Hi ,

Thought I'd share a really cool thing I learnt yesterday with you.

It’s about our circadian rhythm — and why your sleep schedule matters far more than you think.

Imagine looking at someone with their arms stretched out into a T shape.

Now imagine their arm span represents the age of planet Earth – about 4.5 billion years.

So their left fingertip is 4.5 billion years ago <-> and right fingertip is Feb 20, 2026.

The first forms of life are thought to be about 3.7 billion years ago, around this person's left forearm before their elbow.

Right down the middle of this person would be formation of multicellular life - 1.6 billion years ago.

Now there's an incredibly long period of very little.

A billion years, which crams all the exciting bits past the person's right elbow.

Fish - 520 million (elbow), animals onto land - 360 million (forearm), dinosaurs - 230 million (wrist).

Dinosaurs die out 3 cm from the fingertip (66 million).

And all the rest:

First apes (50 mil),

Homo Sapiens (0.3 mil),

Jesus' crucifixion (0.002mil)

All the way to today - with us reading this on an iPhone.

If you grabbed this man's right finger and pulled it close to your eye, the entire existence of homo sapiens would span less than the width of a human hair.

TL;DR - the earth is very old and humans are very new.

So.

What about circadian rhythm?

The ability for an organism to track time.

It's circadian rhythm which causes plants to open in the day and close at night, for roosters to know when to crow, and for humans to get upset when the clocks go forward.

But, looking at our man with his arms stretched, when do you think life would have evolved this ability to track time?

Maybe just scroll up and have a think, before reading on.

The answer is 2.7 billion years ago.

Before even multi-cellular organisms. Way over on the left arm.

And this is almost certainly to do with the sun.

Because the sun for all of time has sent out harmful UV which damages cells - particularly DNA replication.

For a stupidly long time, and ever since, cells have tracked the movement of the sun and adapted their cellular function around it.

What's cool is that the proteins to track the sun have evolved independently over and over again in bacteria, plants, fungi etc.

You can even take these proteins out of the cell, put them in a petri dish and see them track time.

"But why are you telling me this? I'm not a cell, I'm a human being - with a lot of things to do other than read this email."

Well, my good reader. Even someone as special and important as you cannot have evolved out of 2.7 billion years of evolution.

But you probably think you have. You certainly act like it.

Because since the invention of artificial lights, humans have become very snobbish to the timings of the day.

Just think about the word 'midnight' for a second.

Isn't that when we go to bed?

To wrap this all up.

Our cellular, mammalian and human bodies have evolved for billions of years to pay attention to the sun and track a 24 hour day.

And a person who wants to live a healthy, energetic life needs to know that this is why.

We get ill and miserable when we fly to Boston and can't sleep for four days because a whole host of biological mechanisms are not able to grasp where the sun now is.

In fact, our reliance on time and sleep is much stronger than you're realise:

Fun fact: when the clocks go forward an hour once a year - cardiac death increases by about 23% worldwide on the day (and approx vice versa six months later).

When you choose a different 'wake time' for your weekend, you're throwing your body out of whack twice, every 7 days.

So, even if you do go to bed a little late on Friday, get it back with an early bed time, not by cutting off your morning.

For now, this email is long enough.

But there's much more to say and neither of us has the time.

Here's the summary.

Set the same wake time every day. Try it for a month and see how different you feel.

PS. Use an old-fashioned alarm clock (not your phone) so it's hard to change and gets you up right away.

PPS - to the few people who have got back to me when an email resonates, thanks - really means a lot.

No affil, but I've recommended this one to a few clients and I love it (£10)

DM me for link.

Cheers

Live by design, not default.

James - humans BEING

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Disclaimer:The information I share is for education and general interest only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a substitute for professional care. Please do not start or stop any medication or supplement without guidance from a qualified health professional who knows your personal history.

The views expressed are my own, based on sources available at the time of writing. Logos, images, and short excerpts may appear for identification, critique, or educational purposes; all trademarks and copyrights remain with their owners. I aim to be accurate, and if you believe something here is incorrect, please let me know so I can review and, if needed, correct it.

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