Samer Hattar

Dr. Samer Hattar, a leading expert on light and circadian rhythms at the National Institute of Mental Health, discusses how light exposure influences mood, sleep, and overall health. He shares insights on the importance of morning sunlight for resetting your internal clock and offers practical tips for aligning food intake and exercise with light exposure. Hattar explains the biological effects of artificial lighting, the impact of daylight saving time on well-being, and methods to tackle jet lag and shift work to improve mental performance.

On this week’s episode we take an in-depth look at the science behind your circadian rhythm and how light exposure affects your body. WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes sits down with Dr. Samer Hattar, a world-renowned expert in the field of circadian health, who is credited with discovering neurons in the eye that set our circadian clocks and regulate mood and appetite. Dr. Hattar explains the light-dark cycle and the circadian clock (3:44), the consequences of viewing light at the wrong time (6:34), the importance of light exposure in the morning (12:44), viewing light during the day and blue-light blockers (15:35), what happens when we are exposed to light at night (16:55), circadian health and digestion (19:37), eating windows and meal timing (25:07), exercise routines (28:46), new WHOOP Journal additions on circadian health (34:25), time zones and shifting your circadian rhythm (36:37), and your body's temperature minimum (40:15).Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn