Happy Friday. I hope all is well.
Here are a few resources to help you improve your shift work life.
(Un)Natural Science
Numerous studies show a correlation between shift work / chronic jet-lag and cancer risk. Yet there is little known about the exact mechanisms at play.
A new study shows that these circadian disruptions alter the microenvironment surrounding tumor cells, making it more favorable for tumor growth, and also hinders the body’s natural immune defenses.
Researchers injected two groups of mice with melanoma cells. The first was subjected to a normal schedule while the second group’s light and dark exposure was shifted by six hours every two days.
A month later, the scientists observed that the tumors in the jet lagged group were roughly three times the size of the control group.
“…if someone has a proliferative disorder, in this case melanoma, doing shift work or regularly changing time zones could exacerbate the problem by dampening immune system response to tumor growth,”
Many people pay no attention at all to their circadian rhythms, yet they have a profound effect on our health.
The body’s master timekeeper is located in the brain, where it’s entrained by light and sends signals to synchronize peripheral clocks located throughout the body. When our perception of day and night becomes muddled due to irregular intervals of light and dark, our internal clocks and the environment are misaligned, which, as this study shows, can have subtle yet significant consequences at a cellular level.
So what can shift workers do to minimize irregular light and dark schedules? Regain some control with blue-light-blocking glasses and a light therapy box.
Jet Lag Conditions Impair Immune Response | Neuroscience News
Performance Enhancing Glasses
Speaking of blue-blockers, a new study reveals that blue-light glasses help improve sleep and work productivity – further evidence that every shift worker should own a pair.
“We found that wearing blue-light-filtering glasses is an effective intervention to improve sleep, work engagement, task performance and organizational citizenship behavior, and reduced counterproductive work behavior,”
“Wearing blue-light-filtering glasses creates a form of physiologic darkness, thus improving both sleep quantity and quality.”
The researchers found that the results were especially strong for “night owls”.
“…owl employees seem to benefit more because they encounter greater misalignments between their internal clock and the externally controlled work time.”
This suggests, as I’ve previously espoused, that shift workers have the most to gain from wearing blue-light blocking glasses. Hopefully, we can look forward to a time when employers take notice of this growing body of research, and take an active role in limiting the circadian misalignment of their employees.
“Blue-light exposure should also be of concern to organizations,” Guarana said. “The ubiquity of the phenomenon suggests that control of blue-light exposure may be a viable first step for organizations to protect the circadian cycles of their employees from disruption.”
Such an intervention would benefit not only the health of employees, but the employers’ bottom lines.
Blue-Light Glasses Improve Sleep and Workday Productivity | Neuroscience News
Preps for Outdoor Reps
Colder weather and continued restrictions will push many people to spend more time in their homes this winter. That usually translates into less physical activity as well. But if you’re smart about it and are properly prepared, cold weather is no reason to limit outdoor time.
How to Stay Active Outside When the Weather Gets Colder | Cleveland Clinic
More Coffee?
A new study suggests that coffee may be beneficial for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). I thought this may be of interest since I brought up CRC last week and, well, coffee.
those who reported drinking two to three cups of coffee a day were likely to live longer overall, and had a longer time before their disease worsened, than those who didn’t drink coffee. Participants who drank larger amounts of coffee — more than four cups a day — had an even greater benefit in these measures. The benefits held for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
The researchers were not able to establish a cause-and-effect relationship, only an association. The lead author had this to say:
“Although it is premature to recommend a high intake of coffee as a potential treatment for colorectal cancer, our study suggests that drinking coffee is not harmful and may potentially be beneficial,”
Coffee associated with improved survival in metastatic colorectal cancer patients | Science Daily
Investment Plan
Navigating our current economic landscape is a huge challenge. And the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. With so much uncertainty, now is the time to concentrate on the things you can control, rather than try to time the market or pick individual stocks.
5 Investing Tips to Get Your Wealth Plan on Track | Kiplinger
On Principles
In investment and life it is important to have principles—things you believe in deeply and are willing to stick to even when they are unpopular and costly. But only fanatics make every decision a matter of principle. The basics of quant investing, rigorous and skeptical consideration of all evidence plus insistence on logical theory, are sound principles in good times and bad. But principles are only general guides. Wise investors allow themselves flexibility in execution.
Reminds me of something Peter Attia says frequently, usually in regards to his framework around health and longevity: Strong convictions, loosely held.
Anti-Quant Investing Manifesto Misses the Mark | Bloomberg
Stay healthy-
Jason Glenn