Episode 6: Principle 5 – Eat in Time

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Sleep is one of the most important activities of daily living so on this episode I invite sleep medicine expert Dr Michael Farquhar to discuss the impact of eating (and what time we eat) on sleep quality.

We also delve into a discussion about fasting, the effect of poor sleep on health (particularly shift workers) and why defining when you choose to eat could have health benefits. We round up with actionable tips on how you can ‘Eat on Time’ every day.

We talk about:

What happens when we sleep, what are the mechanisms, do we still not know why we sleep
How eating can positively or negatively affect our sleep pattern
Does it affect circadian rhythm? Cortisol, melatonin, Noradrenalin
What kind of hormonal effects do we see when we sleep?
How long does it take to reset the clock

Fasting:

What is fasting?
Different types of fasting that are most popular
Are we meant to fast from an evolutionary point of view?
What happens during a fast at a physiological level and will the effects be different depending on the person fasting?
Health effects of fasting
Why is fasting becoming popular?
Why constant eating could be harmful and related to lifestyle diseases
How to fast responsibly and what things to look out for if you do?

Summary

And remember, these are NOT rules but gentle guides. If I get back late from a shift, it’s 11pm and I’m hungry .. I’m eating.

Do not restrict yourself on the basis of this information. It’s OK to eat late
every now and again like for example on a Friday night with friends over wine.

There is a lot more to a healthy lifestyle and MINDSET than just restricting when you eat

Guest: Dr Michael Farquhar

Dr Mike Farquhar is a consultant in sleep medicine at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. He trained in general paediatrics, respiratory paediatrics and sleep medicine in Glasgow, Nottingham, Sydney and London, and took up his current post in 2012.
Mike has an interest in the importance of sleep, sleep deprivation and fatigue in the context of shift work within the NHS. He has worked to improve awareness and understanding of these issues since becoming a consultant, working with organisations including the London School of Paediatrics, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (and received The AAGBI Award for this work in 2018), the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the British Medical Association and the Care Quality Commission amongst others.

Routine teaching on this topic is now included in both Evelina London and London School of Paediatrics induction programmes.

https://www.guysandstthomaseducation.com/projectsleep-looking-after-your-wellbeing/