A blog to help you optimize your full-body and life performance

Humans are diurnal animals, meaning we work during the day, and sleep and restore (both physically and mentally) at night. But things like technology, long work days, and even light bulbs have drastically expanded what we consider ‘waking hours’ compared to those of our evolutionary ancestors. For most of history, when the sun went down, our bodies knew it was time for bed. But now, most of us couldn't possibly imagine sacrificing those extra few hours between sunset and bedtime!

So if we're not relying on light as a cue for day and night, what do we use? Well, the overwhelming answer is food! The first bite or sip of anything other than water in the morning kicks your metabolism into gear for the day ahead. But recent research shows that hacking this system by limiting how often we eat can improve multiple different facets of health. Here's how to biohack your body clock.

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A common misconception about holiday meals is that we should starve ourselves before and after them. This isn’t true! In fact, we should try to stick to our usual routines as much as possible leading up to a big holiday feast and jump right back into them after it. Under eating before or after the meal can do more harm than the large meal itself.

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Every once in a while, someone on the team here at InsideTracker decides to take on an interesting challenge. From nutrition, to exercise, or a lack of both, these challenges have really run the gamut. So, when our Data Science Intern, Kenny Westerman, who is a Ph.D. student and holds his Masters in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition from Tufts' Friedman School of Science and Policy, decided he wanted to take on a challenge of his own, who were we to stop him? After all, it's all in the name of science!

Here's Kenny's story...

“You haven’t eaten anything? In three days?” This was the response I got from my astonished (and skeptical) coworkers at InsideTracker upon hearing about my current dietary experiment. As a nutrition-centric company, all of us are major foodies, and it is certainly hard to imagine resisting eating for even one entire day. So why did I choose to undergo what ultimately became a four-day fast?    

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When you think of holidays, you probably don't think of food deprivation. But, plenty of cultures have integrated fasting into their traditional observances, for millenia. This month, Muslims around the world are celebrating Ramadan, a holiday which emphasizes fasting during daylight hours. Since the holiday essentially mandates time-restricted feeding, with food only being consumed before sunrise and after sunset, Ramadan has piqued the curiosity of the research world. What's more, we also recommend time-restricted feeding. Therefore, it only seemed appropriate to dive into the topic of fasting this month and discuss the potential benefits that time-restricted feeding can have on our health and how it can help us reach our goals.

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