The verdict from many a health pundit is, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.”
However every human has what is called your “biological prime time” is the time of the day when you have the most energy and therefore the greatest potential to be productive. All day long your energy fluctuates around what you eat, how much caffeine you consume, how tired you are and how hard you work.
Based on when you have the most energy, focus and motivation you can plan your entire day accordingly! With a few weeks of observing your pattern you find interesting trends in your day, like how much of a morning bird or night owl you are and then schedule each day’s tasks.
According to recent research led by Robert Matchock, an associate professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University.
“The ability to focus and concentrate typically starts to slide soon after your biological prime time. Most people are more easily distracted from noon to 4 p.m. consider your biological ‘prime time’-what time of day are you best?
You could be…
A- An early riser full of energy and by noon you experience a drop in energy levels, which pick up again in the evening.
B- An alarm clock riser, who can just about go through the motions of the morning routine, by noon you are energized and ready to embrace the day till late night.
C- Then, there is the balanced one who wakes up with energy, needs a power nap in the afternoon and revitalized again for the evening however retiring early to bed.
These biological prime times do change throughout ones life and need resetting. Hence the health pundits theory of King, Prince and Pauper meal size timetable needs to sync with the biological prime time.
Another very important consideration, which a lot of people do not know of is the Sundown Syndrome.
The Sundown Syndrome is characterized by the sudden appearance of neuropsychiatric symptoms such as agitation, confusion and anxiety in a chronologic fashion, usually during late afternoon or early evening, between 4pm and 6pm, It is at this time of day that people, especially older adults tend to feel a dip in their mood and this state of mind picks up as the evening advances. Being alone at this time of day is definitely a mood dampener and the advice you should take as older adults is to always engage in a social activity, be around people and best, fix all dinner dates at sundown 5-6 pm is a good time to take a walk in the park or shop at the mall definitely whips up an appetite.
Recommendation- watch the sunset at least three times a week, toast to the day and enjoy a three course meal, small portions, long breaks between each course from a beach side or water front restaurant.
If eating out you can be home before it gets dark, if home you are in time for late evening news and a bit more of TV.
The sunset symbolizes the completion of a day’s work and shows the passage of time. As the sun sets, it is time to end the day and take a break. The awesome beauty of the setting sun, fading light and the emergence of darkness are symbolic of the beauty and mystery of life itself.
It has been proven that watching the sunrise or sunset gives you a better sense of gratitude for the earth. When you are caught up in the natural beauty of the Earth you rid yourself of any distractions and feel higher levels of satisfaction and gratitude for what’s happening in front of you.
Also older adults tend to sleep for shorter periods of time, instead of an eight-hour night sleep, four to five hour nights with two to three long naps during the course of the day becomes the norm. You may need a late night snack, a middle of the night snack too. Keeping all these trends in mind and the combination of biological prime time, King, prince, pauper theory and Sundown Syndrome has made eating the last meal of the day by sunset. It works wonders for your digestive system and gut health.
If you have been eating 9 pm dinner for years, consider making the change to multiple mini meals throughout the day and night and your one main meal at sun set. Adjust your biological prime clock.
Get into the Sundowner state of mind.
Also Read –
A Sundowner sounds like the Happy Hour at hotel bars !! And like Happy Hours are more to pad the bar’s thin presence at that hour, Sundowners seem an effort to bolster one’s down hour. Any number of bright blurbs playing up Sunset & the onset of darkness remain desperate non-starters. Sunset is sunset – the end of light & the advance of darkness. Sunset at Marina beach or at the Grand Canyon evoke largely a sense of loss of the passing day. Sunrise is the eternal perk up !! The dark skies turning heavenly patches & streaks of gold & orange light welcoming the inching up sun of liquid fire never fails to ring bells of tingling cheer in the mind & heart ❤️