6 Health-Boosting Habits with Circadian Expert Dr. Satchin Panda | The Proof Podcast EP

How often do we consider the powerful, invisible rhythms governing our health and daily lives? Dr Satchin Panda, a leading expert in the field of circadian biology, returns in Episode #283 to help us unlock the secrets of our body's internal clocks. Join us as we explore Dr Panda’s six simple pillars to nurture and align with your circadian rhythm.
👇 Visit The Proof website for the full show notes and supporting studies. 👇
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Satchidananda "Satchin" Panda, PhD is a Professor at the Salk Institute in California, where he conducts critical research on the circadian regulation of behaviour, physiology, and metabolism. His discoveries include identifying the role of blue-light sensing cells in the retina, which influence our primary circadian clock, mood, and the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Additionally, Dr Panda's work on time-restricted feeding "TRF" has highlighted its potential in preventing and reversing metabolic diseases. Among his accolades are the Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research and the Dana Foundation Award in Brain and Immune System Imaging. With a strong foundation in research, Dr Panda brings a wealth of knowledge to our discussion on circadian rhythms.
Specifically, we discuss:
00:00 Introduction
02:26 The Importance of Sleep Optimisation
11:01 Factors Influencing Sleep: Genes vs Daily Behaviours
15:35 The Relationship Between Caffeine and Sleep
20:23 Melatonin: Understanding Suppressors, Dosage, and Supplementation
33:11 Is It Possible to Compensate for Lost Sleep?
35:33 The Link Between Sleep Deprivation and Body Fat Accumulation
42:45 Should We Eat Immediately After Waking Up?
48:05 Time-Restricted Eating and Its Impact on Circadian Rhythms
1:00:09 Timing Your Meals: When Should You Consume Most of Your Daily Calories?
1:04:25 Time-Restricted Eating and Its Effect on Mitochondrial Function
1:10:39 Gender Differences: How Time-Restricted Eating Affects Health Outcomes in Men vs Women
1:17:48 The Ideal Amount of Daylight Exposure for Optimal Health
1:28:48 Determining the Best Time of Day to Exercise
1:35:13 Preparing for Bed: The Importance of Avoiding Food and Bright Lights Two Hours Before Sleep
1:40:46 Prioritising Lifestyle Habits: Which One Reigns Supreme?
1:45:46 Conclusion
Connect with Dr Satchin Panda:
- Twitter/X: / satchinpanda
- Profile: www.salk.edu/scientist/satchi...
- Book, The Circadian Code: www.amazon.com.au/Circadian-C...
- Book, The Circadian Diabetes Code: www.amazon.com.au/Circadian-D...
- myCircadianClock: mycircadianclock.org/
- Previous episodes: theproof.com/tag/satchin-panda/
If you have any additional questions you would like answered in the future, let me know in the comments.
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Enjoy, friends.
Simon
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[@abdelilahbenahmed4350]

Thx Prof. Satchin Panda for your patience, availability and kindness in educating people and helping them to improve their life dramatically.You are a true hero.

[@freja-kristiansen]

Thanks for another great episode Simon. In Scandinavia we always have warm LED light in the house. If we walk into a house with blue light, we will think two things. First, this is very bright light and it hurts my eyes. Second we will get a feeling that this is not such a cozy home and we like cozy homes in Scandinavia.☺

[@marybe4772]

0:03:05 - 1. sleep optimization 0:42:44 - 2. morning fast after waking 0:48:07 - 3. time restricted eating 1:17:48 - 4. appropriate daylight exposure 1:28:48 - 5. afternoon exercise 1:35:12 - 6. an evening fast; no bright light before bed

[@narelled159]

Thank you for the summary.

[@Chris90.]

not all capes wear heroes.

[@skippy6462]

This is the best. So important to me because I like to listen to specific parts of the conversation again and again because I don't always understand what's being said straight away.

[@dehfelicio]

I'm hooked on this podcast and changing my life around. I'm also learning Spanish, any suggestions anyone on Spanish speaking podcasts with the same content/quality as the proof???

[@tikipaddy]

What a great show Simon and Satchin! I enjoyed the conversation and particularity the format of listing the six health boosting habits and response one at a time. Thanks again. 👍

[@aliciab4236]

Excellent. It’s always helpful to hear what Dr. Panda has to say. Your guest quality is top-notch! Thank you.

[@dtrawangan4003]

Always nice to have a new video... The subject is very interesting and important ... It could be nice to make a short version... Otherwise a lot of people will loose this information...

[@LovingColorado598]

Simon and professor Panda, this was a really helpful episode and I loved the list factor that you went through. Instead of a wandering circuitous conversation that is hard to follow I liked the way you structured it It made it easy to go back and find the sections and notate the advice.

[@TheProofWithSimonHill]

Hi Everyone, I'm eager to learn which aspect of our conversation resonated with you the most. Feel free to share any additional queries you have on this subject in the comments below. I'll be sure to incorporate them in our next meeting.

[@Joy80JJ]

I go to sleep at around 2am and sleep all through till 12 noon consistently for years. I do walking/cycling 4x week and strength train 3x. Eat 95% plant base whole foods with evoo. Never felt better in my 50's.

[@antoniettabonfigliovetere1195]

I still do not know what’s the reccomended window for post menopausal women!

[@ILOVE2FeelGOOD]

Everyone is different. But for me (age 60 female) I find a daily 17 hour fasting window works best. finishing eating at before 4pm. Also 1 x weekly 24-36 hour fast)​@@antoniettabonfigliovetere1195

[@kst157]

Outstanding - covered much more than anticipated & in excellent (yet practical) depth. Thank you both. :)

[@user-vl5cg6hb6q]

So true, I do early TRE 16:8. After 2 months I'm sleeping again, got rid of meno symptoms. I still don't understand what happened but it works❤

[@janeschade7875]

Love listening to Satchin Panda He’s amazing! Great interview again!

[@kapilsanghvi7101]

In religious study have found jainisam follows intermittent fasting along with circadian rythem simply and most scientifically!!

[@tashsinclair8007]

Great episode. Very practical, very helpful. Thank you

[@patriziagiglietti5781]

Great episode, thank you.

[@martinhising]

Simon, What a great episode and first class insight! Thanks a lot for the great content! Been experimenting with TRE since this episode and really liking it! One question - would having a cup of say rooibos tea at night before bed be okay, or would that be considered breaking the “fasting window”? Many thanks again!

[@ParanoidBishop]

Garmin 9:45 take heed, change your sleep analysis algorithms!

[@StephenMarkTurner]

Legumes supposedly have a 'second meal effect'. Does this interfere with the time restricted feeding window?

[@cyclamen831]

great podcast! Strangely,I can drink coffee until I go to bed and fall asleep easily and stay asleep, no issues.I thought there were genes already identified with regards fast and slow caffeine metabolizers.

[@YaYippieYeah]

Really suprised about the melatonin dosages. Often i hear one should not go above 0.1-0.2mg when taken regularly. These numbers are like x10 above a lot of other recommandations.

[@karlenedavies6655]

Very interesting subject for me I have always had issues sleeping I am learning so much from Dr. Panda! All these years i have been taking too high dose of melatonin tablets and at the wrong time. Thank you both for this informative information.

[@margarettapayson7651]

Do you have references for his studies on melatonin having negative impact on regulating glucose/pancreas? I am finding conflicting data and the paper I found supporting this states men were given 10mg every hour w sugar water which seems a bit extreme. Also that the results on human were not conclusive.

[@carpediemjonah8110]

I followed your links to your website,. But I could not find any transcript or any other show notes. Please help. Do you have a link to show notes? Or to a transcript? Thanks for your well informed questions and your experts.

[@karenohanlon4183]

My Doctor prescribed melatonin. If I take it in the afternoon it makes me sleepy If I I take it a few hours before bed not so sleepy. It causes next day dizziness. It causes heart palpitations It can make me feel depressed. So for me magnesium glycinate is better. I stopped the melatonin.

[@Chris90.]

I eat my last meal anywhere from 45 mins to 1 hour before i go to bed and I've slept totally fine.

[@bethra.flowers]

❤❤

[@antoniettabonfigliovetere1195]

Still a bit confused. What’s the best TRE or IF to follow?

[@StephenMarkTurner]

In terms of how much caffeine is in the body, 4 cups of a caffeinated drink at 11:00 AM would be like having 1 drink at 11:00 PM just before bed? Yikes.

[@sunnyBLR]

I can eat a big meal, go to bed and have a good sleep score if I was active all day long and sleep long enough. I have noticed that if I had a lazy day then sleep quality does drop with late dinner. Stress levels per my Garmin watch seem lower if I skip dinner altogether. If I eat late and sleep score is low, the next day my sleep catches up, despite eating late again, so body knows productize sleep naturally.. Maybe its just me. For me , there is some truth to what Panda is saying but I feel like he's giving it more importance than I feel necessary to justify all the research dollars

[@HeibesHealth]

I enjoy working out after work, but I have the worst time down regulating to get to sleep. It takes my body about 5 hours to wind down from one of my workouts. I’m not even sure what to do with that when I need to get to bed early for work (4:30am wake-up). My sleep suffers as a result, but it’s not reasonable for me to get up at 3:00am just to work out.

[@gtm5650]

Lower the intensity of your workout.

[@HeibesHealth]

@@gtm5650 Even at lower intensities, it takes me just as long. My body doesn’t seem to care. If I’ve elevated my heart rate from working out, I’m hyped up for hours. Anything higher intensity than stretching/mobility work requires hours for me to down regulate.

[@felipearbustopotd]

Have you tried working out before work?

[@HeibesHealth]

@@felipearbustopotd I would have to get up at 3:00am to work out which isn’t too feasible for me.

[@felipearbustopotd]

@@HeibesHealth Fair enough. I hope you find something that works for you. As a side note. Most gyms today have an app, maybe you do as well. You'd be surprised how many workout before work. Some as early as 0300. That said, works for some not for others. Good luck. ,😀

[@YaYippieYeah]

Unfortunatly i sleep very bad when not eating close to bed time in a calorie deficit. The feeling of some food in the stomach really helps me. I also think onset of mild ketosis really destroys my sleep. Someone has similiar issues?

[@Chris90.]

you're totally right. i think it isn't a cut and dry answer and needs to be adjusted for everyone. any sort of mild ketosis like what you speak of can be counterintuitive. you'll be susceptible to having some adrenaline when you're supposed to be calm and relaxed before sleep.

[@lighthealerastrid1465]

Same here. I need carbs at dinner in order to sleep three-or-so hours later. Without grain-free carbs, I will wake up with hunger pangs at 1 or 2 am.

[@Chris90.]

@@lighthealerastrid1465 "without grain-free carbs" are you saying grain sources of carbohydrates make you hungrier? what kind of carbs then are you referring to?

[@tamaram5702]

I’m a little surprised he didn’t mention how hormones can impact sleep young college students are still on the late end of puberty and I have heard that boys and girls going through puberty and young adults actually do tend to wake up later and sleep later. It’s not all partying frat boys addicted to caffeine and adderral.also women as they are reaching perimenopause and menopause have sleep disruptions that are all due to hormones

[@Chris90.]

oh my god it's the guy I can barely understand. goddammit. love this topic though! will use captions 😅

[@tigertalks1567]

accent very hard to decipher

[@leniolesch896]

I found it rather boring, nothing new. I really can't hear the subject of fasting anymore. It did me and many other women no good. He should try once, as an athletic very active woman who eats a whole food plant-based diet try to eat within 8-10 hours. Since very few can fit workouts in the middle of the day but rather train in the morning, that would probably mean constantly fasted training. What that does to our hormones, I'd love to ask him.

[@S7ilgar]

They actually talk about it: if you're very active, you can eat on 12h. Maybe you can make a compromise: light breakfast 1h after waking up and sport 30mn after. I guess sport will help to regulate blood sugar despite you started eating a bit early.