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Today’s Health Upgrade
Embrace the darkness
The anti-aging muscle
Coffee and gut health
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Health
Embrace The Darkness
It’s hard to overstate how vital your circadian rhythm is to your health. It helps your sleep, metabolism, digestion, and hormone production function properly.
And if you want your body to work as it’s designed, more research suggests that light at night is kryptonite for your circadian rhythm.
The circadian rhythm works best when you’re exposed to light in the daytime and very little light at night. Exposure to more light at night doesn’t only disrupt how well you sleep or the energy you have in the morning. It also increases disease risk, which is why the latest research found that exposure to more light at night is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
This study examined more than 84,000 people over eight years. It found that participants whose environments were brighter between 1:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. had a 53 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes. These results were not explained by people doing shift work or getting less sleep (because those factors were controlled for).
This observational study makes it hard to infer cause and effect, but its findings are consistent with other clinical trials. For example, another recent study found that when healthy people slept just a single night with overhead lighting, their insulin sensitivity worsened by 16 percent.
A major reason light at night causes these issues is that when our circadian rhythm is thrown off, our bodies produce less melatonin at night. This negatively affects sleep quality, inhibiting the deeper stages of sleep like REM. And research has repeatedly shown that poor sleep causes blood glucose control to go downhill fast.
To protect your metabolic health, keep your bedroom as dark as possible. That means minimizing light pollution through windows, avoiding sleeping with a TV or bright screen on, and turning off anything brighter than a nightlight.
Longevity
Why Muscle Is The New Anti-Aging Secret
It might be time to stop thinking of muscle gain as a vanity-driven goal.
New research suggests that resistance training isn’t merely a recommended activity — it’s a necessary habit to help fight off aging.
The study explored how resistance exercise protects your body against the typical deterioration connected with disuse, decreasing activity, and muscle atrophy.
The researchers found that beyond preserving muscle mass, resistance exercises:
supports overall metabolic health
reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
improves bone health
Reduces the risk of osteoporosis
Protects against cognitive decline
In other words, prioritizing strength and muscle is the type of health insurance that benefits everyone. And it’s never too early to start — or too late to make a difference.
Research suggests muscle loss (without strength training) can begin as early as your 30s. And then it doubles in your 50s and doubles again in your 60s. That might sound bad, but it’s not inevitable. Studies show that you can still build strength and muscle into your 90s, meaning if you use it (your muscles), then you won’t lose it.
If you need a place to start, check out any of the free weekly workouts we share (simply search “Workout of the Week”), or check out The Pump app for customized workouts designed for all levels and ages. We have thousands of members in their 60s, 70s, and 80s — and even one in their late 90s — defying the aging process.
Fact Or Fiction
Does Coffee Cause Stomach Problems?
Are you worried that your coffee habit might be harming your digestive health? A recent study suggests you can enjoy your cup of joe without fear of damaging your gut health.
If you’ve ever had a cup of coffee, we don’t need to tell you that it can get things moving in your body. But that doesn’t mean it harms your stomach as much as it speeds up some natural processes.
Researchers analyzed more than 8,000 people, and coffee didn’t negatively impact stomach health, such as harming intestines or causing ulcers. The lack of association held across different levels of coffee consumption, meaning frequent coffee drinkers were not at increased risk for the studied digestive issues.
But what about heartburn or indigestion? Can it cause reflux because coffee is acidic?
A review of 15 studies found no link between coffee consumption and heartburn symptoms. It’s conceivable that it could lead to reflux, but it will likely only become an issue once you hit your fourth cup of coffee.
It’s always best to consult a healthcare professional for personalized advice if you have specific digestive symptoms or conditions. That said, if you are healthy, enjoy coffee, and are concerned about digestive health, this study suggests you can continue drinking coffee without worry.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
