Chronobiology: what are the principles for being in shape?

Chronobiology is the study of the body's biological rhythms. Respecting our internal clock, whether in terms of nutrition or sleep, would be the key to preserving our well-being and above all our health. Here are some explanations.

What is chronobiology?

Like all living beings, our body is subject to biological rhythms that influence our brain and the functioning of our hormones and cells. Respecting and taking into account these rhythms in our daily lives and activities is essential to maintain our body in good health. There are three main types of rhythms:

• The circadian rhythm: a 24-hour cycle that influences the majority of the body's functions and in particular the sleep-wake rhythm, body temperature and the cyclical secretion of several hormones;
• The ultradian rhythm: this concerns the organs and functions whose rhythm is faster than the circadian rhythm, such as the cardiac or respiratory rhythm for example;
• Infradian rhythms: i.e. rhythms that exceed 24 hours, such as the menstrual cycle.

We owe the progress of research on the different mechanisms of our internal clocks to three American geneticists who were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2017: Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young.

What are the risks of a disruption of our internal clock?

Depending on the time of day, the body does not have the same physiological and biological needs. It is estimated that 20 to 40% of the molecules produced by the body depend on our internal clock. Hence the importance of respecting these natural rhythms or risk seeing your health deteriorate.

Circadian rhythm disorders are associated with an increase in several risks:

• Cancers;
• Drowsiness and sleep disorders;
• Impaired cognitive functions;
• Metabolic and cardiovascular disorders;
• Mood disorders;
• Depression;
• Anxiety.

Chronobiology and sleep

Depending on the individual, there is a drop in body temperature at the most appropriate time to go to bed. At 10pm, the body begins to secrete melatonin, the sleep hormone, and the pulse slows down to prepare the body for sleep. It is the secretion of cortisol, the wake-up hormone, that will then help us get out of bed in the early morning.

Factors such as age, illness, poor lifestyle, sensitivity to light or night work can lead to a disruption of the circadian sleep rhythm. Medical support may be necessary to understand the origins of the disorder and to restore a normal rhythm.

Chrononutrition: the influence of chronobiology on diet

The rhythm of food intake has an impact on health. Hence the importance of listening to one's needs and respecting as much as possible a routine, which can vary from one individual to another, for eating. Studies have shown, for example, that eating less than an hour before bedtime can have long-term effects on our health.

The principle of chrononutrition developed by Doctor Alain Delabos at the end of the 1980s is based on this precept. It is based on the idea that food is not assimilated by the body in the same way depending on the time of day it is eaten. It is therefore a matter of eating groups of foods at the appropriate times. Many so-called chronoregime diets or diets based on chrononutrition are already proposed, but their effectiveness and superiority compared to other approaches have not been demonstrated by scientific studies.

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What is charisma? Can it be developed?

What is charisma?

The word "charisma" comes from the Greek word qàric, which combines the concepts of quality, grace, beauty and charm; qualities that are often the result of gifts given to men by the gods.

Charisma is defined as the set of qualities necessary for a leader, expressed through perceptible behaviour. These modes of expression fall into two categories: charisma of the mind and charisma of the body.

Innate leadership

It has long been thought that charisma is an innate quality of the individual. Plato considered the leader as an individual superior to others, distinguished by virtues, intellectual characteristics and social skills that he possesses from birth. Socrates concurred, stating that only a small number of individuals possess the vision, physical and mental gifts required of a leader to stand above the citizens. He even gave a short list of characteristics considered essential for a leader:

• Speed of learning
• Good memory
• Open-mindedness
• Excellent vision
• Physical presence
• Outstanding achievements

The most recent studies show that charisma can be taught, even if certain biological factors cannot be changed. Charisma teaching techniques significantly improve the level of charisma of individuals but require a huge investment. It is therefore pointless to believe that it is possible to obtain miraculous effects in a few days...

The qualities of a charismatic man

Charisma of the mind. The value of the words written or spoken, the literary style, the tastes, the way of life, the philosophy, translating his vision, his ingenuity, are all points likely to make an individual charismatic.

Charisma of the body. The internal qualities of charisma are conveyed here by non-verbal behaviour that can influence any listener, whether or not they know the speaker's language.

1. The ability of the leader to emotionally stimulate and inspire others. The charismatic individual is able to emotionally stimulate and inspire others through facial expressions, gestures, voice quality, intonation, etc.
2. The charismatic leader is gifted with a high degree of emotional intelligence: he/she has the ability to experience emotions, to transmit them and to be empathetic with others. In doing so, he or she easily manipulates the emotions of the audience in order to make them acquire beliefs and to make them adhere to his or her goals.
3. He/she must be seen as a reliable source by giving the impression that he/she is acting in the best interests of the audience (Benevolence), has the ability to plan and predict (Competence) and can prevail in competition (Dominance).

The biological characteristics of charisma

There are certain biological traits that allow us to distinguish ourselves from others and that are often common to many species, notably the use of different voice frequencies to communicate messages, personality traits, emotions such as anger (to frighten people), size, stature, vocalisations, facial expressions, posture...

These charisma-related characteristics evolve and are highly dependent on the human cultures in which they are embedded. This means that each culture will have a different model of charisma: in some cultures, the placid individual is more charismatic than an angry one, in others, the latter may be seen as potentially authoritarian and insensitive, which could lead to fear and respect.

List of adjectives used to describe charisma

Confident, confident, charming, eloquent, strong, personable, radiant, captivating, leader, attractive, authoritative, convincing, intelligent, outspoken, imposing, influential, orator, sociable, attractive, appealing, cultured, fascinating, likeable, spontaneous.

List of adjectives used to describe lack of charisma

Self-effacing, shy, banal, discreet, ignorant, introverted, withdrawn, reserved, vulgar, unpleasant, boring, weak, cold, hesitant, insignificant, modest, stammering, unsociable, clumsy, dull.

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Valentine's Day - Love - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Recursos Educativos en Inglés - Poems in English - Poesías en inglés San Valentín

Love - Elizabeth Barrett Browning - 1806-1861

We cannot live, except thus mutually
We alternate, aware or unaware,
The reflex act of life: and when we bear
Our virtue onward most impulsively,
Most full of invocation, and to be
Most instantly compellant, certes, there
We live most life, whoever breathes most air
And counts his dying years by sun and sea.
But when a soul, by choice and conscience, doth
Throw out her full force on another soul,
The conscience and the concentration both make
mere life, Love. For Life in perfect whole
And aim consummated, is Love in sooth,
As nature's magnet-heat rounds pole with pole.

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Valentine's Day - Love - James Russell Lowell

Recursos Educativos en Inglés - Poems in English - Poesías en inglés San Valentín

Love - James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

True Love is but a humble, low-born thing,
And hath its food served up in earthen ware;
It is a thing to walk with, hand in hand,
Through the every-dayness of this work-day world,
Baring its tender feet to every roughness,
Yet letting not one heart-beat go astray
From Beauty’s law of plainness and content;
A simple, fire-side thing, whose quiet smile
Can warm earth’s poorest hovel to a home;
Which, when our autumn cometh, as it must,
And life in the chill wind shivers bare and leafless,
Shall still be blest with Indian-summer youth
In bleak November, and, with thankful heart,
Smile on its ample stores of garnered fruit,
As full of sunshine to our aged eyes
As when it nursed the blossoms of our spring.
Such is true Love, which steals into the heart
With feet as silent as the lightsome dawn
That kisses smooth the rough brows of the dark,
And hath its will through blissful gentleness,—
Not like a rocket, which, with savage glare,
Whirrs suddenly up, then bursts, and leaves the night
Painfully quivering on the dazed eyes;
A love that gives and takes, that seeth faults,
Not with flaw-seeking eyes like needle-points,
But, loving kindly, ever looks them down
With the o’ercoming faith of meek forgiveness;
A love that shall be new and fresh each hour,
As is the golden mystery of sunset,
Or the sweet coming of the evening-star,
Alike, and yet most unlike, every day,
And seeming ever best and fairest now;
A love that doth not kneel for what it seeks,
But faces Truth and Beauty as their peer,
Showing its worthiness of noble thoughts
By a clear sense of inward nobleness,
A love that in its object findeth not
All grace and beauty, and enough to sate
Its thirst of blessing, but, in all of good
Found there, it sees but Heaven-granted types
Of good and beauty in the soul of man,
And traces, in the simplest heart that beats,
A family-likeness to its chosen one,
That claims of it the rights of brotherhood.
For Love is blind but with the fleshly eye,
That so its inner sight may be more clear;
And outward shows of beauty only so
Are needful at the first, as is a hand
To guide and to uphold an infant’s steps:
Great spirits need them not; their earnest look
Pierces the body’s mask of thin disguise,
And beauty ever is to them revealed,
Behind the unshapeliest, meanest lump of clay,
With arms outstretched and eager face ablaze,
Yearning to be but understood and loved.

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Nightmares and night terrors: what are the differences?

Nightmares and night terrors in children

Children's sleep can be disturbed by nightmares. It is important to know how to distinguish nightmares from night terrors and to look for their origin in order to react in an appropriate way.

How do children's nightmares manifest themselves?

The nightmare is the paroxysmal manifestation of an anxiety. It occurs during the REM sleep phase - most often at the end of the night - during which the brain is in full activity. The child wakes up, cries, screams, and seems panicked. It is important to reassure, cuddle and stay with the child until he or she is completely calm. Helping them to get back in touch with reality helps them to fall back asleep. Later in the day, you should take the time to have the child tell you about the nightmare. This allows the child to express his fear, which is easier when he feels understood. Parents should therefore help them to play it down without ever making fun of them or scolding them for it.

What to do if the child has nightmares?

Nightmares are not a cause for concern as long as they occur episodically. They are even a normal part of learning. Every day the child learns, experiences very strong emotions, and nightmares are the expression of an awareness of the notion of danger. In the course of reading, watching cartoons on television and playing games, the child is confronted with characters who are not always very friendly. They learn about malice, frustration, fear, sadness and anxiety. These are all feelings that nightmares express. That is why it is advisable to talk about each of your anxious dreams during the next day.

If nightmares are frequent, they should alert the parents. This is also the case for post-traumatic nightmares, i.e. those that occur after an extremely traumatic event. It is essential that the child is treated by a specialist without delay.

Advice on how to avoid nightmares in children

In order to prevent nightmares in children, parents should take care to filter the images that they watch, particularly on television, computers or tablets. Similarly, the books available to the child should be adapted to his or her age and/or ability to understand. Any frightening situation should be explained to the child, which will reassure him/her as soon as he/she is able to understand what he/she sees or hears.

Finally, at bedtime, emotions that are too strong and likely to cause fear should be avoided. For some children, fear of the dark can cause nightmares. A small nightlight is often all that is needed to reassure them completely and allow them to sleep without nightmares.

Whatever the cause of the nightmares, it is not advisable for the child to end the night in the parents' bed. On the contrary, they should be allowed to go back to sleep in their own room. They must understand that they are as safe there as in their parents' bed. This is a more or less long learning process, but it is important for the child's development.

Advice on how to avoid nightmares in children

In order to prevent nightmares in children, parents should take care to filter the images that they watch, particularly on television, computers or tablets. Similarly, the books available to the child should be adapted to his or her age and/or ability to understand. Any frightening situation should be explained to the child, which will reassure him/her as soon as he/she is able to understand what he/she sees or hears.

Finally, at bedtime, emotions that are too strong and likely to cause fear should be avoided. For some children, fear of the dark can cause nightmares. A small nightlight is often all that is needed to reassure them completely and allow them to sleep without nightmares.

Whatever the cause of the nightmares, it is not advisable for the child to end the night in the parents' bed. On the contrary, they should be allowed to go back to sleep in their own room. They must understand that they are as safe there as in their parents' bed. This is a more or less long learning process, but it is important for the child's development.

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The causes of jealousy in couples

Jealousy in couples: a healthy reaction in small doses

When it is not pathological, jealousy, in small manifestations, is not necessarily harmful to the couple. It can be a sudden lucid look, when you detect the desire for someone else in your partner's eyes. And it would be absurd to deny that these sparks of desire, or desires to seduce other people, are an integral part of a couple provided they remain at the stage of fantasy.

Jealousy, in these cases, puts the fusion of the couple at a distance: it reminds us that we are not everything to the other. The person experiencing jealousy remembers his or her own independent existence outside the duo. This slight feeling of jealousy or rivalry reminds us of the need to make an effort for the other person, the desire to please them. Jealousy in a couple exposes the doubts and fears of not being seductive enough, of not being enough... These are all normal, lucid and balanced feelings.

Jealousy and feelings of insecurity

For some people jealousy is pathological, for example when it is obsessive or systematic. Does your partner see you flirting everywhere, with everyone? Does he or she denounce looks and words that you may have uttered without your realising it? It may be a matter of personal insecurity, which leads him to interpret all your relationships by comparing them to your relationship.

This behaviour reflects a permanent lack of self-esteem which can be very hard to deal with in everyday life. For example, if your partner catches you looking at another man/woman, then he/she compares himself/herself and feels threatened. This tendency to devalue oneself is psychologically exhausting and puts a strain on the couple every day, especially as no amount of talking and attention will be enough to ease this narcissistic pain.

While reassuring a jealous person may sometimes be enough, it is usually necessary to communicate in order to highlight the problem. Indeed, the person who suffers from jealousy on a regular basis must engage in personal development work in order to gain more self-confidence and better live the relationship on a daily basis.

When jealousy borders on paranoia

Jealousy sometimes takes on the appearance of paranoia, especially when it is completely unconscious and therefore unacknowledged. This feeling can manifest itself without the jealous person realising it. Let's take a concrete example: as soon as someone approaches you at a party, your partner shuts down and doesn't say another word.

When you confront him/her afterwards, he/she pretends to be upset for this or that reason, without ever mentioning a feeling of jealousy. It is possible that he is telling the truth: in some cases, indeed, the denial is too strong. Freud was convinced that feelings of jealousy are inevitable in a couple. According to him, some people are more successful in repressing this feeling, but no one is free of it. Indeed, apart from erotomaniacs, who are convinced that everyone loves them for exactly what they are, one would have to be mad with pretentiousness and vanity to imagine that it is possible for one to be loved for what one is, that everything about one is lovable.

The friction between appearances, representations of oneself and what one imagines oneself to be in the mind of the other contributes to creating a feeling of insecurity.

Fear of losing the other person

Jealousy is a strong sign of a lack of trust in everyday life. Do you frequently imagine that your partner is cheating on you, and will therefore leave you? If, objectively, your partner is not endangering your relationship, it is essential that you analyse the causes of this jealousy that is tearing you apart. Ask yourself what frightens you the most in this scenario: is it loneliness, betrayal, rejection? Try to dig into your feelings to understand the cause: is it a sadness that you feel when the jealousy erupts? Or is it more an erotic anger, a strong impulse? It is only by going back to the causes of your jealousy that you will be able to get rid of it. If this feeling is too cumbersome or too destructive for you and your relationship, it may be useful to seek professional help. Therapy can help.

Jealousy has many causes, which are above all the expression of a psychological condition on the part of the jealous person. Jealousy is not necessarily a negative feeling. It becomes so when it is uncontrollable and disabling.

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Valentine's Day - Shall I compare thee

Recursos Educativos en Inglés - Poems in English - Poesías en inglés San Valentín

Valentine's Day - Shall I compare thee

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou are more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

by William Shakespeare

Thanks so much to Anita, for sending in this poem

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