Mitochondria as information hubs

Are you exhausted all the time?

In this solo episode, Darin breaks down why so many people feel chronically exhausted despite eating clean, exercising, and "doing everything right." He explains how modern life disrupts mitochondrial function, circadian rhythm, stress signaling, and nutrient availability, and why fatigue is not a personal failure, but a biological signal.

This episode offers a grounded, practical roadmap to restoring energy by realigning your environment, habits, and daily rhythms with how the body is actually designed to function.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Why chronic fatigue is exploding—even among healthy, active people

• How mitochondria do far more than "make energy"

• The role of circadian rhythm, light exposure, and timing in energy production

• Why stress, overtraining, and modern lifestyles drain cellular energy

• How emotional suppression and unexpressed stress affect vitality

• The difference between forcing energy and allowing energy

• Simple daily practices that support mitochondrial repair

• How breathwork, stillness, and social connection restore resilience

• Why nutrition alone isn't enough without rhythm and recovery

• How to realign your biology with the modern world

Timecodes

00:00:00 – Welcome to SuperLife and the intention behind this episode 00:00:32 – Sponsor: TheraSage and natural frequency-based healing 00:02:10 – Happy New Year + why this conversation matters now 00:02:37 – Are you exhausted even though you're "doing everything right"? 00:03:26 – The modern energy crisis and rising chronic fatigue 00:04:12 – Why surface-level health advice no longer works 00:04:27 – Mitochondria: more than energy factories 00:04:59 – Circadian misalignment, EMFs, and modern stressors 00:05:36 – Overtraining, stress load, and lack of recovery 00:06:00 – Fatigue as a signal, not a lack of discipline 00:06:18 – How artificial light disrupts internal clocks 00:07:25 – Discipline as alignment with natural rhythms 00:07:36 – Emotional release, primal expression, and energy recovery 00:08:47 – Why "why am I tired all the time?" is exploding online 00:09:24 – The mitochondria as environmental sensors 00:10:06 – Stress signaling, thoughts, and cellular energy flow 00:11:18 – Breathwork and slowing the nervous system 00:12:24 – Social connection and low-stress signaling 00:13:02 – Sponsor: Bite toothpaste and eliminating plastic exposure 00:15:19 – Morning sunlight and circadian priming 00:15:52 – Reducing artificial light at night 00:16:15 – Nutrients that support mitochondrial function 00:17:29 – Sleep timing, consistency, and repair 00:18:20 – Evening routines and melatonin protection 00:19:46 – Small daily steps compound into real energy 00:20:17 – Antioxidants, inflammation, and recovery 00:20:49 – Training smarter, not harder 00:21:31 – Breathwork, sauna, and recovery rituals 00:22:26 – Nutrition, protein, and polyphenols 00:24:37 – Five daily energy takeaways 00:25:24 – Energy is permitted, not forced 00:26:03 – Listening to the body and closing reflections 00:26:49 – SuperLife Patreon and community support

Join the SuperLife Community

Get Darin's deeper wellness breakdowns — beyond social media restrictions:

• Weekly voice notes

• Ingredient deep dives

• Wellness challenges

• Energy + consciousness tools

• Community accountability

• Extended episodes

Join for $7.49/month → https://patreon.com/darinolien

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

• Therasage: Go to www.therasage.com and use code DARIN at checkout for 15% off

• Bite Toothpaste: Go to trybite.com/DARIN20 or use code DARIN20 for 20% off your first order.

Find More from Darin Olien:

• Instagram: @darinolien

• Podcast: SuperLife Podcast

• Website: superlife.com

• Book: Fatal Conveniences

Key Takeaway

"Fatigue isn't failure. It's feedback. When your environment, timing, and signals align, your biology remembers how to thrive."

Bibliography/Sources:

Ames, B. N. (2006). Low micronutrient intake may accelerate the degenerative diseases of aging through allocation triage. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(47), 17589–17594.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0608757103

Bass, J., & Takahashi, J. S. (2010). Circadian integration of metabolism and energetics. Science, 330(6009), 1349–1354.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1195668

Gooley, J. J., Chamberlain, K., Smith, K. A., Khalsa, S. B., Rajaratnam, S. M., Van Reen, E., Zeitzer, J. M., Czeisler, C. A., & Lockley, S. W. (2011). Exposure to room light before bedtime suppresses melatonin onset and shortens melatonin duration in humans. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 96(3), E463–E472.

https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2010-2098

Kreher, J. B., & Schwartz, J. B. (2012). Overtraining syndrome: A practical guide. Sports Health, 4(2), 128–138.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738111434406

Meeusen, R., Duclos, M., Foster, C., Fry, A., Gleeson, M., Nieman, D., Raglin, J., Rietjens, G., Steinacker, J., & Urhausen, A. (2013). Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the overtraining syndrome: Joint consensus statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports Medicine. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(1), 1–24.

https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2012.730061

Panda, S. (2016). Circadian physiology of metabolism. Cell Metabolism, 23(6), 1152–1163.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2016.06.005

Picard, M., Juster, R. P., & McEwen, B. S. (2014). Mitochondrial allostatic load: Putting the 'gluc' back in glucocorticoids. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 10(5), 303–310.

https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.22

Picard, M., & McEwen, B. S. (2018). Psychological stress and mitochondria: A systematic review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 80(2), 126–140.

https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000544

Picard, M., McElroy, G. S., & Turnbull, D. M. (2015). Mitochondrial functions modulate neuroendocrine, metabolic, inflammatory, and transcriptional responses to acute psychological stress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(48), 14920–14925.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1518223112

Reiter, R. J., Rosales-Corral, S., Tan, D. X., Acuna-Castroviejo, D., Qin, L., Yang, S. F., & Xu, K. (2017). Melatonin as a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant: One of evolution's best inventions? Journal of Pineal Research, 62(1), e12394.

https://doi.org/10.1111/jpi.12394

Scheer, F. A., Hilton, M. F., Mantzoros, C. S., & Shea, S. A. (2009). Adverse metabolic and cardiovascular consequences of circadian misalignment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(11), 4453–4458.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0808180106

Straub, R. H. (2017). The brain and immune system prompt energy shortage in chronic inflammation and ageing. Nature Reviews Rheumatology, 13(2), 74–79.

https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2016.213

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Micronutrient deficiencies. World Health Organization.

https://www.who.int/health-topics/micronutrients