IOT: Circadian Rhythm

An interesting episode of "In Our Time" on BBC Radio 4 concerning Circadian Rhythm (available on the iPlayer and - eventually - as a podcast):

• Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the evolution and role of Circadian Rhythms, the so-called body clock that influences an organism's daily cycle of physical, behavioural and mental changes. The rhythms are generated within organisms and also in response to external stimuli, mainly light and darkness. They are found throughout the living world, from bacteria to plants, fungi to animals and, in humans, are noticed most clearly in sleep patterns.

The Dark Side

Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated release of 2015 is here. Star Wars: The Force Awakens Alex Hannold Climbs Angola:

Paleo; taking over MMA

Arguably it started with Georges St Pierre - UFC training moved from 'hamster fitness' of the weight room to something that developed kinaesthetic awareness through body weight and gymnastic training.  Using movement based drills to develop finer motor patterns as well as traditional strength and fitness, has long been evident in a subset of fitness enthusiast - most notably contestants on Ninja Warrior, but now things have gone a step further.

Those who have been around the paleosphere for much of the past decade will be aware of Erwan Le Corre and his MovNat program.  Well, Carlos Condit is now training under Le Corre:

And if that wasn't enough, you'll no doubt be aware that Ido Portal - sometime paleo-ista and mainstay of Gymnastic Bodies for much of the last few years, is assisting Conor McGregor in his quest for world domination:

I'd love to see The Notorious on a climbing wall. No better way to develop his inner boa-constrictor!  But judging by the fight with Aldo, he is happy to go with striking like a cobra. Brutal skills.
 
For the record, there are a few other exceptional athletes who have adopted a similar paleo-compliant approach with superlative results - both in terms of aesthetics and performance, including Andreas Thorkildsen and TheJSap.  Also, let's not forget Michel Bruyninckx approach to football in Belgium,

• "We need to stop thinking football is only a matter of the body,...Skilfulness will only grow if we better understand the mental part of developing a player. 
  
  "Cognitive readiness, improved perception, better mastering of time and space in combination with perfect motor functioning."

Remember, paleo is a lifestyle philosophy based on the broad conditions of ancestral selection, not a brand that repackages modern life as-is.  Doing the same thing under a different brand-name is doing the same thing - and will leave you in the same place.

What Lies Beneath

On gut flora extinction:

"Years ago, impelled in part by their oldest daughter’s constipation problems, the Sonnenburg family revamped its diet. They threw out all processed food-stuffs, and began eating plenty of veggies and whole grains. They bought a dog. Justin Sonnenburg began hand-milling his own wheat berries for bread. He took up gardening. And when he compared his archived microbes from years ago with recent ones, he discovered that his microbial diversity had increased by half. “That’s a huge difference,” he told me, “as big as the difference between Americans and Amerindians.”"

Meat Shaming

The Problem With the WHO's Great Meat Conspiracy. A nice polemic from HuffPo.

http://flip.it/_l3ZV

Sleep & Mental Illness

Sleep - far from inactive, it's your body and mind's busy time for growth and repair:

"Circadian rhythms are innate and hard-wired into the genomes of just about every living thing on the planet. In humans, our physiology is organised around the daily cycle of activity and sleep. In the active phase, when energy expenditure is high and food and water are consumed, organs need to be prepared for the intake, processing and uptake of nutrients."

https://theconversation.com/why-sleep-could-be-the-key-to-tackling-mental-illness-50102

Natural Sleep and Its Seasonal Variations

Some interesting research picked up by the BBC and presented in Current Biology on sleep.  Biphasic sleep may not my innate nor optimal (although there is conflicting evidence).  The highlights are:

• •Preindustrial societies in Tanzania, Namibia, and Bolivia show similar sleep parameters
• •They do not sleep more than “modern” humans, with average durations of 5.7–7.1 hr
• •They go to sleep several hours after sunset and typically awaken before sunrise
• •Temperature appears to be a major regulator of human sleep duration and timing

Clearly season, light and temperature themselves are all linked by sunlight and day-length.  Sleep quality moves up a gear and the basics of sleep hygiene remain the same.