Mindful Mondays #2: Fall Back Edition
Time changes, circadian rhythms, meditation, exercise, and more.
Good morning, and welcome to the second edition of Mindful Mondays! I hope you’re adjusting well to the time change and that your week is off to a great start.
Speaking of the time change, there has been quite a bit of controversy about Daylight Savings Time in recent years. In fact, there are bills in both the U.S. Congress and the California State Legislature that would make DST permanent. Not surprisingly, both bills are currently stalled.
On Saturday, I wrote a thread on Twitter about why we should ditch DST and remain on Standard Time forever. Most sleep scientists agree that changing our clocks twice a year is bad for public health, and that staying on Standard Time is more aligned with our natural circadian rhythms. In the winter, that means more sunlight in the mornings to help us wake up and darker nights to help us sleep soundly.
Later that day, I also quoted a tweet by Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, Ph.D. about why Daylight Savings is bad for us. Huberman kindly replied to my quote:
Speaking of Huberman, here’s a science-based tip from him to help you adjust to the time change: first thing in the morning, go outside and get some sunlight in your eyes for at least 10 minutes. This could be a dog walk or just sitting on your patio, but leave your sunglasses inside. The goal is to get light in your eyes and signal your brain that it’s time to wake up. This sets your biological clock for the day and also helps you get to sleep better at night.
Chris’s Writing
Read Literature, Not Self-Help: This week, I wrote about how reading Siddhartha at age 16 helped alleviate my depression, and why you should read literature and not just self-help books for a fulfilling life.
Articles of Interest
Permanent Daylight Savings Time will hurt our health, experts say: This is a clear, well-written summary of the downsides of DST. Key takeaway: by disrupting our biological clocks, which are naturally tied to the earth’s rotation, DST could increase our risk for depression, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and death (oops!)
Go Deeper, Not Wider: I enjoyed discovering this now-classic blog post, which suggests taking a year of your life to go deeper in your current areas of interest, rather than buying and starting new things. David suggests you read the books you’ve already bought, practice the instrument you already play, and finish that creative project you started last year.
Exercise as a treatment for depression: a meta-analysis adjusting for publication bias: This last link is to the abstract for an academic journal article from 2016. In a nutshell, it shows that “exercise has a large and significant antidepressant effect in people with depression (including MDD).” The strongest effects were found for moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic exercise, which could include anything from a brisk, 30-minute walk to a more intense cardio workout.
Podcast of the Week
Huberman Lab: How Meditation Works & Science-Based Effective Meditations: Yes, more Huberman. In this episode, Andrew delves deep into the neurobiology of meditation. I appreciated his insights on external vs. internal focus in meditation and why different approaches might be more beneficial for different people.
Quote of the Week
“If you destroy the creative impulse, you will destroy the intrinsic value of the individual at the same time. But you can still live on as a wall decoration.”
—Carl Jung
That’s it for this week. As always, thanks for reading. I appreciate any and all feedback on this newsletter, so hit reply to this email or hit me up on Twitter to let me know what you thought. What was your favorite takeaway from this week?
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Let’s create a healthier, more mindful world together.
—Chris Cordry, LMFT
Congrats on the exchanges with Huberman, that's pretty cool. No surprise on the exercise. You can feel it when you're doing it!