Snack Time | January 2024
Sleeping for long life, menopause embraces Ozempic, and a nootropic to curb procrastination.
Welcome to Snack Time, my monthly roundup of fascinating health and wellness news. Whether it’s a headline, podcast, product discovery, or helpful resource, this post offers quick, digestible bites to nourish and educate those short on time but eager to stay informed.
Snooze or Lose
Go to sleep like your life depends on it because it does. Literally. Sleep is not only the greatest performance enhancer of all time, it is eerily good at predicting all cause mortality. The current data suggests that it’s less about the amount of time in bed but rather the regularity of your sleep and wake times. Protecting your natural circadian rhythm is critical for good health and longevity. Case in point — shift workers who work during the biological night (10pm to 4am), die on average 15 years sooner.
LISTEN: This episode of Diary of a CEO interviews Kristen Holmes, the Vice President of Performance Science at the health and fitness monitoring company, WHOOP. She shares some mind-blowing learnings such as this insight: for every 45 min of sleep debt accrued (less than what you need), there is a 5-10% decrease in executive function (ability to make decisions). A leader with sleep debt negatively impacts the psychological safety of their direct reports through their diminished ability to communicate, show emotion and make eye contact resulting in a decrease in team performance. (the podcast is sponsored by Whoop but I found it to be educational and at times vulnerable vs promotional)
Ozempic Slays the Scale, But At What Cost?
According to the NIH, 70% of women gain on average 1.5 pounds per year during the menopause transition, which can last over a decade. Besides impacting self-esteem, the weight gain, increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and other health issues. Although all of the semaglutide-based drugs are successful in reducing body mass, sometimes up to a staggering 15%, in a few months, it can cause a significant degradation of precious lean muscle, which puts a menopausal woman at risk of sarcopenia.
READ: This New York Times article is a quick read that outlines the use of these diabetic and weight loss drugs for menopausal patients and the concerns of the medical community about future frailty because of the rapid rate of lean muscle and bone density loss, which are already accelerated by menopause itself.
Brain Boosters
Nootropics earned the nickname "smart drugs" by acting like superheroes of cognitive enhancement, swooping in to rescue your memory, focus, and mental agility. They can be formulated with natural and synthetic compounds, generally considered safe with low adverse effects and believed to have some neuroprotective properties — potentially supporting the brain from age-related decline. People love them because they can drive performance.
BUY: Last week I trialed the Motivation formula by Thesis to see if it would manage my procrastination and sharpen my focus — which it 100% did. I crushed a day of client meetings and creative proposals. My brain felt, “lit up.” The key ingredient Dynamine, which similar to caffeine, is thought to interact with adenosine receptors in the brain leading to increased alertness, lifted energy and improved reaction time, but without overstimulation. Taken with food early in the day, this nootropic, which also contains caffeine and l-theanine, did not negatively affect my sleep. (not an ad or affiliate link, I paid for this product but here is a $25 off referral code)
All writing is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.