Thread by @BrandonLuuMD

Our immune cells have internal clocks.

Misaligned clocks = higher infection rates and impaired cancer protection.

Here's how to use temperature, meal timing, and exercise to optimize your cellular timekeepers 🧵1/8

Morning eating amplifies your natural temperature rise through diet-induced thermogenesis. Evening fasting lets it drop naturally. Plus, timing glucose spikes when baseline glucose is already high (daytime) helps keep your immune cell clocks aligned /2

Cortisol isn't just stress, it's a critical immune timekeeper. Natural pattern: sharp rise before waking, peak within an hour, gradual decline to bedtime. This rhythm controls T cell migration and viral response. Morning exercise stacks perfectly onto this natural cortisol spike /3

Exercise also increases core body temperature, which can enhance natural rise in body temperature. This could be a reason to avoid exercise late at night, as you benefit from a nice natural temperature drop in the evening to help fall into deep sleep /4

Adrenaline rhythms control where immune cells can migrate. Lowest during deep sleep, elevated during day. Late-night gaming or Twitter/X arguments? That's adrenaline binding to immune cell receptors when it shouldn't be. Save the excitement for daylight hours /5

Temperature hacks:
Morning cold plunge → compensatory temperature rise (especially with exercise after).
Evening sauna → allow hours before bed for temperature to drop /6

Bottom line: Light sets your master clock, but temperature, glucose, cortisol, and adrenaline tell your immune cells what time it is. Align these signals through meal timing, exercise, stress management, and temperature exposure. Your immune system will thank you /7

These are all master insights from @AdamRochussen, who is a post-doc working at the frontier of circadian biology. Check out this week’s newsletter for the full article /8