Circadian biology may be the next frontier in cancer care.

Patients with lung cancer who got chemo-immunotherapy before 11:30 AM had:
📉 53% lower risk of death
📆 Median overall survival: 33 vs. 19.5 months
📈 Improved treatment response

Let’s break it down 🧵1/7 Your body runs on a clock.
Cortisol, insulin, immune cells all peak at certain times.
Yet most cancer therapy is scheduled without considering circadian rhythms. That’s a problem, especially for immunotherapy, which depends on immune activation /2

A warm shower before bed might be the simplest, most underrated hack for better sleep.

Here's the evidence-based protocol I swear by (and why it works) 🧵1/7 Why warmth if your body prefers cooler temperatures for sleep?
Your body signals sleep readiness by naturally lowering core temperature in the evening. A warm shower speeds this cooling afterward by increasing peripheral blood flow /2

Psyllium husk is boring, cheap, and criminally underrated.

I take it daily because it significantly improves:
🩸 Blood sugar
⚖️ Hunger and weight
🔥 Cholesterol and blood pressure

Here’s why you probably shouldn’t ignore it 🧵 1/8 Psyllium significantly improves blood sugar control and weight in diabetics. In a randomized trial, type 2 diabetes patients taking ~10g/day for 8 weeks saw:
Fasting glucose: ↓ 44 mg/dL
HbA1c: ↓ from 8.5% to 7.5%
Insulin sensitivity: ↓ by almost half
Body weight: ↓ ~3 kg /2

Nature isn’t just enjoyable, it’s medicine.

Forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) has been shown to:
✔️ Boost immunity
✔️ Lower stress
✔️ Reduce blood pressure
✔️ Improve mood

Here's the science of how nature transforms your health 🧵1/8 In a Japanese study, 3 days of forest bathing increased Natural Killer cell activity by ~50% and enhanced potential anti-cancer proteins like perforin and granulysin. Benefits lasted a full week after returning to city life /2

Aligning eating with your body's circadian rhythm boosts metabolism, controls hunger, and enhances weight loss.

Here's the fascinating science behind how to eat with your body’s clock 🧵 1/9 Big breakfast vs. big dinner matters. Identical 1400 kcal diets for 12 wks, different timing:
-Breakfast-heavy group lost 2.5x more weight (8.7 kg vs. 3.6 kg)
-Better insulin sensitivity (-51% vs. -29%) and triglycerides (-34% vs. +15%) /2

https://x.com/BrandonLuuMD/status/1887119301682860356

If you want to focus, keep your phone out of sight and out of reach.

Even if it’s silent and turned off, just having it nearby quietly drains your attention.

Here’s why it happens—and what to do about it 🧵 1/8 FYI for the full article, data, protocols, and research, I share free weekly deep dives here:
brandonluumd.substack.com/p/why-i-work-w…

Creatine is your brain’s emergency power supply—rapidly restoring ATP and supporting mitochondria when energy is depleted.

In randomized trials, it preserves cognition during severe sleep deprivation.

Here’s how to use creatine to stay sharp when it matters most 🧵 1/11 Curious about the full data, dosing protocols, and research? I share free weekly deep dives here:
brandonluumd.substack.com/p/creatine-for…

"I’m just not a morning person."

That used to be me—late nights, sluggish mornings, constant fatigue.

But shifting my sleep schedule transformed my mood and performance.

Here’s how changing your chronotype can change your life 🧵👇1/8 Want the full breakdown + step-by-step protocol?
I’m breaking it down in this week’s post—part of my new weekly series on optimizing health, mood, and performance.
Find it here:
brandonluumd.substack.com/p/change-your-…

📵 Just having your phone on your desk—even switched off—drains your attention.

A study found it reduces attention by ~8.5% and processing speed by ~9.3%, even with no notifications.

If you want to focus, put your phone in another room🧵 1/8 Researchers wanted to know:
Does having a smartphone nearby—even off and face down—affect your attention?
They tested whether this “passive distraction” drains cognitive resources, even without active use. /2

A single mitochondrial DNA mutation in mice causes autism-like behavior—social deficits, anxiety, and EEG disruptions—with no changes to brain anatomy.

Let’s break it down 🧵1/10 Autism’s genetics are complex, but many patients show signs of mitochondrial dysfunction. The researchers asked: could a single mitochondrial DNA mutation be enough to cause core autism behaviors? /2

🧠 Your brain works best when it focuses on one thing at a time.

People who constantly juggle multiple media streams (like texting during a meeting) tend to have worse memory, attention, and reasoning.

Here’s why multitasking might be harming your brain
🧵1/8 Researchers published a review comparing how heavy (HMMs) and light (LMMs) multitaskers perform on various cognitive tasks.
Media multitasking refers to using two or more media streams simultaneously. For example, watching TV while texting on your phone or checking your phone notifications during a lecture. /2

🎮 Video games might actually train your brain.

In ~471,000 adults, frequent gamers had:
🧠 19% lower risk of dementia
⚡ Improved memory, processing speed, & brain structure

Here's what you need to know 🧵 1/9 Researchers followed 471,346 UK Biobank participants for ~14 years. Those who played games often had a 19% lower risk of developing dementia vs non-gamers, after adjusting for lifestyle & medical factors. /2

Intermittent fasting beats daily dieting—long term.

In a 12-month RCT, 4:3 fasting (↓80% intake 3x/week) led to:
⚖️ ~6.4 lbs more weight loss
📉 Fewer dropouts (19% vs 30%)
🧠 Less binge-eating behavior

Let's break it down🧵1/8 165 adults (mean age 42, BMI 34.1) were randomized to 4:3 intermittent fasting (n=84) or daily restriction (n=81), all receiving a high-intensity behavioral weight loss program. /2

🐶 Early pet exposure may shape a healthier gut microbiome.

Infants exposed to furry pets during pregnancy and early life had 2x higher odds of abundant Ruminococcus and Oscillospira—gut microbes linked to lower risk of allergy and obesity.

🧵 1/9 Researchers analyzed fecal samples from 746 infants in the Canadian CHILD Cohort to see how pet exposure before and after birth affects the infant gut microbiome. /2

A carbohydrate-based meal spikes cortisol in healthy men—while protein or fat allow levels to decline.

This may explain why carb-heavy “comfort foods” paradoxically sustain stress and sabotage weight regulation 🧵1/8 10 healthy men (average age 27, BMI 22) were given lunch shakes of either pure carbohydrate, protein, fat, or water across 4 randomized test days. Cortisol was tracked via blood samples for 2 hours post-meal /2

Circadian disruption from late night screens, shift work, and poor eating habits alters your hormonal rhythms.

This leads to imbalances in cortisol and melatonin.

The result: more fat, weaker immune defenses—and a microenvironment that may favor cancer growth 🧵1/9 A review explored how modern life—artificial light, irregular sleep, night shifts, and poor diet—disrupts your body clock.
These disruptions drive hormonal chaos and may in part help explain rising obesity and cancer rates, especially seen in shift workers. /2

Sleeping with your partner improves sleep quality.

In one study, co-sleeping led to:
💤 10% more REM sleep
🧠 64% longer uninterrupted REM periods
🔄 28% greater sleep-stage synchronization

This may be one way relationships support mental health 🧵1/8 Researchers studied 12 young, healthy, heterosexual couples.
Each slept in a lab over 4 nights—half alone, half with their partner.
Sleep was monitored with dual polysomnography, analyzing both individual and synchronized sleep stages. /2

⏰ Your body’s metabolism follows a circadian rhythm—eating late throws it off.

In a 6-year study, those who ate most of their calories at dinner had:
⚠️ 2x higher risk of obesity
🩺 1.5x higher risk of metabolic syndrome
🍔 1.6x higher risk of fatty liver disease

🧵 1/9 Researchers tracked non-obese, non-diabetic adults over 6 years.
Each person completed 3-day food logs, including when they ate each meal./2

Chewing gum could be an easy and effective way to reduce stress.

A randomized crossover study found that chewing gum during a stressful event:
✅ Reduced cortisol
⚡ Enhanced alertness
🧘 Improved anxiety and stress

Here’s what you need to know 🧵 1/7 Researchers tested 40 healthy young adults in a randomized crossover study. Participants completed a multitasking stress test twice—once while chewing gum and once without. Their mood, stress levels, and saliva cortisol were measured before and after. 2/

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is like "miracle grow" for your brain, supporting neuron growth and boosting cognition.

A single workout increases BDNF, and regular exercise enhances it even more.

Here’s how to maximize BDNF using exercise 🧵 1/9 A meta-analysis reviewed 29 studies with 1,111 participants, analyzing how exercise affects BDNF in three ways:
1️⃣ A single workout
2️⃣ A workout after a regular exercise program
3️⃣ Resting BDNF levels after long-term exercise. 2/

Cannabis may be bad for your heart.

A new analysis found that young, healthy adults who use cannabis have a 6x higher odds of a heart attack compared to non-users.

A thread 🧵1/8 Researchers compared 93,267 cannabis users to 4.5 million non-users, all under 50 and free of major cardiovascular risk factors. The study controlled for conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and tobacco use through propensity score matching. /2