By Frank Lipman, MD on January 12, 2010
First, a confession. I love music and have been obsessed with rhythm from an early age. I grew up in South Africa, where music and its ritual use are a very important part of the way of life in traditional African cultures. In my home, music was always playing from the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep. What I did not know then, was that my love for music and rhythm, would be a portal into understanding the way I see health today.
In 1984, a few years after finishing my medical training in South Africa, my wife and I emigrated to the USA and settled in New York City – we could no longer continue living under Apartheid. I completed a 3 year residency in Internal Medicine and for a number of years after that, immersed myself in the study of Chinese Medicine, Functional Medicine, Nutrition, Yoga and Meditation. When I opened my own clinic, the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in Manhattan in 1992, I had a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of my Western training and of all the other systems I had been studying.
Over the years, I started seeing more and more patients coming in complaining of feeling exhausted, depressed, overwhelmed, achy, run down and older than their years. They weren’t sleeping well, had no sex drive and were running on empty. I labeled this “syndrome” SPENT because that’s how these patients were feeling. It is a modern day stress syndrome and has become epidemic. Western Medicine does not have any solutions for it and in fact, does not even recognize that it exists despite so many people feeling this way.
When I started thinking about why this was happening, I realized that the only time I never saw patients who had these symptoms was when I was working as a doctor 28 years ago in KwaNdebele, a rural area in South Africa. I saw diseases symptomatic of physical hardship, of poverty and malnutrition, very different to what I see today in my practice. There was no electricity, indoor heating or refrigeration in KwaNdebele. Folks went to bed when it got dark, arose with the sun and ate whatever foods were available in season. They lived in accordance with the cycles and rhythms of nature, they had to.
I thought about what I had learned in Chinese medicine, that humans are part of the natural world and governed by the universal forces of nature. Human bodies do not exist in isolation; we are creatures of our environment and are subject to the powerful dictates of cyclic rhythm. This rhythm is an integral part of the self-organizing dynamic of nature and so I looked to see if there was scientific research on what I thought was happening. Sure enough there was a field called chronobiology, the science that examines cyclical phenomena in living organisms. Your body has more than 100 Circadian rhythms. They are based roughly on nature’s 24-hour cycle, influencing different aspects of your body’s function, including sleep & wake cycles, body temperature, hormone levels, brain wave activity, heart rate, blood pressure and even pain threshold. These rhythms are part of every aspect of our body’s inner working. Although most of us know that such rhythms exist, we fail to appreciate their power in determining our health. Even in medical circles, chronobiology, the study of physiological rhythm is consistently underrated.
We have internal body clocks set precisely to these rhythms and cycles of nature. The “master clock” is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a distinct group of cells located in the hypothalamus, which uses signals like light and darkness to know when to release certain hormones and neurotransmitters, which tell us when to wake or go to sleep. Destruction of the SCN results in the complete absence of a regular sleep/wake rhythm. Light is the drummer in our physiological band or orchestra, it keeps the beat, our body clocks try to harmonize themselves with nature.
Then I looked into the field of genomics, the study of genes and I had my Aha! experience on why this was happening.
We evolved over millennia as people who lived in harmony with day and night and the seasons. These cycles and rhythms became imprinted in our genes, which are almost identical to our ancient ancestors. So in our genes we are still our ancient ancestors, but we have outpaced our biology and are living at a pace that is foreign to it. Our modern lives are out of sync with these rhythms and we land up feeling Spent.
For most of us, the only time we become aware of body rhythms and their importance is if we have jet lag. This is probably the easiest way to recognize our internal body clock. Anyone who has flown over a few time zones, for instance New York to London, knows what I am talking about. You get tired easily, feel sluggish, you have trouble concentrating or thinking clearly, your body aches, you have trouble sleeping and you may even have digestive problems. But unlike when you are Spent, after a few days your body clock adjusts to the new time zone and you feel better.
Our lifestyle today simply makes it harder to stay in tune with the rhythms of nature. While no doubt beneficial in many ways, we have created artificial environments that insulate us from the cycles of the seasons and of daylight and darkness. We use artificial light to extend our activities well into the night and even during the day, we spend most of our time under artificial lights, getting very little natural light. It becomes difficult to hear the ticking of our body’s internal clock. The result is that many of us pay a price as our natural body clock gets thrown out of it’s natural rhythm. Our poorly synchronized lifestyles extract a significant toll.
The good news is that when prompted correctly our genetic clocks can reset themselves. The body will move naturally towards healing if we give it a chance. When our rhythms are in sync, we have more energy, everyday tasks are easier to perform, things just seem to flow better. Athletes call this “being in the zone” or having their game on. Finding your “groove” is not just psychological, it is physiological too. By making small changes in your lifestyle, you can feel remarkably more energetic, start sleeping better and reclaim your rightful vitality.
Here are just a few tips taken from my new book, Spent: End Exhaustion and Feel Great Again that will help you to reset your body clock and rediscover your natural rhythm.
* Get some natural light during the day by going for a walk, preferably in nature.
* Keep a consistent daily schedule. Get up at the same time every day, regardless of what time you go to bed.
* Have an “electronic sundown.” At around 10 pm, turn off your computer, TV and all electronic equipment.
* Darken your room completely. That means covering or turning off any of the blinking or glowing lights from the alarm clock, the cell phone charger, the DVD clock and timer, etc. Each little bit of light can stop your melatonin levels from rising, which you need to induce sleep and to reach the deep restorative sleep your body requires. If you can’t darken your room, wear an eye mask.
* Eat in accordance to your body’s rhythms. Since your metabolism peaks at about noon, it is better for your body to have a bigger breakfast and lunch and smaller dinner. Eat good fats and protein for breakfast because that is what your body needs for fuel during the day. Healthy smoothies are a great way to get both of these into your diet. The typical sugar and carb-laden breakfast of a bagel, muffin, toast or sugary cereal are just about the worst things you can have; so avoid those at all costs.
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By Guest Blogger on December 15, 2009
Laura Mathews
What if plants could multi-task? You know, do more than stand there and look pretty.
Consider this: in order to add color and interest to your yard, you’re looking for a flowering shrub.
You could choose a deep pink flowering azalea. That would be pretty.
Or you could choose native spicebush. That would be pretty, too. But spicebush, like other native plants, offers deeper beauty. Like azalea, it flowers in the spring. Unlike Azalea, it has multiple seasons of interest. And since it is genetically predisposed to thrive in much of the US, maintenance is less. It also comes with its own butterfly: the spicebush swallowtail.
Plants have purpose beyond their ornamental value. By adding plants that are native to your area, you’re doing yourself and nature a favor. Native plants need us less. Let’s say you’d chosen the azalea. As pervasive as these are, they’re sensitive. They’re native to China, so they aren’t used to North American growing conditions. To keep them thriving here, it’s suggested you feed them with an acid based fertilizer a couple of times a year. To keep them looking good, you’d need to hit them with a fungicide spray. They’re prone to powdery mildew.
Not feeling all the work and all the chemicals? Let’s look at the spicebush. It’s a naturally occurring shrub throughout the east coast and into the Midwest. It doesn’t need us. Spicebush, like most native plants, will thrive without the regular addition of fertilizers and chemicals because it has evolved to grow in northeastern climate and conditions. As with many native plants, it offers three seasons of interest. Delicate yellow flowers start the spring, yellow leaves mark fall, and berries decorate spicebush for the winter. The spicebush swallowtail butterfly will lay eggs on the leaves and the larvae will feed on the leaves. Native shrubs benefit birds, too: “Spicebush is a McDonalds for birds,” says Judy Bono, a Native Plant expert. Birds can feed on the larvae in spring and the berries in the fall and winter. And spicebush is but one of many native plants.
Spicebush
My point? The spicebush, though less perennially popular, will enrich your garden in more ways than one. Choose plants that are supposed to grow in your location, and you’ll create a symbiotic relationship in which you, your plant, and nature all benefit. I call it right plant, right place, cubed.
Good arguments for natives can be made on a purely economic basis as well. Native plants cost less because they don’t require chemicals or, once established, as much or any watering. And there are some native plant appreciators who simply prefer natives’ delicate aesthetics: say, the wisps of purple flowers of the redbud tree as compared to the explosion of pale pink blooms of the yoshino cherry tree.
But it’s interest in environmental preservation that is truly fueling the current rage for native plants and convincing folks that they’re crucial for our ecosystem. From soil, to birds, to insects, “Nature contains incredible layers of relationship,” said Jan Getgood, of Meadowood Nursery, an all-native plant nursery. According to Getgood, our efforts to re-arrange Mother Nature in our developed areas by introducing non-native species has impacted the biodiversity that those species support.
Douglas Tallamy, from the University of Delaware, has energized plant lovers with his book, Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in our Gardens. In it, he explores the relationship between native plants, birds and insects. Certain insects only feed on certain plants. Birds for instance, search for certain insects; often in spring, caterpillars. Native oaks, for example, support the most butterfly and moth species, over 500, who lay their eggs in oaks. Those eggs become caterpillars and feed the majority of migrating birds. Birds need protein provided by insects to feed their young. While birds gain sustenance from seeds and berries, that’s not enough to support their offspring.
“We need to abandon the idea that we are planting purely for the aesthetics of plants.” Said Tallamy. “Landscapes need to be functional for nature.”
So does this mean we need to tear all our plants out and start over with native plants? Hardly. In fact, native plant experts suggest starting small.
“First, make sure there are no invasives, then replace your plants with natives through attrition,” said Tallamy. “Reduce the amount of lawn you have and plant your areas densely with native plants. Almost everyone has more lawn than they need. ”
Gardens that are tightly planted provide food and shelter for insects and wildlife can gradually allow nature to rebound. The hope is to create a corridor through suburban landscapes that allows wildlife to move freely and find shelter and food.
Of course, gardeners nurture plants. So the idea of pulling out your hybrid tea to replace it with clethra feels a little counter intuitive to us. Native plant champions argue that we should quell our guilt: “People need to know its O.K. to kill a plant,” said Lorrie Preston, President of the Appalachian Audubon Society. Preston suggests looking closely and really thinking about some of our problem plants. Rather than putting a plant on life support with additives or keeping it in bounds with excessive pruning, take the plant out and replace it with a native.
“Plants have their own purpose. We have to understand and think about how a certain plant can serve nature,” said Preston.
Years ago, when natives were called wildflowers, the only way to find them was to start your own from seed. Now, you can find native plants at your Garden Center. Often, there will be entire sections devoted to native plants. And don’t think your plant palette will be whittled down to nothing. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center at the University of Texas hosts a native plant database of more than 7,000 plants. Many of our garden favorites are native: echinacea, rudbeckia, and coreopsis come to mind. And there are several resources on line, including these:
-Wildflower.org
-Plantnative.org
-National Wildlife Federation
With native plants, you enjoy their beauty and the beauty of the nature that they attract—all while ensuring that birds, butterflies and, well, everything, will be here in the future.
Laura Mathews is a horticulture student, life-long gardener and professional photographer from Pennsylvania. Currently, when she’s not driving her teenage daughter from place to place or chasing her kindergartner around the yard, Laura is writing blog posts for Punk Rock Gardens and shopping for a small farm.
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By Amy Rachelle on October 22, 2009
Traveling the world while teaching about holistic living, based on raw food nutrition and cleansing, I have developed a bird’s eye view of the global movement for wellness – and ultimately a new way of living, relating, creating, and co-habitating. During my travels, I meet people impacted by the challenges we face in modern times. It is the people living simply, close to the Earth, and with low-stress lifestyles that have been able to adjust well to the ecological, economic, and personal demands we find ourselves facing today.
Same goes for myself! Although I love New York City and Amsterdam, where I work most often, I feel much personal relief when I land in sunny natural places where gardens are growing, gentleness pervades, and stars shine. It brings out the best in me to live without the hustle and bustle of the cities. So what to do for those of us committed to, and activated in the cities, and certainly not about to dismiss that call? What can we do in order to heed and honor the personal and professional demands of big city life while not neglecting your greater need to be aligned with the cycles of the moon, receive nourishment from the sun, and take in the trees greater oxygen? Ah, not to mention the oceanic ions that reduce stress levels!
Here are a few things I’ve found helpful in my journey…
Accept where you are at in this moment – and ask, what do I really want? What’s your ideal lifestyle? Do you believe it’s possible to have what you really want? Many of us who live in downtown NYC, rarely make it to Central Park. This place is a huge gift unto itself! Taking your shoes off and walking barefoot is sure to get you grounded. Not to mention lying in the grass (even if you are bundled up) or taking a good swift walk.
Regularity is key! When’s its cold and rainy, do you embrace this weather as part of nature and submerge yourself in that experience? It’s amazing what a 1/2 hour train ride to the beach or country just outside New York City offers. And if you’re in California, even better! Just outside LA and San Francisco is teaming wildlife and reserves.
In general, it seems that the more emotionally and intimately satisfied we are, the more it doesn’t matter where we are. Are your emotional/intimacy needs being meet? In the cities, besides the parks, one of our greatest resources for nature is one another. Try connecting with like minded people who are interested in self growth and being healthy! Eat of nature! Eating living foods will help keep you connected and keep your circulation moving, no matter how much concrete and cold there is!
Want to learn more about the science and spirit of living, thinking, and being healthy? Check out our debut program: 5 Day New You Intensive, Oct. 24th – 28th in NYC, and Nov. 13th – 18th in Amsterdam… coming online soon!
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By Amy Rachelle on July 28, 2009
From Bali to Brooklyn and Amsterdam to San Fran, what I experience in my travels are conscious hubs which serve as containers and invitations for a new paradigm way of being. These are destinations where raw foods, yoga, and holistic living in general are rapidly coming up on the radar as signs of where progressive culture can be found. The inexpensive, natural, spa-like lifestyle in Bali seems to be one of the original portals where art and self growth have been thriving as a whole for a long time.
Ironically, in the west, many of us are finding our way back to nature through big city lifestyles that are spawned by creativity and living our dreams through the machinery of what a metropolis can offer. Yet, after many years of living in NYC and working and traveling in the major U.S. and European cities, what I find “missing” is what intrinsically exists living in a more natural (and warm) place – like what I experienced for 10 weeks in Bali this year.
Eating from the organic garden, picking fruit from wild trees, living an indoor/outdoor lifestyle, lying in my bathtub at night with the garden next to me – staring out at the stars and moon without the impediment of walls – ah, yes, my heart is happy. It’s easy to live this way with the internet. I worked with my clients in the west by video skype the entire time. With all the many conscious hubs on the planet and the support they offer – along with the internet – I feel the depth and honoring towards my western roots, and what I can truly contribute in the bigger global picture by not being bound to them.
The key to this type of lifestyle for me has been in letting go, broadening my horizons, and going for what I really want, instead of settling for what I think I should do, or limiting myself in any way. The natural and adventurous life calls loudly amongst my greater service and purpose in the big cities of America and Europe… taking the leap and saying yes to that call – without forsaking my western roots – has been utterly expansive and enlivening. By letting go and taking the risk, I’ve found that I’m supported by our greater global conscious community that is focused on the same mission. May we all spread our wings, free ourselves to fly and live our dreams. I’ve jumped and found it’s more than possible, it’s now my reality!
Ready to spread your wings and take flight, yet need support and guidance? Here’s some suggestions:
-Ask yourself “what do I really want, 1, 5, and 10 years from now”? Are you living in accordance with that vision now?
-What steps can you take now to head in the direction of what you really want? What are you willing to let go off in order to invite the realization of your hearts desires?
-Consider blended and/or juice fasting to gain clarity in your body and mind with the intention of establishing the direction what you truly want.
-Daily meditation, 2-20 minutes, consistently am & pm stills the mind and offers the opportunity to hear your greater hearts calling. BOS – Breath, Observe (w/equanimity), Surrender… keep watching your mind in a state of acceptance as you breath and let go.
-Gain the support of a healthy like minded community that supports your highest potential… support is paramount!
-Self care is the greatest gift… are you self investing? What’s your proactive plan for getting your needs met and what support do you need to follow through?
Take the leap! Without taking a risk there may be no reward. Practically plan and prepare – without postponing. Your time is now! Go for it!
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