks. After this period, the subjects were found to have enhanced basketball performance by all measures after the sleep extension, indicating that optimising sleep or reaching sleep satiation may have a significant impact on athlete performance. However, these college athletes may have carried sleep debt and there was no control group included in this study.
SLEEP DEPRIVATION
What happens if you are not getting enough sleep? One study showed that total sleep deprivation for one night not only makes you feel hungrier, but it also makes you crave foods that are high in calories (subjects consumed 600 more calories when tired compared to when they had had a full night’s rest). The brain scans revealed high activities in a brain region that controls motivation and desire, and lower activities in a region of the brain that is responsible for appetite evaluation and judgements.
It is proposed that sleep deprivation contributes to obesity by modifying the levels of two hormones linked to appetite: ghrelin and leptin. Levels of ghrelin, often referred to as the ‘hunger hormone’, increase, and this makes you want to eat more. However, levels of leptin decrease concurrently, removing the biological 'brake' that makes you feel full.
Another study, this time in rats, showed that 10 consecutive nights of sleep deprivation increased the activity of a gene that regulates palatable feeding, which may help explain the binge-food eating seen in humans with sleep deprivation.
SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND MUSCLE BUILDING
Sleep deprivation has also been shown to affect the ability to build muscle. It decreases protein synthesis by increasing cortisol and myostatin levels, and increases protein degradation by decreasing testosterone, growth hormone and IGF-1, as shown in figure 2.
In summary, maintaining a good sleep pattern is very important in regulating your appetite, maintaining growth hormone production and muscle recovery.
Figure 2 The effects of sleep deprivation
Figure 2 The effects of sleep deprivation
SHIFT WORKERS
Individuals whose occupation involves shift work need to also consider that night-shift workers have an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a sub-optimal waist to hip ratio, abdominal obesity and also a higher incidence of a wide range of illnesses.
Night shift
If shift work is part of your occupation, these suggestions may be helpful:
Try to have a long lie in until at least midday before your first night shift. Some people stay up late the previous night to adapt their body clock. This is a good way to adapt your body clock prior to your night shift.
Taking an afternoon nap (at least 2 hours) is very important to make sure you are well rested and ready for your night shift.
Naps are useful ways to stay refreshed, even naps as short as 20-45 minutes have been shown to provide positive effects. Your night-shift naps should take no longer than 45 minutes.
Maximize your light exposure throughout the night shift.
Maintain a similar eating pattern to the ones during the day. There is some evidence that a high-protein low carbohydrate meal (e.g. protein 52%, fat 27%, carbohydrate 21%) can be beneficial.
Try to avoid driving home if possible because your judgment is likely to be impaired. It’s better to use public transport and wear dark sunglasses if possible to avoid light exposure on the way home.
CIRCADIAN RHYTHM AND TIME OF DAY FOR EXERCISE
Your physical performance also follows a diurnal pattern and for most people, it usually peaks in the afternoon. Factors such as increased muscle blood flow and increased environmental temperature may all contribute to diurnal variations in physical performance.
Muscle hypertrophy and strength increases also seem to occur in the late afternoon. This may seem confusing, as testosterone levels are higher in the morning (which is anabolic and has been linked with resistance training adaptations) and so is the concentration of cortisol (which is catabolic). Thus the elevated testosterone levels may be counteracted by the morning elevated cortisol levels. Although natural testosterone levels are higher in the morning, resistance-exercise has been found to induce increased testosterone levels in the late afternoon, maybe creating a high testosterone/cortisol ratio and this is more favourable for protein synthesis.
Technical skills in certain sports have been shown to be better in the afternoon or evening such as the accuracy of badminton serves, juggling associated with soccer skills, and 50-meter swimming speed.
There are many studies showing that training in late afternoon/evening time is associated with peak performance. For example, back strength and leg strength have been reported to be better in the afternoon/evening than in the morning (peak time 4:53 pm and 6:20 pm respectively). However, there is also evidence indicating that peak time for training is linked to the personal body clock.
One interesting study showed that the peak performance of 20 female hockey players was strongly linked to their circadian characteristics. The subjects were divided into 3 groups: morning larks (waking up on average at around 7 am on a weekday), intermediate types (waking up at around 8 am on a weekday) and evening owls (waking up at just before 10 am on a weekday). They found that the morning larks peaked at around midday, the intermediates peaked at around 4 pm, and the owls peaked around 8 pm. In terms of time of peak performance since time of awakening, the peak performance was at 5.36 hours (larks), 6.30 hours (intermediates) and 11:11 hours (owls) accordingly.
For high intensity exercise, time to exhaustion in cycling has been shown to be greater in the afternoon and evening (4 pm and 6 pm respectively) than in the morning (6 am and 8 am). One study conducted on a professional fighter indicated that intense training performed at night-time (8-10 pm) delayed circadian clock gene expression by 2-4 hours, compared to no exercise period.
THE EFFECT OF GENES ON CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
Many gene variants have been reported to affect the circadian clock. In mammals, the Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (Clock) gene is central to the circadian clock. The genetic variation that we test for in Clock was the first to be reported to affect diurnal preference.
Night Owl?
In 1998, Katzenberg and co-workers reported that individuals who are carriers of the C allele in the Clock gene had an increased evening preference in comparison to those who carried a copy of the alternative T allele in a mostly Caucasian-American population.
Similarly, in a Japanese population, the genotype CC was associated with evening preference, delayed sleep onset and greater daytime sleepiness in comparison to the subjects with the TC or TT genotype.
The CC genotype has been reported to be associated with sleep disturbances in a Korean population.
There are controversial studies showing this variant is not associated with morning/evening types.
In summary, CC/TC seems to be associated with the evening type and short body clock, although more studies are needed to confirm this.
Eating behaviours, weight loss/obesity and metabolism
Some versions of this gene have been implicated in obesity and weight loss. One study involving 500 overweight/obese subjects aged 20-65 years found that those with the CT and CC gene combination were more associated with short-time sleepers and that they had a greater degree of obesity and experienced greater difficulty in losing weight. People who carry the risk allele (C) also had higher plasma ghrelin levels, one of the ‘hunger hormones’ that regulates our appetites.
However, in an elderly female population, it was shown that women carrying the C allele had a small (but significant) reduced risk of being overweight/obese compared to TT subjects. This might be due to increased evening activity among these individuals compared to the non-carriers.
One study found that when SFA intake was less than 11.8% of total caloric intake, there was no significant difference in waist circumference between carriers of the C allele and non-carriers. However, when SFA intake was greater than 11.8%, C allele carriers had larger waist circumferences than non-carriers.
This indicates that C allele carriers may experience greater difficulty in losing weight than TT individuals and it may be beneficial for people with the CT/CC genotype to strictly control their SFA intake to below 11.8%.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CAN ALSO INFLUENCE YOUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
Apart from genetic factors, there are many environmental factors that can affect your circadian clock. For example, aging is associated with waking up earlier, decreased sleep duration and increased time awake until sleep onset. Sex also plays a part with males more associated with evening types and females more associated with morning types. Season of birth can also influence diurnal preferences, with morning types more common in people born in autumn and winter, while evening type is more associated with those born in the lighter months of spring and summer.
There is also evidence that ingested food can affect our sleep. A regular habit of snacking is associated with shorter sleep duration. Snacking generally indicates a nutritionally poor and energy-rich diet, thus the association between meal patterns and sleep may be due to the quality of diet. Controversial studies suggest that a higher eating frequency can assist with weight management.
Low levels of physical activity have been associated with insomnia. There are many studies that suggest physical exercise can improve sleep quality. Thus regular exercise may be a non-pharmaceutical way to improve sleep quality.
Obesity can affect sleep quality in general. Central obesity (lots of visceral fat) rather than total adiposity (general fat over the whole body) has been reported to be linked to short sleep duration.
YOUR RESULT: CC
There is a high likelihood that you have or will develop a disturbed circadian rhythm.
INTRODUCTION
Sleep duration and quality can affect many things; muscle recovery, muscle building, weight loss, athletic performance, learning and cognition. Many gene variants have been reported to affect the sleep cycle or the circadian clock. FitnessGenes tests for the Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (Clock) gene. Your result tells you whether you do or don't carry any alleles associated with a disturbed circadian rhythm and whether you are likely to be a night owl, morning lark or intermediate.
YOUR PERSONAL ANALYSIS
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Compared to alternative genotypes, it is more likely that you have or will develop a disturbed body clock, otherwise known as your circadian rhythm. If you believe this to be an issue for you, you may want to consider taking supplements to help you sleep better.
As sleep is very important in muscle recovery, it is important to maintain a healthy and regular sleeping pattern. You may find the following advice useful in ensuring optimal sleep quality:
Allow natural awakening to occur if at all possible i.e without the use of an alarm clock, and sleep should be taken in an optimal environment (dark, quiet, comfortable temperature).
Napping in the middle of the day has been shown to be beneficial for performance in the subsequent afternoon. An afternoon power nap for 10-20 minutes is a good way to recharge after sleep restriction.
Light is one of the most important external factors that can affect sleep. Since the invention of the electric light bulb in the late 19th century, humans have been exposed to more light at night time. Avoid light exposure at night time from sources such as the TV, mobile phone and computer screen.
Background noise should be limited as increased frequency of awakening may prevent transitions to the deeper stages of non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM).
Maintaining a comfortable temperature in the room. Between 15.6 and 19.4 º C is generally considered optimal.
Consuming caffeine within 6 hours of bedtime could potentially affect your sleep, so avoid any caffeinated beverages in the evening. Check your FitnessGenes caffeine (CYP1A2) result for more details.
Poor sleep can make you irritable the next day, but stress can cause your body to release hormones that keep you awake! Keeping your stress levels low will help you establish a beneficial sleep pattern.
Smoking negatively affects sleep, which will impact your recovery and affect your muscle building goals.
Never compromise your sleep for training, disturbed sleep could lead to increased risk of injury.
It’s a good idea to only go to bed when you feel sleepy, and get up if you find yourself awake for longer than 15 minutes. This way you can reduce the time you spend in bed awake and can improve your sleep efficiency, and sleep quality.
Training & Exercise
Regular exercise may be a non-pharmaceutical way to improve sleep quality. Moderate intensity exercise 3 times a week has been linked to improved sleep. Studies have shown that night owls (those who, on average, spontaneously wake up just before 10 am) peak at around 8 pm, and this is when you may have peak muscle performance. For many athletes, major matches are often in the late afternoon/evening time so training at a similar time may be beneficial.
If training in the evening is not possible, then using caffeine (3 mg per kg body weight) before your early morning training can boost your performance to afternoon levels. Research has also shown that if you consistently train at a certain time of the day, your body will eventually adapt and perform best at that time. Training should fit in with your sleep routine, make sure you do not do intense training close to bedtime.
Jet lag
On average, your body takes about 1 hour to adjust for every time zone you cross. If you have an event or a competition, It is worth noting that eastbound travel takes longer to adjust to compared to westbound travel, so it will be good to arrive days in advance of the event to allow your body to adjust.
Your equivalent to breakfast, lunch and dinner (light and heavy meals) should be adjusted to the time zone of the place you are travelling to.
Dietary considerations
Your genotype indicates that it is particularly important for you to keep your saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake under 11.8% of daily energy to avoid excess weight gain. Too much SFA in your diet can be harmful; in the FitnessGenes Muscle-Building System or FitnessGenes Fat-Loss System nutrition plan, we recommend that saturated fats do not make up more than 20% of your total calorie intake.
Possible supplements to aid sleep
If you do suffer major problems with sleep disruption or an altered circadian rhythm, you may consider using nutritional support or supplements. Melatonin, magnesium and valerian are among the most commonly used sleep enhancers that have been scientifically reviewed and proven effective in some circumstances.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone and it is well known for inducing and regulating sleep. This supplement is seen as a way to induce regular sleep. Light suppresses melatonin synthesis, so supplementation is useful for people who engage in shift work or are jet lagged. 2 mg Melatonin is usually taken 2 hours before bed time.
Magnesium
Magnesium supplementation has been shown to improve subjective measures such as sleep efficiency, sleep time, sleep onset latency and early morning awakening. In one study in elderly patients in Iran, 500 mg daily magnesium for 8 weeks significantly improved the time it takes to fall asleep, sleep efficiency and sleep time compared to placebo.
Valerian
Valerian is one of the more common ingredients found in supplements that claim to promote sleep. The standard dose of valerian is 450 mg, and should be taken 1 hour before bed time.
WHY IS CIRCADIAN RHYTHM SO IMPORTANT?
Human sleep can be divided into 2 different states: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. NREM sleep is further divided into 3 stages; stage 1 is the stage between wakefulness and sleep, stage 2 is where the sleeper falls deeper into sleep and becomes more detached from the outside world and stage 3 is the deep sleep stage. The sleep cycle begins with NREM sleep and it rotates between the 2 stages.
In humans, this biological clock does not just regulate the timing of sleep, but also regulates a number of other physiological processes that are of fundamental importance to human health, performance, and well-being. This clock is very important in regulating processes such as learning, memory and cognition. A recent study suggested that toxins build up during the day and sleep is critical in removing these toxic compounds from the brain for detoxification by your liver and kidneys. Sleep is also very important in muscle building and recovery as your body releases a lot of growth hormones during REM sleep.
Figure 1 shows the circadian rhythm of an individual assuming that he/she wakes up at 6 am. In this case, high alertness occurs at about 10 am, with best coordination at around 2 pm and fastest reaction time at 3 pm. Greatest muscle strength occurs at around 5 pm, and melatonin (a hormone that is associated with sleep onset) secretion begins at around 9 pm.
Figure 1 The Circadian Rhythm
Figure 1 The Circadian Rhythm
DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
Fat is an important source of energy and helps the absorption of fat-soluble dietary components such as vitamins. However, high fat intake (especially a high intake of saturated fat) modifies circadian synchronisation to light and leads to metabolic abnormalities including obesity and insulin resistance.
What should you eat to obtain energy?
Studies have shown that replacing saturated fatty acids (SFA) with carbohydrates may increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The most efficient way to replace SFA (in order to reduce serum cholesterol) is to replace SFA with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The recommended range for PUFA is 6-11% of total energy and the total intake range for fat is 20-30% of total energy intake. Trans-fatty acids from commercial, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, should be less than 1% of total energy intake. One of the main considerations when trying to meet these recommendations is that the typical western intake of PUFAs mainly consists of omega-6 fatty acids and not enough omega-3 fatty acids.
Here is some dietary advice for balancing PUFA intake:
Try to avoid foods high in omega-6 fatty acids such as vegetable oil and processed food. Replace vegetable oil, corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and sesame oil with healthier oil such as olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil. The healthiest way to increase omega-3 fatty acids is to eat fish once or twice a week, with wild caught fish being the best source. If you are eating a lot of conventionally raised meat and don’t eat much seafood, considering taking some fish oil (such as cod liver oil) which is also rich in vitamin D and vitamin A. More whole foods should be consumed such as fruits, nuts, vegetables and foods with no or minimal processing. However, nuts such as walnuts, peanuts and almonds are high in omega-6 and should be limited and enjoyed as snacks rather than in meal-sized portions. There is also a caveat; healthy food such as avocado, eggs, chicken and pork can contain high omega-6.
It has been shown that consuming more of the day’s total energy at midday is associated with a lower risk of being obese, whereas consuming more than 33% of daily energy intake during the evening is associated with a higher risk. Similarly, late lunch eaters (after 3 pm) have slower weight-loss rate in comparison to early lunch eaters (before 3 pm). It’s recommended you have a regular eating pattern. Breakfast should be high in carbohydrate, whole grain and fiber. Lunch should provide the most energy (>33%) of the day and should be consumed before 3 pm.
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SLEEP FOR AND CAN YOU SLEEP TOO MUCH?
The National Sleep Foundation has issued a new recommendation for adults between the ages of 18-64 to sleep and suggested between 7-9 hours.
A recent study suggested that sleeping too much is not good for you. It showed that participants aged 42-81 who persistently slept for more than 8 hours per night had a 46% greater risk of stroke. The researchers proposed that it was likely that the subjects who slept more than 8 hours may already have had underlying health conditions that increased fatigue and made them sleep more, thus having a greater risk of stroke.
In contrast, there is a controversial study by the University of Stanford involving 11 healthy university basketball players. The players were asked to follow their habitual sleep pattern (e.g. 8 hours a night) and then subsequently to extend this, with a minimum goal of 10 hours for 5-7 weeks. After this period, the subjects were found to have enhanced basketball performance by all measures after the sleep extension, indicating that optimising sleep or reaching sleep satiation may have a significant impact on athlete performance. However, these college athletes may have carried sleep debt and there was no control group included in this study.
SLEEP DEPRIVATION
What happens if you are not getting enough sleep? One study showed that total sleep deprivation for one night not only makes you feel hungrier, but it also makes you crave foods that are high in calories (subjects consumed 600 more calories when tired compared to when they had had a full night’s rest). The brain scans revealed high activities in a brain region that controls motivation and desire, and lower activities in a region of the brain that is responsible for appetite evaluation and judgements.
It is proposed that sleep deprivation contributes to obesity by modifying the levels of two hormones linked to appetite: ghrelin and leptin. Levels of ghrelin, often referred to as the ‘hunger hormone’, increase, and this makes you want to eat more. However, levels of leptin decrease concurrently, removing the biological 'brake' that makes you feel full.
Another study, this time in rats, showed that 10 consecutive nights of sleep deprivation increased the activity of a gene that regulates palatable feeding, which may help explain the binge-food eating seen in humans with sleep deprivation.
SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND MUSCLE BUILDING
Sleep deprivation has also been shown to affect the ability to build muscle. It decreases protein synthesis by increasing cortisol and myostatin levels, and increases protein degradation by decreasing testosterone, growth hormone and IGF-1, as shown in figure 2.
In summary, maintaining a good sleep pattern is very important in regulating your appetite, maintaining growth hormone production and muscle recovery.
Figure 2 The effects of sleep deprivation
Figure 2 The effects of sleep deprivation
SHIFT WORKERS
Individuals whose occupation involves shift work need to also consider that night-shift workers have an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a sub-optimal waist to hip ratio, abdominal obesity and also a higher incidence of a wide range of illnesses.
Night shift
If shift work is part of your occupation, these suggestions may be helpful:
Try to have a long lie in until at least midday before your first night shift. Some people stay up late the previous night to adapt their body clock. This is a good way to adapt your body clock prior to your night shift.
Taking an afternoon nap (at least 2 hours) is very important to make sure you are well rested and ready for your night shift.
Naps are useful ways to stay refreshed, even naps as short as 20-45 minutes have been shown to provide positive effects. Your night-shift naps should take no longer than 45 minutes.
Maximize your light exposure throughout the night shift.
Maintain a similar eating pattern to the ones during the day. There is some evidence that a high-protein low carbohydrate meal (e.g. protein 52%, fat 27%, carbohydrate 21%) can be beneficial.
Try to avoid driving home if possible because your judgment is likely to be impaired. It’s better to use public transport and wear dark sunglasses if possible to avoid light exposure on the way home.
CIRCADIAN RHYTHM AND TIME OF DAY FOR EXERCISE
Your physical performance also follows a diurnal pattern and for most people, it usually peaks in the afternoon. Factors such as increased muscle blood flow and increased environmental temperature may all contribute to diurnal variations in physical performance.
Muscle hypertrophy and strength increases also seem to occur in the late afternoon. This may seem confusing, as testosterone levels are higher in the morning (which is anabolic and has been linked with resistance training adaptations) and so is the concentration of cortisol (which is catabolic). Thus the elevated testosterone levels may be counteracted by the morning elevated cortisol levels. Although natural testosterone levels are higher in the morning, resistance-exercise has been found to induce increased testosterone levels in the late afternoon, maybe creating a high testosterone/cortisol ratio and this is more favourable for protein synthesis.
Technical skills in certain sports have been shown to be better in the afternoon or evening such as the accuracy of badminton serves, juggling associated with soccer skills, and 50-meter swimming speed.
There are many studies showing that training in late afternoon/evening time is associated with peak performance. For example, back strength and leg strength have been reported to be better in the afternoon/evening than in the morning (peak time 4:53 pm and 6:20 pm respectively). However, there is also evidence indicating that peak time for training is linked to the personal body clock.
One interesting study showed that the peak performance of 20 female hockey players was strongly linked to their circadian characteristics. The subjects were divided into 3 groups: morning larks (waking up on average at around 7 am on a weekday), intermediate types (waking up at around 8 am on a weekday) and evening owls (waking up at just before 10 am on a weekday). They found that the morning larks peaked at around midday, the intermediates peaked at around 4 pm, and the owls peaked around 8 pm. In terms of time of peak performance since time of awakening, the peak performance was at 5.36 hours (larks), 6.30 hours (intermediates) and 11:11 hours (owls) accordingly.
For high intensity exercise, time to exhaustion in cycling has been shown to be greater in the afternoon and evening (4 pm and 6 pm respectively) than in the morning (6 am and 8 am). One study conducted on a professional fighter indicated that intense training performed at night-time (8-10 pm) delayed circadian clock gene expression by 2-4 hours, compared to no exercise period.
THE EFFECT OF GENES ON CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
Many gene variants have been reported to affect the circadian clock. In mammals, the Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (Clock) gene is central to the circadian clock. The genetic variation that we test for in Clock was the first to be reported to affect diurnal preference.
Night Owl?
In 1998, Katzenberg and co-workers reported that individuals who are carriers of the C allele in the Clock gene had an increased evening preference in comparison to those who carried a copy of the alternative T allele in a mostly Caucasian-American population.
Similarly, in a Japanese population, the genotype CC was associated with evening preference, delayed sleep onset and greater daytime sleepiness in comparison to the subjects with the TC or TT genotype.
The CC genotype has been reported to be associated with sleep disturbances in a Korean population.
There are controversial studies showing this variant is not associated with morning/evening types.
In summary, CC/TC seems to be associated with the evening type and short body clock, although more studies are needed to confirm this.
Eating behaviours, weight loss/obesity and metabolism
Some versions of this gene have been implicated in obesity and weight loss. One study involving 500 overweight/obese subjects aged 20-65 years found that those with the CT and CC gene combination were more associated with short-time sleepers and that they had a greater degree of obesity and experienced greater difficulty in losing weight. People who carry the risk allele (C) also had higher plasma ghrelin levels, one of the ‘hunger hormones’ that regulates our appetites.
However, in an elderly female population, it was shown that women carrying the C allele had a small (but significant) reduced risk of being overweight/obese compared to TT subjects. This might be due to increased evening activity among these individuals compared to the non-carriers.
One study found that when SFA intake was less than 11.8% of total caloric intake, there was no significant difference in waist circumference between carriers of the C allele and non-carriers. However, when SFA intake was greater than 11.8%, C allele carriers had larger waist circumferences than non-carriers.
This indicates that C allele carriers may experience greater difficulty in losing weight than TT individuals and it may be beneficial for people with the CT/CC genotype to strictly control their SFA intake to below 11.8%.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CAN ALSO INFLUENCE YOUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
Apart from genetic factors, there are many environmental factors that can affect your circadian clock. For example, aging is associated with waking up earlier, decreased sleep duration and increased time awake until sleep onset. Sex also plays a part with males more associated with evening types and females more associated with morning types. Season of birth can also influence diurnal preferences, with morning types more common in people born in autumn and winter, while evening type is more associated with those born in the lighter months of spring and summer.
There is also evidence that ingested food can affect our sleep. A regular habit of snacking is associated with shorter sleep duration. Snacking generally indicates a nutritionally poor and energy-rich diet, thus the association between meal patterns and sleep may be due to the quality of diet. Controversial studies suggest that a higher eating frequency can assist with weight management.
Low levels of physical activity have been associated with insomnia. There are many studies that suggest physical exercise can improve sleep quality. Thus regular exercise may be a non-pharmaceutical way to improve sleep quality.
Obesity can affect sleep quality in general. Central obesity (lots of visceral fat) rather than total adiposity (general fat over the whole body) has been reported to be linked to short sleep duration.
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