About Brighter Days, Darker Nights:

This is a health & wellness Substack publication from SUNKISSED BIRTH focused on helping parents and families strengthen their circadian rhythms.

Why Circadian Rhythms?

Scientist estimate 99% of the US lives a life of circadian disruption based on night-lighting alone. This modern, disrupted kind of lifestyle is described in literature as:

• having a shortened sleep cycle

• being inactive in the active period

• and being active in the inactive period

This lifestyle is also associate with myriad health troubles, from sleeplessness to, ultimately, early death.

For hopeful and expecting parents, circadian disruption is correlated with adverse outcomes across the entire lifespan of their babies.

Brighter Days, Darker Nights revolves around the scientific as well as pragmatic basis for adopting a more circadian lifestyle through the childbearing years.

Do you (or someone you take care of or care about):

1. Go back to sleep in the morning after first waking? Snooze the alarm clock?

2. First thing after getting up, do high-intensity exercise?

3. Skip morning sunshine?

4. Skip breakfast?

5. Skip afternoon sunshine? Have afternoon caffeine instead of a nourishing lunch?

6. Act sedentary all afternoon with the air conditioner on high?

7. Fail to eat dinner until after sunset? Start boozing (or sugar-loading) after dinner?

8. Turn on bright artificial lighting to stay up late? Turn up the thermostat in the evening to stay comfortable without putting on layers?

9. Perform high-intensity exercise after dinner? Rarely cuddle or make love in the evenings?

10. Consume lots of artificial white, blue, and green light at night? Fall asleep with the TV on? Depend on an alarm clock to wake up on time in the morning?

These are ten common habits that destroy the connection between your body and local solar time, which drives your circadian rhythm.

The good news is that even if we may have trashed our circadian rhythms in the past, we can resynchronize them now.

The power of circadian rhythms to support or detract from health inspires me to get this information out to the people to whom it can make the most difference: families.

The necessary changes can only be carried out by us as individuals and families because rhythmicity starts at home.

What are readers saying?

Here are some of the nice things people have said about Brighter Days, Darker Nights:

I may have audibly gasped when I stumbled upon Nikko’s publication. It’s the resource I didn’t know I was looking for.

Nikko has a wonderful ability to take the stilted jargon ridden science papers and make the topics friendly to digest. It’s just a real pleasure to get those emails.

Interesting write ups you're doing on circadian rhythms and the effect of sunlight on our overall wellbeing. Your last post especially on sunbathing is quite a read.

Why Subscribe?

If you subscribe, you will get my free protocol for strengthening circadian rhythms. You will also receive post updates via email and in the Substack app and have access to the previous year of free posts.

Why pay?

Paid subscribers also get access to my on-demand courses, the full archive, and the ability to participate in the exclusive monthly Q&A’s. As a paid subscriber, you may also be able to earn referrals from Substack when you invite your friends and help grow the community. For Practitioners, you can also get access to my curated Google Drive of relevant papers where you can read, comment on, and download the source material for this publication.

How much does it cost?

As of this writing (August, 2023), I’m charging $5 a month or $50 a year (and $100 a year for the premium Practitioner subscription) for complete access to Brighter Days, Darker Nights—rates that I might raise as the archive, number of available courses, and other features grow. But if you subscribe now, you’ll lock in this low rate indefinitely (It’s true! Under Substack policy, you will be “grandfathered in” at the rate you subscribe at even when the rate increases for new subscribers).

About the Author:

Nikko is a certified labor doula and quantum biology practitioner with a B.S. in General Science from the University of Oregon who provides birth and postpartum support services and education. She lives in Oregon with her husband, children, dogs and cat.

DISCLAIMER

All material contained in this publication is for informational purposes only. This information is not intended to diagnose, prevent, or cure any medical condition, nor to replace medical advice offered by qualified health care providers. Any application of the material provided is at your own discretion and is your own, sole responsibility.