Peak Health Wellness Insights Issue 11

Mental Resilience

This revolutionary new study (also summarised here) implicates our bones as a major player in our fight or flight response, our automatic body reaction in response to stress. 

For background... Previously, it was thought that adrenalin and cortisol were the two important players in this response and scientists didn’t look much further. 

The update… This research has identified a molecule released from bone, called osteocalcin, which has been proven to impact our acute stress response. 

One step further… The study attempted to isolate osteocalcin’s effects more specifically. Their findings were surprising. In the absence of adrenalin and cortisol, the acute stress response still occurred. However, in the absence of osteocalcin, it did not, proving osteocalcin is both necessary and sufficient for mounting an acute stress response.

Sleep

This new study emphasises how detrimental a lack of sleep can be on our bodies. While previous research has mostly focused on the effects of sleep deprivation on glucose levels, this research has honed in on its effect on fat and fat metabolism. The findings showed that without enough sleep, fat was metabolised differently and lipids were cleared from blood more quickly, as the body was storing the fat instead of breaking it down. Secondly, those that were sleep deprived felt less full and less satisfied after eating.

Nutrition

For further emphasis on the importance of personalised nutrition, this study has uncovered truly how unique each of us are at digesting fatty meals. It investigated participants' inflammation response after eating a high fat meal and found that each individuals response was completely unique, both in the amount of inflammation experienced and the time it took for inflammation to peak. Genetically, the responses varied by more than 13,000 genes.

Fitness

This interesting study has demonstrated a specific and tangible effect that exercise has on the brain and it is one that can be felt immediately. Results showed that after just one exercise session, people demonstrated improved cognitive function and memory performance.

Specifically, their findings showed that after one exercise session, some people showed increased connectivity between two parts of the brain involved in cognition and memory and performed better on memory tests.

However, the most surprising finding is that these improvements were comparable to the effects after a 12 week exercise training plan. This suggests that we can think about the benefits of exercise on a day by day scale and as a way to increase brain performance each day.

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Habit & Productivity Tip all in one…

Try to sit up straight at your desk as much as possible and work on making it a habit. You can try setting a reminder on your laptop or paste a note on your desk to remind yourself. Walking around helps your body to reset into proper posture, so make it a point to get up regularly from your desk.

Studies show that it will make you happier and more productive.

Why?
-Your posture impacts your thoughts.
- Body language influences not only how others see us, but also how we feel mentally, our moods and our habits.
-Posture can impact our hormone levels.
-Sitting up straight can subconsciously impact our decision-making process.