The Power Hour

The power hour is created through a combination of scientific principles including:

• Chronobiology
• Embryology
• Endocrinology
• Neuropsychology
• Muscle physiology

In simple terms, throughout the day, months and years, the body, just like the 4 seasons, go through change in an orderly fashion. These changes in the human biology that occur over time are summarised by the term, chrono (time)- biology.

Generally, most bodies have a clock inside them (these are called ‘Clock’ genes). Effectively your body’s time-keeper – there are a number of important clocks:

THE CENTRAL CLOCK – THE LIGHT/DARK CYCLE

When the sun hits the eye, it activates the Supra-chiasmatic nucleus. This is a part of the brain that helps to regulate your body’s sleep/wake cycle. I.e. when light hits the eye, the brain increases its activity readying for wakefulness.

This is one of the most robust functions of our body. It can actually take years to fully correct your body’s rhythm when you move country, and is the major feature behind jet-lag in the short term.

THE PERIPHERAL CLOCKS – EVERY ORGAN IS ON IT’S OWN TIME

Each organ has it’s own clock as well. However, unlike the light and dark clock, each of these clocks adapt a lot faster to the environment. E.g. Night shift workers start to feel hungry at different times compared to when they are up through the normal daylight hours. The body makes this adjustment out of necessity. However, while these organs can adapt more quickly, they become out of ‘sync’ with the central clock, and their function and health depart from their normal physiology. This dyssynchrony in physiology is one of the reasons shift workers are at greater risk of disease than those working normal hours.

What is the normal routine of the body?

From research, we know different parts of the physiology are heightened or lessened at different times in the day. Similarly, we are also aware of different organs, and when they are going through their ‘processing and cleaning’ time. This processing and cleaning period is like a reset button each day for each organ. This is important for the organ’s continuing function and repair.

The image below gives an overview of some features of chronobiology and how they relate to common daily experiences:

As each organ is affected at different times of the day, different people will have a different sensitivity to these times depending on the organs that play a more dominant or less dominant role in their body. ‘Organ dominance’ is related to back to when you were an embryo. Depending on the layer of the embryo that was most pronounced in you as a developing human, this will determine the organs through which you will show the greatest sensitivity/strength.

These embryo layers, the Ectoderm, Mesoderm and Endoderm layers, correspond directly to your body structure, and tell you a number of things about how your brain, digestion and many other features develop. These are some of the key insights within ph360 that enable it to determine your health and your best environment so accurately.

Below is a table of the different organs and how they are active at different times through the day. By active, it is to say they are going through an important physiological regulation at this time of day in optimal circumstances.

TIME, ORGAN, ECTO/MESO/ENDO LAYER

When you take these timings of organs into consideration, depending on the genetic predisposition, we are able to determine when an individual’s body may be MOST affected. While everyone’s body will go through regulation as you see above, the bodies with a dominance for the organ that is ‘active’ at that time is going to be affected more than others.

Organs in the Endodermic layer: Thymus, thyroid, pancreas, liver, GIT, & prostate.

Organs in the Ectodermic layer: Neural tissue, skin, final length of the rectum

Organs in the Mesodermic layer: Bone, muscle, cartilage, tendons, heart, spleen, blood

E.g. A person who has an endomorphic physiology has a dominance of the liver, lung, digestive tract and pancreas. Due to this, from around 2am to 9am, they are going to be heavily affected if these organs are not able to regulate.

Depending on your body, you will need to follow a specific protocol at different times through the day to be in your best health. This is accounted for by ph360, and this is how the power hour is generated.