Beyond the Binary: Understanding Hormones as the Body's Traffic Lights

Welcome back to the Daily Dumbbell, the newsletter that loves Mondays. Mostly because it pisses everyone off to see someone so chipper on a Monday morning.

We have a strong internal locus of control, so we love Mondays for ourselves. But we’re also petty so we love seeing the annoyance in your eyes as well.

But enough about us! This morning we have a feature on hormones and a new research roundup with everything you might have missed from last week.

Let’s dive in!

Feature:
Beyond the Binary: Understanding Our Hormones

There's a somewhat pervasive notion that hormones work in a very black and white manner. That they’re either good or bad, on or off, too high or too low.

But just as with most things in life, it isn't that simple. Hormones, the molecular maestros of our body, direct a harmonious symphony rather than an on-off switch.

Remember the 2014 movie "Lucy," with Scarlett Johansson? We hope you don’t. The whole basis of the movie centered around this idea that most people only ever use 10% of their brain, while Lucy unlocks a full 100%.

The trouble is, the premise was complete nonsense. Also the movie was bad. Like really bad.

We of course don’t only use 10% of our brains. That wouldn’t make any sense.

This flawed logic is akin to saying we only use 33% of a traffic light. Sure, we only use one color at a time… that’s technically true. But you wouldn’t want to use 100% of the traffic light. That would just result in chaos, not a super light.

Take cortisol for instance, often vilified as the 'stress hormone.' Sure, high cortisol levels in the evening could keep us awake, leading to restless nights. However, cortisol also serves as our internal alarm clock, giving us a gentle nudge to start the day. A morning spike of cortisol can make us feel refreshed and ready to tackle whatever comes our way. 

Everyone’s favorite jacked scientist with a podcast; Andrew Huberman, loves to tell people to get direct sunlight in their eye holes first thing in the morning. Why? Because it raises cortisol and you feel more awake.

Another perfect example: testosterone in men. All we ever hear is about testosterone dipping as men age and all the bad things that come with that.

Most of the comments in the thread were asking how to avoid this. What about intense exercise? Is it a result of not getting enough sleep?

Because they’re looking at the problem through a black and white lens. 

But this dip isn’t due to sleep deprivation from midnight feedings or diaper changes. It's an evolutionary adaptation. High levels of testosterone fuel competitiveness, a useful trait when vying for a mate or resources. However, once the child arrives, that same competitiveness could result in unnecessary competition for resources within the family unit.

Speaking of testosterone, did you know cholesterol is an essential ingredient in testosterone production? It’s rare we ever hear anything good about cholesterol in the body, but it is also an essential part of:

• Vitamin D

• Testosterone

• Estrogen &

• Bile

Our bodily systems are intricate and interconnected, and understanding them requires us to look beyond binary good/bad labels.

Why this is important:

The next time you hear about "good" or "bad" hormones, you can discern for yourself if the person talking about this is a charlatan or just misguided. The body is incredibly complex and interconnected. Anyone trying to convince you that it’s black and white is either uninformed or trying to sell you something.

Research Roundup

All the best studies and breakthroughs from the previous week! We’ll break down each one for you, telling you what you need to know & why it’s important (if it is in fact, important).

This study from the University of Michigan:

• The feeling of hunger alone was enough to extend the lifespan of flies in a lab.

• We aren’t flies and this kind of study is still in the earliest stages, but it was interesting!

• If they find the same thing in mice our interest will be piqued. But we will also be here to remind you that we are not mice.

This Study from the Garvin Institute:

• Researchers found a group of cells in the brain that seem to be contributing to obesity through the production of NPY.

• NPY is an appetite signaling molecule.

• Our brain has mechanisms for sensing how much energy is stored in the body. When we expend too much energy for what we have on hand, NPY is produced to drive hunger.

• This mechanism seems to be broken in people with obesity. Not only does the brain produce NPY even when there is plenty of energy on hand, the brain also becomes more sensitive to NPY.

• Creating a sort of vicious cycle.

This Study from the University of Chicago is something we’re very excited about

• Patients used an AI behavioral coaching app called Lumen.

• Study participants using the Lumen app showed decreased scores for depression, anxiety, and psychological distress compared with the control group.

• The Lumen group also showed improvements in problem-solving skills that correlated with increased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain area associated with cognitive control.

• Importantly, this was a small sample size (60 patients) where the control group received no therapy. So this wasn’t compared to traditional therapy in any meaningful way.

• BUT! That trial is underway! With more participants and a group that will be seeing a traditional therapist.

The rise of AI is incredibly exciting and we are very bullish on the future of AI for therapy. Imagine a world where anyone who wants to see a therapist can. Regardless of that patient’s means or any geographical constraints.

AI Behavioral coaches are not far off. We’ll be the first to let you know about any exciting new developments.

Hope you had an amazing weekend and an even better start to this week. We’ll see you back here tomorrow for a feature on