Episode Details

Most of what we call "aging" may not be about time at all. It may be a nervous system stuck in stress, quietly draining your sleep, your recovery, and your long-term health.

In this episode, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon sits down with Dr. Kristen Holmes to discuss:

• Why the hallmarks of aging- inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular decline may be symptoms of a dysregulated autonomic nervous system, and how much of your HRV (47–65%) is genetic versus trainable
• How your sleep is decided during the day, not at night, and why perceiving your day as "threatening" keeps your HRV suppressed and robs you of deep, restorative sleep
• The circadian "amplitude" formula for bright days and dark nights that predicts everything from menopause symptom severity to longevity, plus the ~90 minutes of natural light almost no one gets
• Why late-night eating rivals alcohol for damaging your resting physiology, and how a simple 12-hour eating window gets you most of the way there
• Why the fittest people sleep less, and how all-day movement and "exercise snacks" beat a single gym block

When you understand that your nervous system sits underneath your sleep, energy, and pace of aging, you stop chasing fragmented fixes and start pulling the few daily levers light, movement, meal timing, consistency that move the needle.

Studies & References

• Stress and Heart Rate Variability: A Meta-Analysis and Review of the Literature — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5900369/
• How to Improve Your Circadian Rhythm with Satchin Panda PhD: https://youtu.be/gM_b4t0ARG8?si=QKfpYEAh1O5lyMw8

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Listen to “The Line” on all your favorite platforms!

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheLine-Podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-line-with-dr-kristen-holmes/id1846864184

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3zc3BCKHlFAlffRnd6kZXy

Get Dr. Kristen Holmes’s book, “Aligned” here: https://sites.prh.com/dr-kristen-holmes

📱Connect with Dr. Kristen Holmes:

Website: https://drkristenholmes.com/#top

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheLine-Podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkristenholmes/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-holmes/

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