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

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 jetlag, 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.

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Timestamps

00:00:00Introducing Dr. Samer Hattar, Ph.D.

00:02:33Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up

00:06:15Light, Circadian (24-hour) & Circannual (365-day) “Photoentrainment”

00:14:30Neurons in Our Eyes That Set Our Body Clocks: Similar to Frog Skin

00:18:55What Blind People See

00:20:15When, How & How Long to View Light for Optimal Sleep & Wakefulness

00:30:20Sunlight Simulators, Afternoon Light Viewing, Naps

00:33:48Are You Jetlagged at Home? Chronotypes & Why Early Risers Succeed

00:38:33How to Decide Your Best Sleep-Wake Schedule; Minimal Light Test

00:42:16Viewing Light in Middle of Day: Mood & “Light Hunger”

00:44:55Evening Sunlight; Blueblocker Warning

00:48:57Blue Light Is Not the Issue; Samer’s Cave; Complete Darkness

00:53:58Screens at Night

00:56:03Dangers of Bright Light Between 10 pm and 4 am: Mood & Learning

01:01:05The Tripartite Model: Circadian, Sleep Drive, Feeding Schedules

01:05:05Using Light to Enhance Your Mood; & The Hattar-Hernandez Nucleus

01:07:19Why Do We Sleep?

01:08:17Effects of Light on Appetite; Regular Light & Meal Times

01:18:08Samer’s Experience with Adjusting Meal Timing

01:22:51Using Light to Align Sleep, Mood, Feeding, Exercise & Cognition

01:30:15Age-Related Changes in Timing of Mental & Physical Vigor

01:31:44“Chrono-Attraction” in Relationships; Social-Rhythms

01:33:40Re-setting Our Clock Schedule; Screen Devices Revisited

01:37:50How Samer Got into the Study of Light

01:39:33Clock Gene mRNAs & More Accurate Biomarkers

01:41:08Light as Medicine

01:42:48ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

01:43:35How to Beat Jetlag: Light, Temperature, Eating

01:50:44Vigor: The Consequence of Proper Timing

01:52:15Waking in the Middle of the Night: When Your Nightly Sleep Becomes a Nap

01:54:10Melatonin, Pineal Calcification

01:55:25Our Seasonal Rhythms: Mood, Depression, Lethargy & Reproduction

01:59:08Daylight Savings: Much Worse Than It Might Seem

02:05:27Eye Color & Sensitivity to Light, Bipolar Disorder

02:09:28Spicy Food, Genetic Variations in Sensory Sensitivity

02:10:52Synthesizing This Information, Samer on Twitter, Instagram

02:13:00Conclusions, Ways To Support the Huberman Lab Podcast & Research

Disclaimer & Disclosures