Circadian Rhythm.   Biological Rhythm.    Body Clocks.

We’ve heard the words. We might use them in casual conversation. We might even preach to our clients the importance of them. But if put on the spot, would we be able to accurately and specifically define them? How about effectively adding them into a program or workup for our patients or clients?

All of those words and more stem from the overarching area of Chronobiology.

Would it surprise you to learn that you could supercharge your client’s results just by sprinkling in a bit of timing know-how?

Let’s take a look:

Chronobiology is a multidisciplinary field of study where scientists research the rhythms of living organisms. Oddly, prior to the last few decades, much of the work revolved around plants. Since it branched out to animals, and finally humans, our understanding of the effects of the physical, solar, lunar and environmental cycles has skyrocketed. 

Here’s the rundown.

As humans, we have a circadian master clock which runs on a 24 hour cycle based on light and dark information. This clock resets when sunlight hits the eye. That’s why blue light limitation has become so popular for maintaining our sleep cycles, and thus, our better health. 

So, we have this master clock which is a group of cells called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) housed in the hypothalamus of the brain. As it goes, when we name something the “master”, it usually follows that there are other pieces of the puzzle which are less masterful. This is no different with our body clocks

These “less-masterful” entities are called peripheral clocks and reside in every tissue in the body. They oversee things like insulin release, fat storage, energy production and body temperature. Many of them both receive as well as send messages back to the SCN. All of them interact with our behaviors and the environment around us such as food intake, physical movement and body temperature. Among other things, they wake us up, send us to sleep, make us grow, tell our bodies to recover, assist movement, and help us digest.

Why do we care?

Okay, we’re talking clocks, right? 

Lots of clocks. 

Imagine an entire shop filled with hundreds of clocks. When they tick along in sync with each other under the direction of the master clock, the shop is filled with a melodious tick-tock song. When one or two get behind, it’s distracting to the ear. Add in a few more and the cacophony will send you running out the door. 

In our bodies this chaos is called circadian desynchrony (CD). Obviously, this is not a desirable state of being in a body that strives for homeostasis, balance and harmony.

Let’s talk about you…

Whether you realize it or not, you probably use chronobiology every day. Think about any client you have. When they first walked through your door, you noticed many things in an instant including their age and what they were wearing.

Their age told you of their journey through the years. (Circannual rhythm.) 

Clothing (and a glance out the window) told you of the season. Both of these fall in the category of chronobiology called infradian rhythms which have a cycle of more than 24 hours (monthly biannually or yearly) 

You invite them to sit down and you discover a bit more. You might ask about their eating habits, energy levels and what kind of work and exercise they do. From those things you know their rhythms of digestion, hormone release, productivity/focus, and energy production.

These are a second aspect of chronobiology called Ultradian cycles or things that happen multiple times in a 24 hour period. 

And lastly you might ask about their sleep and wake cycles. These bring us back to that 24 hour circadian rhythm and the all-important master clock.

Here’s what you might be missing:

Still thinking of that client…

What might not be outwardly apparent is that most people on the planet since the invention of the lightbulb are desynchronized with their master clock due to artificial light. Add to that a few irregular meal times, some weird sleep patterns and even an air conditioner over their desk at work and their internal clock shop sounds like a 5th grade orchestra warming up. Not only does the noise make you want to run for the hills, desynchronization has been correlated to everything from metabolic disease to neurological disorders to cancer. 

What can you do about it?

Meet the givers of time: …light…food…exercise

Okay, we’ve established that timing is everything. We have the master clock that sets the rhythm based on light. Then we have our peripheral clocks that listen to the master clock, but they also take cues from our behavior; how we eat and exercise. 

Back to our clock shop.

The tissues involved in digestion (stomach, endocrine, gut, etc.) have an optimal operating rhythm that is in sync with the master clock. When an individual eats at those specific times, the digestive system is ready to work and everything is primed for performance. Digestion is super efficient, delivery of nutrients to tissues is optimal, energy production is peak.

The result is a bevy of clocks in sync which is a beautiful thing!

But say, we skip meals and have midnight snacks. Skipping meals tells the body a story of scarcity (not a great thing unless you want to pack on the pounds). Then, that doughnut at midnight sets off a series of events. Not only is the digestive system not primed for food, but the alarms go off and the tissues report back to the master clock that it’s daytime. The master clock, getting its information from the eye says, “Nope.”. Suddenly our clocks are out of sync. 

Same goes with exercise.

Studies show that if you exercise out of sync with your natural rhythm, it actually has adverse effects like increased insulin resistance, decreased focus and coordination leading to higher possibilities of injury and even delayed melatonin release.

But how do you line up those clocks?

Here’s where true personalization comes in:

As a health professional, you already recognize that every client is an individual with different histories, present habits and future goals. What the study of chronobiology adds is that each person is endowed with a unique set of rhythms.  Their clocks tick in a completely personal way. Therefore, synchrony creates a distinctive song in each body. 

What does this mean?

Every person has certain times in the day where they perform mental tasks better or are more ready to move or digest. Add to that the times of day when they most need to socialize or be in nature or rest and the possibilities for pinpointing the precise intervention for that specific person unfold. When you understand the chronobiology of a client, you get a glimpse into the timing of their hormone release. Then, you can synchronize specific activities with the correct hormone release for that task and BAM! Success is simple!

Let’s get specific:

Say your client’s cortisol peaks super fast in the morning and their body temp is up super quick after rising. Essentially, they are ready for action. If you recommend exercise, hard mental tasks and complex productivity steps early in the day, they will ride the wave of their hormones, thus working with their natural rhythms.

Another client’s melatonin sticks around a bit longer in the morning, pushing that cortisol peak later in the day. These things, along with a natural drop in insulin sensitivity and greater cardiovascular efficiency in the afternoon, prime them for a trip to the gym later in the day.

And this is just the beginning. There are as many configurations as there are hormones in the body and people who walk in the door of your practice. 

But the same caveat applies: 

When your program harnesses the power of clocks ticking in sync, your clients feel strong, strive toward their goals with ease, enjoy life more and stick to it. They excel…and all things improve.

A final note:

Our desire is to create the perfect plan for each client to achieve their desired results in the shortest amount of time possible with the least effort expended. That is true efficiency. Adding the chronobiological component into our already effective programs takes our client/practitioner success to the next level. And who doesn’t want to do that?

To learn how to apply precision methods and technology solutions to your service offering and effectively add chronobiology and more to your practice, check out our Level 1 Course for Health Professionals.

References

Circadian disruption and human health: A bidirectional relationship – PMC (nih.gov) 

Abbott SM, Malkani RG, Zee PC. Circadian disruption and human health: A bidirectional relationship. Eur J Neurosci. 2020;51(1):567-583. doi:10.1111/ejn.14298

Article with tons of notations on studies of circadian desynchrony 

The suprachiasmatic nucleus controls the circadian rhythm of heart rate via the sympathetic nervous system – PubMed (nih.gov)

Warren WS, Champney TH, Cassone VM. The suprachiasmatic nucleus controls the circadian rhythm of heart rate via the sympathetic nervous system. Physiol Behav. 1994 Jun;55(6):1091-9. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(94)90392-1. PMID: 8047576.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1006749107

Christian Cajochen, Jakob Weber, Alejandro F. Estrada,Kumpei Kobayashi,Virginie Gabel,

Circadian and homeostatic sleep-wake regulation of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA): Effects of environmental light and recovery sleep, Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health, 19, (100394), (2022).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100394

Impact of the human circadian system, exercise, and their interaction on cardiovascular function

Circadian rhythm disruption and mental health – PMC (nih.gov)

Walker WH 2nd, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. Circadian rhythm disruption and mental health. Transl Psychiatry. 2020;10(1):28. Published 2020 Jan 23. doi:10.1038/s41398-020-0694-0

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306452210011103?via%3Dihub

1. Shuboni, L. Yan,

Nighttime dim light exposure alters the responses of the circadian system,

Neuroscience,Volume 170, Issue 4,2010, Pages 1172-1178,  ISSN 0306-4522,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.08.009.

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/106/3/e1373/5922806?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false

Leilah K Grant, Charles A Czeisler, Steven W Lockley, Shadab A Rahman, Time-of-day and Meal Size Effects on Clinical Lipid Markers, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 106, Issue 3, March 2021, Pages e1373–e1379, 

Time-of-day and Meal Size Effects on Clinical Lipid Markers 

https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/40/11/1573/36945/Influences-of-Breakfast-on-Clock-Gene-Expression

Daniela Jakubowicz, Julio Wainstein, Zohar Landau, Itamar Raz, Bo Ahren, Nava Chapnik, Tali Ganz, Miriam Menaged, Maayan Barnea, Yosefa Bar-Dayan, Oren Froy; Influences of Breakfast on Clock Gene Expression and Postprandial Glycemia in Healthy Individuals and Individuals With Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Diabetes Care 1 November 2017; 40 (11): 1573–1579.

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00355.2002

Exercise elicits phase shifts and acute alterations of melatonin that vary with circadian phase

Orfeu M. Buxton, Calvin W. Lee, Mireille L’Hermite-Balériaux, Fred W. Turek, and Eve Van Cauter

American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 2003 284:3, R714-R724   

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/7/1597/htm

Maury, E. Off the Clock: From Circadian Disruption to Metabolic Disease. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20, 1597. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20071597

 Circadian rhythms and athletic performance : Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (lww.com)

WINGET, CHARLES M.; DEROSHIA, CHARLES W.; HOLLEY, DANIEL C. Circadian rhythms and athletic performance, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: October 1985 – Volume 17 – Issue 5 – p 498-516

RELATIONSHIP OF ENDOGENOUS CIRCADIAN MELATONIN AND TEMPERATURE RHYTHMS TO SELF-REPORTED PREFERENCE FOR MORNING OR EVENING ACTIVITY IN YOUNG AND OLDER PEOPLE – PMC (nih.gov)

Duffy JF, Dijk DJ, Hall EF, Czeisler CA. Relationship of endogenous circadian melatonin and temperature rhythms to self-reported preference for morning or evening activity in young and older people. J Investig Med. 1999;47(3):141-150.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2018.00219/full

Lin Hui-Hsien, Farkas Michelle E.Altered Circadian Rhythms and Breast Cancer: From the Human to the Molecular Level  

Frontiers in Endocrinology VOLUME=9   2018  10.3389/fendo.2018.00219   ISSN=1664-2392 

Look at next week’s schedule. What if you could breeze through all those appointments, fit in a few urgent cases and take Friday off?

Are you done laughing?

Oh, I didn’t mention the best part. Your clients are smashing their goals like superheroes on crime.  

Here’s how you can live that scenario not just next week, but every week.

Know your client’s priorities.

Did you roll your eyes?

Perfect. 

Now, I invite you to hear me out. 

The goals and reasons your clients put on their intake form have nothing to do with their true priorities. Understanding these priorities does not involve six deep conversations, an intricate values test and a mind map. 

It involves basic biology.

How they were made, what drives them on a chemical level and how their DNA is expressing at this moment in time will intersect at the precise point where action equals results. 

The Power of Precision

If we’re really going to clear your schedule next week, we need to get specific.

You know the client that comes in with the weight loss goal, has tried everything and sits on the precipice of several life-threatening diseases, so this time they’ve got to make it happen? Our professional eye looks at the client, draws a line to the future goal and tackles the obvious things first. This client’s priorities look like numbers; both on the scale and in their bloodwork. 

But what if this client’s biological priority is family? 

Instead of the obvious discussion about what’s on their plate and how often they hit the gym, what if our first question is ‘How’s the family?’

We’re not just making conversation here. 

This person’s biological necessity is to make sure that everyone that they call family; from those in their household, to those in their workplace and community, stays safe. If there is turmoil around them, they will not allocate resources for themselves. 

We might spend hours across weeks dialing in their diet, exercise and even mindset with only a few small changes in their numbers. 

These are the bodies that will carry extra weight for survival. So in times of stress, the numbers on the scale will rise. 

Why? 

Because biologically they are predisposed to give, nurture and care for others. And to do all of that, you have to have extra. This is a beautiful biological response that harkens back to times of hardship and famine. So, in trying to bring these numbers on the scale down by increasing the exercise (stress) and decreasing the food (also stress), we are working against nature itself. 

You might have noticed by now that the biggest player here is stress. 

Remember that point of intersection we talked about before? 

When we can remove stressors from this point, the client’s biological priority, then that frees up resources to tackle the other pillars of health. 

Contained in our simple question, ‘How’s the family’, is the magical key to unlocking stellar results. 

Look at it from your client’s perspective. They stepped off the scale that morning and stepped into your office braced for the standard protocol: diet and exercise delivered through your brand of expertise. 

What happens in their body and mind when you ask that simple question? “How’s the family?”

Barriers drop. Stress melts. Their mind turns full-force toward the real cause of their distress. Maybe it’s a coworker or a child, a neighbor or a dear friend, or even that they don’t feel they have someone to call family. 

Back to you.

You don’t have to be qualified to assess their psychological status to have a simple conversation. You don’t have to have the answer to why their son is failing math or why their neighbor just built an enormous wall between their backyards or whether they should quit their job. You just have to know that their biology is craving stability and safety in this realm. And it is not getting what it craves.

For that session, your protocol might look like directing them to identify a single person in their world that they can completely relax around. Someone that doesn’t offload their problems. Someone that doesn’t expect anything from your client except their company.

What you don’t do is more important than what you do.

Now. this probably isn’t something you want to put on the header of your website: “I’m not going to do anything, and you’ll want to come back for more!”

But in reality, you didn’t give them a prescription that heaped on the stress. You didn’t tackle the priorities they stated on their intake form. You probably didn’t do anything you learned in your certification or degree.

Instead, you gave them the precise protocol their biology craved.  

You are a magician.

So, there are priorities and there are biological priorities. When we work in alignment with the way that each person is created and how they are presenting in this moment, we facilitate the most significant outcomes possible.

Back to you and your schedule.

When you dive beneath the surface-level desires scribbled on intake forms to tap into the rich vein of your client’s true motivations and needs, you enter the realm of absolute efficiency. 

Then you sail through your weeks, turning challenges into triumphs (and even reclaiming your Fridays!). It sounds like a dream but Precision Health is here now. It is grounded in the undeniable science of individuality where action is informed by the most authentic version of each person. It’s where the efficiency of our strategies multiplies, not by doing more, but by doing right.

If you want to get more precise with your clients and spend less time for better results…and maybe get your Friday’s back, too, check out our Level 1 Course for health professionals.

Life is busy. 

You get one hour a couple times a week or a month with your client. You want to educate them, inspire them, facilitate behavior change, and most of all, keep them coming back because you get them results!

No wonder that single hour (and the weeks and months and years) pass in a blur.

Now more than ever, it pays to be precise. 

Luckily, the information age has us covered.

As health professionals, we have access to more information, a broader range of research, and more technology than ever before. 

But we seem to have less and less of the biggest factor: Time.

How do we sift and sort through thousands of articles, research papers and reviews of technology to find the precise plan for the person in front of us? Especially when that person will change in an hour?

Luckily, you are well-versed in your industry juggling act and have perfected your technique.

Wouldn’t it be great to step-up your game while freeing up your time?

That’s where precision health comes into play.

Think of the next client on your schedule.

Now imagine that client was your best friend. (Maybe they are! Lucky you!) Chances are you would know whether to hit the floor immediately or grab a cup of coffee and settle in for a chat first. You would automatically alter the pitch, cadence and flow of your voice to match the way they hear you best. You would know which way to adjust the thermostat for their comfort. You might pull up that article you read or share a motivational post to set the tone for your session.

Basically? You would be miles ahead of the game, working to accommodate exactly what they need from you to optimize your time together. 

Welcome to precision health!

Precision health lets you know your client on a deeper level even when it is their first time in your consultation room.  

What does that mean?

Let’s take a look at  movement. From heavy weight lifting and marathons to a simple walk in the park, we know moving the human body is essential to good health.

The question is, how do we get people to move?

That involves a few steps.

You want to educate your clients to get them to take action, right?

Some clients need facts, figures, statistics and details dumped on them text-book style, while if you did that to another client, they would suffocate under the weight. Some won’t hear you unless you get them started on the treadmill first. Others won’t hear you if you don’t close the door and put on ambient noise. Some want rapid-fire, others want to hear about your family first. 

Once you get your clients moving, now you want them to keep going.

Some clients want to send you selfies twenty times a day just for your thumbs up reply, others adopt the don’t-call-me-I’ll-call-you method. Some need to see the big picture, know precisely where your work together fits, and track their progress every step. Some need a friend, or a bevy of them just to walk in the door. Some need three-weeks notice if you’re going to change their plan, while others expect something new each time. You know that exact line between too much challenge and not enough. 

Once you have them moving and have that momentum, you need the results to follow. 

This is where all your experience and skills coalesce. This is where you’ve pinpointed the goal, charted your course and made those crucial adjustments to ensure success. By far, this is where the majority of your time is eaten up. This is where knowing your client on a biological, psychological and physiological level saves you time and effort. 

Gone is the guesswork. 

You know when your client works out in the morning, whether they will have all-day energy or be more insulin resistant. 

You know if your client is more likely to put on muscle or lose precious muscle during endurance training. You know whether lifting heavy weights overhead is essential or possibly detrimental to their physical body. 

You know precisely how to use exercise to recover sleep cycles. 

This is all knowledge that you gather over time, assuming your clients stick with you long enough. 

How efficient could you be if you had it instantly?

How much time would it save you?

Precision fitness is fitness for the future. The melding together of time-tested science, practical application and cutting-edge technology culminates in efficiency and effectiveness for both you and your clients. It’s an easy way to expand your client base, maximize your results and have more time on your hands.

And who doesn’t need more time?

Learn more today.

References:

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/104/11/5217/5519298

Saeed Reza Toghi-Eshghi, Jane E Yardley, Morning (Fasting) vs Afternoon Resistance Exercise in Individuals With Type 1 Diabetes: A Randomized Crossover Study, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 104, Issue 11, November 2019, Pages 5217–5224, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-02384

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230749137_The_effect_of_load_on_biomechanics_during_an_overhead_lift_in_the_WorkHab_Functional_Capacity_Evaluation

Allen, Jaclyn & James, Carole & Snodgrass, Suzanne. (2012). The effect of load on biomechanics during an overhead lift in the WorkHab Functional Capacity Evaluation. Work (Reading, Mass.). 43. 10.3233/WOR-2012-1386. 

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00355.2002

Exercise elicits phase shifts and acute alterations of melatonin that vary with circadian phase

Orfeu M. Buxton, Calvin W. Lee, Mireille L’Hermite-Balériaux, Fred W. Turek, and Eve Van Cauter

American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 2003 284:3, R714-R724   

As we stand on the precipice of this year’s end and next year’s beginning it’s natural to pause, take a breath and look over our shoulder at the path we’ve traversed. Across the year here at PHA, each month we’ve explored a different landscape that, when put together, defines the overall quality of our Precision Life. Let’s take a moment to journey through the highlights and lessons, examining the topography of our experiences.

Happiness: The Landscape of Joy 

Whether it’s a triumphant client WIN, a cherished family event, or a professional milestone, the elements which define our happy moments are biologically and psychologically based. This makes them personal at a molecular level.Take a stroll down memory lane by scrolling through the photos on your phone – a visual diary of joy and accomplishment. Reflect on the landscape of happiness. What does it look like for you? Where were you? Who were you with? What were you doing in those most vibrant moments?

Environment: The Nourishing Petri Dish of Well-being

Our surroundings influence us on a biological level, turning genes off and on by the moment and across the days, weeks, months. Pause and consider the spaces, people, and places that shaped your daily life. How did they support you, challenge you, change you; silently sculpting your experiences?

Genius: The Forest of Your Biologically Predisposed Strengths

Your neurons fire and wire and your hormones ebb and flow, continuously crafting and supporting your natural gifts. This is the internal scene that sets you apart from every other person on the planet. Reflect on the skills, talents and abilities that make you shine in your industry and your community. Recognizing and leaning into your expertise is the key to continuous growth and fulfillment.  

Learning: The Terrain of Your Knowledge, Your Way

Who you are on a cellular level, right through to the chemicals that surge through your tissues and the way your muscles move in response to stimuli determines what methods of information absorption work best for you. From lessons learned to skills acquired, consider how you leaned into your biological strengths to expedite learning and retain information longer. What settings, structures, protocols and subjects defined the topography of your knowledge acquisition?

Love:  The Scene of Connection and Communication 

From the care we take with ourselves to the way we engage with other people, places, situations and things, how we love is biologically unique to us. Who were the clients that brought a smile to your face? What colleagues did you connect with? How did you deepen your relationships with those close to you? What skills did you level-up, places did you explore and things did you acquire? These elements combine to craft your specific landscape of love.

Stress: Settings that Evolve Strength

It’s tempting to define our lives by the stressors we encounter, conquer and succumb to. Instead, challenge yourself to look at the methods, timings and modalities which help you naturally flow through life’s peaks and valleys. When do you feel bulletproof? How do you intentionally add stress to spur growth and resilience? What activities increase your zen? Evaluate the elements of your ideal stress habitat. 

Sleep: The Land Where Chronobiology is King

Sleep quality sets the scene for life. Being rested or not largely determines how you experience the world, interact with what it tosses your way and work out ways to craft your future. The formations in our best sleep terrain are largely decided before birth. Your chronobiological rhythms, daily energy flow and natural brain states are biologically and psychologically unique to you. Whether you assess the data from your wearable, flip back through the pages of your dream journal or simply reflect on your sleep habits and hygiene, sweep your eyes across what constructs support your ability to rest. 

Mental Health: Waves of Thought, Gales of Feelings

From feeding our brains to working them properly to getting in that perfect brain state for flowy functionality, mental health incorporates a vast vista of biological predispositions and lifestyle choices. Take a look at yours. When does your brain feel in peak form? When have you felt the most ease, the best equipped to handle a curve-ball, and the clearest about your past, present and future? Look across the landscape of your best mental health and see where peace prevails.

Lifestyle: The Territory of Habits, Fiascos and Routines

Like rearranging the elements of our backyard for optimal practicality and pleasure, we can adjust the components of our lifestyle to align with our biology and psychology for top flow. Consider your daily, weekly and monthly practices and patterns. Where did you thrive? Where did your energy, vitality and enjoyment fall flat? It’s a balancing act that is intensely personal. The facets that you pull forward and those you push into the background will suit your specific genius, desires and intentions.

Mindfulness: The Property of Presence

When you gaze across the panorama of your mindful moments, how you collected them will be as specific to you as the contents they encompass. The only similarities with anyone else on the planet is the way they impact your life. In the chaos of the health industry, mindfulness emerges as a powerful tool to maintain the level of professionalism and decorum you need to support your clients. Explore your mindfulness techniques across the year and the ways they brought focus and serenity to your daily life.

Fitness: Moving Mountains

From the way each one of your 600 muscles is shaped to how they attach to the bones and move your limbs, everything about your physical body is unique to you. Naturally, then, the way you build strength, the times when you have the most stamina, the methods you use to recover are all precisely tuned to you, too. As you glance back across the landmarks of your fitness scenario, ask these things: Did you play up what your body is built for? How well did you utilize the stress and recovery cycles to optimize your biological strengths for a healthier, more resilient you?

Food: Fuel for Life

Do you cringe at the word ‘diet’ or recognize that it’s simply a way of life? Your way of life, just as every other aspect we have discussed, is distinctly your own. What you ingest has no more or no less significance than any of the other factors. With this lens, gaze across the scene of your yearly nutrition. How did you place your meals and the contents of your plates, cups and bowls to keep your body and mind running with powerful precision? Reflect on what worked well and explore opportunities for nourishment that align with your individuality.

When you’ve taken in all the nuances of the well-trodden path behind you and cast your eyes forward once again to the crossroads before you, we hope what you see is more vivid and detailed.  The brilliance of your individuality will light the way to a life more precisely tailored to your needs and a future filled with purpose, growth, and success. This is the Precision Life!

If you’re interested in learning how to apply precision methods and technology solutions to your service offering check out our Level 1 Course for Health Professionals

Here’s what we know about the human animal. We are big bags of tissues, swirling with chemicals and zinging with electrical signals. Not one bag is the same.
As a health professional, you may be focused on one set of tissues and maybe a few of the chemicals or electrical signals. Yet, the entire bag walked into your office as an inextricable set with genetically crafted tissues, dominant chemicals, and specified electrical signals.

Your office, gym or building is the petri dish in which that set will either thrive or flail. That means the environment you establish for each client will either drive your desired result or hinder it.

Back to your desk.

That stack of files off to the left may be in carbon-dated order, the six pens you love to use are all within easy reach, sprinkled around your array of brightly colored notepads and if you put even one of those pairs of glasses away you’d never be able to find any of them again.

That’s great if your next client will come in, pick up each of your family pictures and peruse it as they listen intently to you set the scene for each one. It’s fatal if your next client can barely lift their eyes from the turmoil of that flat surface while their mind desperately tries to make order from your chaos.

It’s not about judgment. It’s about individual biology and what it needs to feel safe.
Safety is where the body can relax, the mind can open and change can begin to stir.

And the tidiness of your desk is just the beginning.

Temperature, noise, (even the pitch of your voice), activity and atmosphere all come into play. The more of these biological boxes you can check off, the less energy your client expends fighting their environment, leaving more energy to focus on the specific protocols that will bring them results.

How do you know what your next client needs to feel safe?

Because it’s inherent in their biology and psychology, it is evident in the mannerisms that underpin their personality.

Let’s look at how this plays out.

We’ll start with your clients who have an easy smile, ready laugh and happily adapt to whatever you toss their way. Think party. To their biology, chaos is exciting, so thumping music, extraneous chatter, and plenty of action will bring them comfort. A busy park with lots of sunshine is their ideal space. Variety, connection and fun is their safe zone.

Then you have those clients who always bring a list of questions from their own research and hungrily gobble down every bit of information you extol. Once you satisfy their need to know, they follow your guidelines to a T. These people are highly sensitive to their surroundings, so dialing things down makes them feel safe. They do best if you adjust the thermostat to tropical, close the door to control any activity or noise that might leak in and yes, organize the chaos on your desk.

Of course, there are the ones who take ages to onboard, meeting you several times, gathering tidbits of knowledge like squirrels forage for acorns in the fall. They carefully consider every angle, all the needs of everyone around them and then, when all of the pieces of the puzzle fit, they become your client. To them, comfort is safety. This comfort comes from having the space and time to thoroughly explore. Like a long walk through the forest, they do best in a fresh, natural environment where there is room for their minds to expand. Set the temp to cool, turn on some nature sounds and settle in.

On the flip-side, there are those on a mission. They come with a set of firm ideas, always want more data and proof, but will charge through to the end if everything lines up. These people can cut through the chaos with their laser focus, but they will thrive on the respect of a door closed against distractions, the forethought of a clear, organized space and a Goldilocks climate that doesn’t distract from the goal. Logic, order and purpose equal safety to this person.

You may have some clients who rush in the door ready to go. They get itchy if conversation lasts past a quick hello. Action is where they find safety. Think of a friendly court side warm up. Loosely guided, chatty, with plenty of room for flowing movement and copious team spirit. Nothing too quiet, too structured or too cold.

Then there are those who volunteer everywhere, field phone calls from family and friends even during your sessions and always want to know about your life. These are the clients who will pick up every picture on your desk and want to hear the back story. Let them. Safety, for them, is in family ties (and you become part of the family). Adopt an open door policy; think living room chat. Turn back the thermostat, offer comfy places to sit (in case they bring loved ones) and leave plenty of time for side conversations and interruptions.

Clients are a complex mix of biological and psychological factors. The more you understand about the entire set of characteristics that make up the next person that walks through your door, the more effective your particular prescriptions and methods will be.

So, will your client fail to get a result if you don’t clean your desk?

Possibly.
But the bigger message here is that if you set up your petri dish to meet the needs of each client, you remove unnecessary stressors and promote the feeling of safety. A more relaxed client has more energy to focus on implementing your protocols to achieve their desired outcome.

If you are interested in getting more precise with every aspect of your client’s needs,  Find out more here.

You’re running down the field, dodging in and out of gaps that seem to open just as you approach. You’re in flow.
You’re standing on the stage in front of a rapt crowd and the perfect words just roll off your tongue. Also flow.
You’re powering through today’s checklist with superhuman speed, tasks just seemingly checking themselves off. Yep, flow again.
We’ve all been there once or twice. Maybe more, if we’re lucky.
Achieving that perfect synergy between mind and body feels so great that we work hard to get back there.
Therein lies the fallacy of flow.
Anything that requires hard work actually takes us further away from the state that we so crave.

True flow is a biologically natural condition

When we look closely at the contemporary definition of flow, we really mean one thing. Productivity. That culls the list of acceptable activities down to a mere handful including athletic, creative and career pursuits. Essentially, we stick flow in such a small box that it’s nearly impossible to achieve without concerted effort.

Now, let’s see what happens when we set flow free from that tiny box.
Biological flow is when you meet the needs of your dominant neurotransmitters and hormones. It is true that everyone on the planet has an array of neurotransmitters and hormones surging through their bodies all the time. However, it’s also true that every individual is born with a biological need for a higher baseline and consistent turnover of one, in particular. This is the one that speaks the loudest and requires the most attention.

A funny thing happens when we listen to our most prominent biological driver.

We discover that each dominant hormone or neurotransmitter has preferences. These loud, opinionated chemicals are also pushy. They will push you toward things they love and away from things they don’t. On the inside, it feels like unconscious preferences or aversions.
On the outside, it looks like you have:
Strengths: Stuff you excel at and stuff you struggle with.
Passions: Stuff that energizes you and stuff that feels like a grind.
People: Individuals and social settings that lift your energy and those that deplete it.
Diets: Foods that rev you up and foods that let you fall flat.
Exercise: Movement that delights you or exhausts you.
Environments: Surroundings that bathe you in pleasure and conditions that inundate you with misery
Timing: Morning or night, long or short, all the time or seldom; everything above has an ideal time attached to it.

When you look at the list above, it’s obvious that these mouthy, bossy molecules are your greatest advocate for everything in the world that engages your biology.

Flow, with this understanding, is when you feel like yourself.

True biological flow looks like this:

A Crusader thrives under the traditional definition of flow. They are happiest when they are knocking down goals and checking off lists in the pursuit of their passion. When you add in a regular rhythm of easily digested foods, endurance-based movement, a group of respected and respectful colleagues aligned with purpose, you’re approaching flow. Add to all of that environmental conditions that are streamlined, limit distractions and support long work hours and you have a recipe for complete biological alignment. 

An Activator thrives in motion, whether that is acute problem-solving, thinking on their feet or running down the field, variety and movement are key. Surrounded by spontaneous-loving people, staying well fueled with lots of small snacks and guarding against the cold and winds, this is Activator flow.

A Connector could be the one running down the field, finding those gaps. They thrive in teams, on and off the field. When they stay fueled with fun, flavorful foods and plenty of sunshine, enveloped in colorful spaces with plenty of opportunity to express themselves, they enjoy flow.

A Guardian thrives when all of the basics of food, shelter, finances and health are met for those they love. Built to protect, their bodies crave lifting heavy things and all day movement, but need to fuel up early in the day to keep going.

A Diplomat thrives on their own time, in their own space. When they feed their brains knowledge, their bodies lots of good veggies and their hearts deep connection, this is when they thrive. Add to that walks in nature, peaceful and beautiful surroundings and heavy things to lift. This is a Diplomat in flow.

A Sensor craves routines and rules with systems and processes for everything. One or two close friends will be privy to occasional deep discussions, but for the most part they prefer their own company. Their minds crave knowledge, need constant, easily accessible fuel to keep up with continuous thought and a bit of highly technical movement to keep things in flow.

Yes, you can power down that field, walk confidently onto the stage or passionately tackle those checklists and hit momentary bouts of flow. But when you tune out the voices that tell you to try harder and work more just to hit an acceptable level of productivity, you leave quiet space to listen to the guidance of your dominant biological driver.

When we tap into the true science of flow, we learn that when we stop striving to ‘get in the zone’, that’s when we achieve it. 

If you are looking to get in flow the biological way and help your clients do the same,  learn more here.

We laugh at the vision of a fish being tested to climb a tree, but do we really know what this translates to in our interactions with our clients?

As health professionals, we want our clients to keep coming back until they get results, but we need them to become self-reliant along the way. This means we must teach them in a way that the information will be absorbed and retained. Unlike the fish and tree scenario, when we speak to and train with a person’s individual biology, we feed the mind and body in the perfect way at the perfect time to ignite the spark of motivation and spread the glue of adherence. 

Nature vs Nurture

There is a popular idea that anyone can learn anything if we nurture this understanding to life using the correct format. Whether there are four, five, seven or more different learning styles, we tend to toss a bunch of them at a client to see what sticks. However, when we turn our focus from ourselves and zero in solely on the client and how they were created biologically, success increases exponentially. The question transforms from: “How do I teach this person?” to “Who is this person and what are they hungering to learn?”. 

For example, we may have the perfect dietary protocol for a client that all of the science proves would bring lasting positive results. We pull out our best visual aids, share our latest podcast, send them to a cooking class and buy them the hard copy as well as the audible version of the most engaging book on the market. Two months later their eating habits are identical to the day they walked into our office, therefore their original issue is two months worse. 

So, we put down our bevy of teaching aids and ask the question, “Who is this person sitting across from me and what does their biology hunger for?”.

This is where the HealthTypes come in handy. Say you have an Activator client, so you know that their biology hungers for action. They need to put tiny bits of information into immediate use. On their way out the door, you hand them a copy of a recipe, tell them you’re challenging a few clients to try it and whoever shoots you a selfie of them cooking first, gets a prize. The drive to win and the thrill of immediate positive feedback will spur them into the action they crave and get them one step closer to the results you both desire.

It’s simple, easy and effective. All you do to get them through the next two months and toward a better life overall is engage variations on a theme, because you also know that Activators love variety.

Is it Relevant?

The fish will never climb the tree, no matter how much you yell, cajole, assist or instruct. Tree climbing is simply not relevant to the fish. Likewise with your clients, offering the irrelevant information in precisely the correct fashion will still miss the mark. 

You love what you do or you wouldn’t devote your life to it. Chances are that the clients who walk through your door don’t care even a tiny fraction as much as you about your chosen profession. So that’s what you give them. Precisely and only the bit of your profession that will engage them. The question becomes, “What aspect of my expertise is relevant to this person?”

In this scenario, we are still looking at ‘who’ is in front of us.

Say it’s a fish and you are a personal trainer. You would take a look at the tree, then to the fish and then lead your fish to the pond. The goal is physical fitness of some sort and you are not going to accomplish that with the fish in the tree. Even if you are a monkey and tree climbing is what first sparked your desire to be a personal trainer. Tree climbing is not pertinent to the fish.

Because it’s not so easy to sort the fish from the monkeys in the gym setting, that’s where the HealthTypes come in handy. Say your fish is a Guardian. You are not going to lead them to the newest, shiniest piece of equipment and tell them to have a play with it while you share the scientific studies that lead to its invention. (You will save that for your Crusader client.) You will toss some weight on the sled, ask about their family and walk beside them while they go for their first 20 yards. 

Whether it’s nature vs nurture or pure relevance, the essence is the same. 

Adherence leads to success. The biggest aspect of adherence is delivering the perfect amount of info in the perfect way at the perfect time. The only way to do this is to pull back from our desire to ‘teach to them’ and to instead engage their biology. Information that is naturally learned is joyful, bolsters self-worth and sparks self-determination. All of these lead to the lasting results we crave.

To learn more about the HealthTypes and how to apply precision methods and technology solutions to your service offering, join us for our Level 1 Course. 

A 13 minute masterclass on the 3-phases of stress and personalized stress management strategies.