Your body’s not broken. It’s actually fighting for you right now.

Specifically, we can understand many modern ailments as the body’s attempt to preserve the bioenergetic system, or mitochondrial function, when it becomes compromised.

The mitochondria use protons & electrons (from food) and oxygen to spit out ATP (chemical energy), biophotons (light energy), metabolic water (electrical energy), and various regulatory byproducts like melatonin, ROS (in the right balance), CO2, etc.

You need sufficient energy, in all its forms, to keep your bodily system functional. A loss of energy accelerates entropy, which we experience as aging.

For example:

Fat storage → The body accumulating toxins, deuterium, & excess energy substrate your mitochondria can’t properly use.

Balding → The body increasing skin surface in an attempt to maximize infrared & UV light absorption from the sun. Balding is an oxidative stress problem at heart, and the mitochondria need IR and UV wavelengths to minimize electron leakage and stabilize ROS production. DHT increases locally to put out the oxidative fire.

Hypothyroid → Suppressing thyroid hormone slows metabolism, mitigating excessive ROS and glycolysis from damaged mitochondria.

Apnea & poor breathing mechanics → Your body lowers oxygen intake because it’s under “pseudo-hypoxia,” where the mitochondria can’t properly take in and reduce oxygen to produce ATP and H2O. Adding more oxygen is like adding fuel to the fire (and why I hate the idea of CPAP machines).

Sarcopenia & anabolic resistance → If mitochondrial status is poor in the brain, heart, nervous system, and gonads, the body will keep excess energy liability (i.e. muscle) off the balance sheet, prioritizing the vital organs.

Insulin resistance → A seasonal adaptation that increases fat storage in preparation for a scarce winter and raises blood glucose to keep the blood from freezing. It also keeps excess glucose from entering broken metabolic engines.

Skin cancer → Concentrated melanin migrates to the skin surface to sop up as much UV light from the sun as possible to regulate bioenergetics and redox potential.

Poor blood flow → The body accumulating excessive deuterium in the blood, keeping it away from the mitochondria and thickening the blood. Also buys time by slowing delivery of energy substrates, both oxygen and food, through the blood.

Final thoughts

There’s a reason people say almost all disease starts in the mitochondria.

Understanding dis-ease as a protective, adaptive mechanism increases awareness around our own biology. Instead of blindly administering some thyroid hormone or hair loss drugs, we can ask what our energy system really needs. It’s usually a combination of quantum inputs (light, grounding, magnetism), nutrients, and removing stressors, trigger foods, and other toxins.

It also shifts the unhealthy person from frustration to gratitude, which is healing in itself. When you’re sick or feel “broken,” remember your body is always working in your best interest. Treat it as your ally.

This is no over-exaggeration, and why “no such thing as a healthy tan” is misguided.

Melanin doesn’t just live in your skin. It innervates your nervous system, internal surfaces, and essential organs (especially the high-demand regions — the brain, heart, gut, sex organs, etc.).

It’s a key player in regulating bioenergetics and mitigating toxins in these areas.

Specifically, melanin is protective against:

• Non-native EMF: Melanin is your first line of defense against environmental EMFs, absorbing all wavelengths of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum and transduces it into chemical energy that the body can use. This includes not only sunlight but also microwaves, radio frequencies, even gamma rays. Melanin-rich fungi have even been found in radioactive areas like Chernobyl because they use melanin to transduce EMF into usable energy for accelerated growth.

• Heavy metals: Melanin is a powerful chelator of heavy metals, which are accumulated through daily exposure (tap water, vehicle exhaust, glyphosate, etc.).

• Gut pathogens: Melanin and its precursor, alpha-MSH, exhibit antimicrobial properties, neutralizing candida, bacteria, and mold mycotoxins. Orifices throughout the GI tract require melanin to remain contracted and tight, squelching overgrowths such as SIBO.

• Oxidative stress: Melanin is a potent antioxidant, acting as both donor and acceptor of electrons as needed. It can neutralize oxidative stress by donating electrons to free radicals, which have an unpaired electron. Melanin also uses absorbed light energy to liberate molecular hydrogen from water molecules, reducing highly reactive hydroxyl radicals.

• Dopamine loss: Loss of melanin is implicated in neurodegeneration, likely because of its major energetic role in the brain and because of its regulation of dopamine (both melanin and dopamine come from the amino acid L-DOPA). Melanin directly regulates dopaminergic neurons in the brain.

• Deuterium build-up: A few interesting mechanisms here. Melanin shows an affinity for deuterated “heavy water” because D2O promotes better electrical conductivity in melanin than H2O. Additionally, the heart chamber separates deuterium isotopes by vortexing blood. Heart tissue contains a lot of melanin, underscoring its importance in maintaining energetic function of the heart.

• Histamine/mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS): Melanin interestingly inhibits mast cell degranulation, which is when mast cells release immune mediators such as histamine and cytokines. Intense seasonal allergies often reflect underlying MCAS.

• General inflammation: Melanin bolsters the innate immune system, supporting the body with more or less inflammatory signaling as needed.

• Other chemical toxins: Melanin “adsorbs” chemical intruders, minimizing cellular damage.

You’re missing out on probably your body’s most powerful defense system by not stacking up melanin.

Build it with:

• Sunlight (duh): UV light directly stimulates melanogenesis while infrared stimulates water production (hydrates melanin) and mitochondrial efficiency (lowering melanin degradation). Get tan & watch sunrise/set.

• Grounding: The supply of electrons from grounding indirectly supports melanin levels by lowering inflammation and oxidative stress and supporting redox so melanin doesn’t have to step in.

• Cold exposure: Cold increases UV biophoton production, stimulating melanin production internally. Cold dopes all semiconductors in the body, including melanin (eskimos are tan for a reason).

• Melanogenesis nutrition: Melanin production requires animal protein, vitamin C, iron, copper, zinc & B Vitamins (indirectly for BH4 production).

• Support dopamine: Stop doomscrolling, minimize screens, lower addictive/compulsive behaviors like porn, binge eating, etc. High dopamine means less melanin breakdown needed to support dopamine synthesis.

• Lower blue light and nnEMF: Artificial blue light in excess destroys the UV-detecting opsins on the skin, which are required to trigger melanogenesis. nnEMF disrupts mitochondrial respiration, causing melanin to degrade as it regulates energetics.

Final thoughts: getting tan = living longer and better.

It’s an elite short-term strategy for the average joe to improve metabolic signaling — think fat loss, muscle gain, energy production, cell turnover, etc.

Definitely ran into some mistakes that will be modified in the future, but now that it’s April and I’ve maintained weight around 185 with a relatively lean physique, I can tell my metabolism didn’t get wrecked but most likely actually improved from the meal restriction.

Check out my post from January if you want to understand the mechanisms in more detail.

I love the idea of skipping dinner for three reasons:

1. Pre-commitment: For the average person, afternoon and evening time is a nutrition DANGER ZONE — mindless snacking, binging at dinner due to poor caloric intake earlier in the day, eating too late which interferes with digestion and sleep, late-night desserts and/or nightcaps, etc. Saying no to that entire window makes things easier.

2. Practicality: A few friends/family have taken interest in the protocol because they’re so busy in the evenings. Rather than scarfing down a 9pm dinner then trying to get to sleep, it’s much more realistic to skip it altogether in favor of a bigger breakfast and lunch.

3. Mortification: The culture HATES discomfort, but suffering is redemptive. Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him. Paul tells us to deny the flesh and live by the Spirit. Not just to glorify God but to experience fullness of life. Skipping dinner is hard, and it’s a small way to step into suffering, offer it up for grace, and prepare yourself to endure much greater adversity that comes later.

Skipping dinner is especially impactful to run in the winter due to:

• Shortened light cycles & food scarcity: In nature, there’s less sunlight and food availability in the winter. Metabolism naturally moves into repair and maintenance with less energy to harness from the environment. Skipping dinner here provides a coherent winter-time signal.

• Most likely coming off of excessive processed food intake, drinking, etc. from during the holidays

I tracked weight and AM glucose and ketone levels over the 30 days. Later on I also manipulated training & macros to assess the metabolic impacts.

Here are my results, followed by the protocol & considerations to do it right:

Weight

• 197.2 lbs —> 184.6 lbs (-12.6)

• Red arrows indicate the largest drops in weight (other than day one). I intentionally kept lunch low-carb and high-fat on these days with the hypothesis that it would lead to more weight loss. It did, but it’s probably mostly water weight due to glycogen depletion.

Metabolic Markers (Glucose & Ketones, Fasted AM, 5-Day MA)

• Ketones reached up to 1.1 mmol/L over the 30 days, indicating a shift into moderate ketosis. Red arrows indicate the gains after high-fat lunch days.

• Glucose reached as high as 87 ng/dL on day 2 (healthy range is generally below 90) and as low as 63 (slightly hypo-glycemic). Levels started to normalize at 70-80 around the midway point.

• The combination of elevated ketones and balance glucose indicates metabolic flexibility is achieved (i.e. my body is using both carbs and fats as fuel sources). It was promising to see I didn’t have to go full-blown keto to start burning ketones.

Physique

• While weight loss was successful, physique took on a scrawnier look, indicating some catabolism which was expected (side-by-side below).

• The third image is around two weeks post-experiment. Much more filled in lean physique after reintroducing light dinner, Zone 2 cardio, and strength training. I was happy with how recoverable muscle tone turned out to be.

The Protocol

1. Daily Macros

   1. Protein: 0.7g per lb of GOAL bodyweight. This ended up being ~130g for me. I didn’t always hit this, especially towards the end, which likely contributed to things tipping slightly catabolic.

   2. Carbs: Start with 100-150g spread evenly across breakfast and lunch. Include a mix of starches (potatoes, white rice, oats, sourdough) and berries/honey. Starches at lunch will be more satiating due to higher content of fiber and lower glycemic (blood sugar) load.

   3. Fats: Start with 60-90g spread evenly. Coconut/MCT oil, avocado, egg yolks, fattier meats, raw nuts/seeds, fatty fish, olive oil, beef tallow...

   4. Use this calculator as a simple starting point for total daily caloric intake. Start with the maintenance or mild weight loss number.

   5. Eventually, make your breakfast high-carb and lunch high-fat for enhanced metabolic flexibility (discussed more below).

   6. Sample breakdowns for me:

      • Break (795 cal): 65g protein, 100g carbs, 15g fat

      • Lunch (965 cal): 65g protein, 30g carbs, 65g fat

      • 1,760 cal total - this is around a 500-calorie deficit at my normal activity level, hence why I’m recommending 30-60 day max on this

2. Weekly Adjustments

   1. 3-5 days prior: Track your typical breakfast & lunch in the Cronometer app, determine adjustments to calorie/macro intake and nutrients so you don’t run into major deficiencies.

   2. Week 1: Reduced physical activity & training volume, just focusing on eating window and light movement such as mobility and walking.

   3. Week 2: Increased activity — 8-10k steps post-meal, 3-4 low volume strength sessions. Never training fasted, usually 1 hour before or 2-3 hours after lunch.

   4. Week 3 & 4: Altering macros & supplementing accordingly (optional).

      1. Consume most of your daily carbs with breakfast while keeping fat low. This was around 100g carbs and 10g fat for me.

      2. Conversely, consume most of your daily fat with lunch (ex: 20g carbs & 50g fat).

      3. Supplements to support carb & fat metabolism

         1. Breakfast: black ginger, taurine, Thiamax

         2. Lunch: Acetyl L-carnitine and TUDCA

3. Other

   1. No snacking, or as minimal as possible. Hard cutoff after finishing lunch.

   2. Eat breakfast within 60-90 minutes of waking to align the circadian clock.

   3. Finishing lunch between 1:00 and 2:00 pm seemed to work best for me.

   4. Circadian health is a priority — sunlight first thing AM, as much as possible throughout the day, and block artificial light at night.

Considerations

The point of skipping dinner is to reap the benefits of fasting while signaling safety to your metabolism (see my intro post).

If you’re putting your body under excessive stress of any kind with a protocol like this, it’s defeating the chief aim of the protocol.

The major issue that I ran into is falling into deficiencies i.e. not eating enough calories or not getting enough micronutrients. This became more problematic later on as adherence & preparation started to dwindle.

The end result is excess catabolism (muscle loss), but you can get around this by ensuring you’re hitting daily protein, increasing macro targets if you’re training more, adding a quality mineral source to water (Trace, Quinton, BEAM, Shilajit…) and ensuring a diverse array of fruits and vegetables with each meal.

Other forms of metabolic stress include cheat meals, avoiding nature, moving too much or too little, sunlight deficiency (use a light device if you need to), relationships, blue light at night, career, and getting overly neurotic about doing everything perfectly…take extra care to off-load stress during this time.

Most importantly, you need to get your circadian rhythm as dialed as possible to reap the full benefit of the protocol.

An earlier eating window works because it aligns with the circadian clock. You need to get sunlight on eyes and as much skin as possible first thing AM and as much as possible during the day. Use incandescents or lizard lamps indoors during the day and block blue light at night with lighting, long sleeves, and/or glasses.

What to expect

You’ll probably notice a steep drop in weight the first 1-2 days. This will also happen if you make the shift to high-fat low-carb lunches.

Your body is shedding water, which is bound to the stored glycogen in your muscle and liver. During calorie/carb restriction, the glycogen is liberated as well as the water. Consistent fat loss will continue over the 30 days.

Sleep quality will also probably suffer at the onset. I struggled to get to sleep and had 2-3 nighttime wake-ups in the first three days before my body adjusted.

Your hunger is going to be ripping on the first one or two evenings. Fill up on non-caloric fluids, especially sparkling mineral water and herbal tea.

Lastly, I was pleasantly surprised by the improvement in GI-related symptoms. White coating on tongue, bloating, and skin irritation all decreased. By eating less often, you offer more time for regeneration of the gut lining while eliminating potential trigger foods that feed overgrowths.

When reintroducing dinner, opt for a soup with a bone broth base, loaded with vegetables and some protein. Start small and titrate up to a normal-sized dinner over 3-5 days (chicken tom kha gai was my go-to here).

Advanced Modifications

• Randle Cycle: If you choose to separate macros in weeks 3 & 4 as described above, you’re taking advantage of the Randle cycle. Essentially, it states that carbs and fats compete for metabolism, and the more you can keep them separate, the more efficiently your body will produce energy and minimize fat storage and ROS. Since insulin sensitivity is highest in the AM, breakfast would be the time for higher carb intake. Higher fat at lunch allows the body to enter ketosis more easily overnight. My AM ketone levels shot up significantly when eating this way.

• UVB Light Therapy: Supplementing with UVB light adds another layer of metabolic stimulus, mainly through UVB’s effect on producing alpha-MSH, which increases metabolic rate while lowering appetite. Use a lizard lamp throughout the day or a PBM device such as this one.

• Cold Exposure: The body is used to experiencing food scarcity and cold temperatures at the same time (how winter was designed). Stacking cold increases metabolic rate and lowers ROS by increasing thermogenesis in fat tissue. Go for 2-5 minutes in cold water or a longer walk in the ambient cold with minimal layers. Never do it in a fasted state, and be careful not to go overboard as to not add deleterious stress to the system.

• Increase Water Intake: Increasing daily water consumption seems to help with weight loss. It also acts as a vehicle for essential minerals when you add them into your water.

• Supplementation: The metabolic supplements listed above can assist in glucose and fat metabolism. 5g of creatine and 1-2 servings of essential amino acids can offer additional support in staving off muscle loss. Vitamin E and choline can dampen inflammation from fat loss and support bile flow. Layer in gut support as desired — black seed oil, curcumin, NAC, aloe juice, L-Glutamine, binders…(requires additional context).

Final Thoughts

This is a fun challenge to run anytime of year, but especially during the winter when your body is expecting a period of energy scarcity.

The goal is improved metabolic health, which I certainly achieved, and weight loss is a natural consequence.

Although it’s hard, treat the 30 days as a time of regeneration. Slow things down, stay disciplined and try not to fall off towards the end as motivation fades. You’ll be proud of the results.

Not only does sunlight exposure elevate every dimension of your health, but the pharmacy of byproducts produced through sun exposure have shown impressive effects on preserving muscle size and function.

The issue with gym-centric bodybuilding is it packs on metabolically compromised muscle, driven by artificial blue light and nnEMF paired with a lack of sun exposure.

The massive amounts of muscle demand a high amount of energy while suboptimal mitochondria within the muscle drives oxidative stress and aging. This is why bodybuilders don’t live long.

On the other hand, every wavelength of light from the sun works in synergy to enhance muscular health and function, benefitting athletic performance, physique, and metabolic health. Benefits below:

Red & Infrared Light

It’s long been known that red light therapy on muscle tissue enhances athletic performance. The central mechanism at play is energy production in the mitochondria.

The mitochondria absorb red and infrared light wavelengths, upregulating cellular energy production (ATP) in every cell it touches, including muscle cells. This enhances muscular output and recovery while slowing fatigue onset.

Because of the upregulated energy factory, muscle cells absorb significant amounts of blood glucose when exposed to red/IR light, supporting muscle preservation.

Red/IR also reaches the mitochondria in nerve cells, enhancing contractile function of muscle for faster reaction times and greater power output.

Red light doesn’t just enhance ATP production. It also produces:

• Subcellular melatonin: A potent antioxidant that scavenges free radicals and preserves bioenergetics in muscle cells.

• Metabolic water: Holds charge within cells and preserves electrical gradients across cell membranes and on surfaces throughout the body. Intracellular water content within lean mass is directly correlated with muscular function, strength, and speed of breakdown.

With a more efficient electron transport chain, there’s less electron leakage in the mitochondria, lowering oxidative stress and preserving muscular homeostasis.

Red and infrared light form the “base” of sunlight, akin to Zone 2 acting as the “aerobic base” for cardiovascular training. Sunlight is 50-80% red/IR all times of day. Soak it in.

Visible & UV Light

In the visible spectrum (ROYGBIV), blue light actually plays an important role in muscular function. While artificial blue light in isolation is harmful, blue light in the context of the sun’s full spectrum increases sympathetic drive, dopamine, and circulating blood sugar and catecholamines, all of which are crucial signals for maximal physical output during training.

Within the ultraviolet spectrum is UVA and UVB light. UVA exposure enhances dopamine through the photo-excitation of tyrosine. But perhaps UVA light’s most important role for muscle is increasing blood flow.

UVA exposure drives the release of nitric oxide from skin cells. Nitric oxide is a known performance enhancer. Enhanced blood flow means more oxygen and energy substrates carried to the muscle and nervous system. You’ll be hard-pressed to fine a gains-maxxer that’s not using some sort of NO enhancer. UVA does it for free.

UVB light is just as impressive. Vitamin D, synthesized in response to UVB on the skin, enhances muscle function by reducing oxidative stress in muscle tissue.

UVB also interacts with the POMC molecule to produce a pharmacy of performance-enhancing peptides. These include:

• Alpha-MSH: a-MSH increases glucose uptake in muscle. It’s been shown to directly decrease muscle wasting when administered to older populations. Alpha-MSH is a truly insane molecule for physique…it reduces appetite, increases energy expenditure, and preserves muscle all at the same time. I wrote a love letter to a-MSH here.

• Beta-endorphin: In addition to its mood-enhancing and pain-killing effects, b-END decreases muscular fatigue, increases muscle glucose uptake, and improves overall muscular output.

• Melanin: Produced via a-MSH (“MSH” stands for “melanocyte-stimulating hormone”). Melanin is one of the most complex molecules in the human body. In the context of muscle, melanin quenches DNA-damaging free radicals and transduces electrical signals in nerve cells. It also enhances dopamine signaling while counteracting neurotoxins.

UV light doesn’t enter the atmosphere until 60-90 minutes after sunrise. Use MyCircadian to check for your location.

DON’T FORGET DARKNESS AT NIGHT!

Sunlight is only effective in the circadian context, which means bright sunlight during the day and near-total darkness at night.

Constant light exposure into night hours speeds up muscle wasting. Artificial light at night (ALAN) modulates the POMC molecule to increase catecholamines and blood glucose around the clock, a constant metabolic stress that contributes diminished muscle mass and function.

Even a small amount of ALAN suppresses melatonin and affects POMC. If you haven’t optimized your nighttime lighting by now, check out my IG.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to stop working out. But if you live in the gym, you’re missing out on gains if you’re not balancing out training time with sun time. Make sure you’re getting sufficient exposure in the key windows:

• Sunrise and sunset are free red-light therapy. UV isn’t available during this time.

• UVA enters 60-90 minutes after sunrise and leaves 60-90 minutes before sunset.

• UVB depends on your season and location, typically strongest from 10a-2p. UVB is unavailable in northern latitudes in the winter.

The sunlight rabbit hole led me to move virtually all of my training to an outdoor setting. Of course, you’re sacrificing some gains with this approach, but it’s generally been easy for me to achieve strength and hypertrophy gains despite a minimalist approach that’s largely calisthenics-driven.

• Daytime isn’t nearly bright enough

• Nighttime isn’t nearly dark enough

Brightness is just as important as type of light (i.e. sunlight) when it comes to entraining the circadian rhythm, but modern lighting used at all waking hours destroys the light-dark contrast that the body needs for daytime energy and nighttime regeneration.

Daytime Brightness

In nature, sunlight almost always exceeds 10,000 lux of brightness. The eyes and skin perceive that brightness through light-absorbing proteins, most notably “melanopsin.”

Cortisol rises, liberating energy substrates (glucose, fatty acids) into the bloodstream. Dopamine surges, increasing motivation and movement ability. Alertness, digestion, and mitochondrial respiration (cellular energy production) increase.

Indoor lighting, though it appears bright, typically measures at anywhere from 50-500 lux. This is nowhere near the brightness levels you’d get from being outside, muting the signal your brain and body require to sufficiently kick into energy production mode.

Nighttime Darkness

Darkness at night is just as important as brightness during the day as it initiates melatonin release, promoting deep sleep and systemic repair.

Your night environment should be ideally less than 5 lux in the 1-2 hours before bed, which is nearly pitch black. At 50-500 lux, typical indoor lighting is far too bright, keeping melanopic signaling elevated.

(P.S nighttime environment should also be void of blue light, but your standard LED bulbs are artificially enriched in blue, further activating melanopsin, suppressing melatonin, and dysregulating the circadian mechanism).

Reestablish Contrast

The problem is most of us are using the same artificial lighting at all waking hours, which muddies the signals that our central and peripheral clocks need to regulate energy production.

The body is stuck in an “in-between state” all day — not stimulated enough during the day and too wired to shut down at night.

The body always seeks out contrast between day and night. In modern times, we reach for coffee during the day and cheap melatonin supplements before bed in an effort to achieve this contrast. But it’s a cheap counterfeit.

Strive for 10k+ lux throughout the day with:

• Sunlight breaks as often as possible, or working outside if you have a remote job

• A Chroma Sky Portal at your desk if you work indoors

Darken your nighttime space with:

• Candlelight

• Red incandescent lamps below eye level in corners of your room (further away for less lux)

• Bedside reading lamps

• Red-tinted glasses (the red will tone down brightness in addition to filtering out blue & green light)

• Absolutely no overhead or general LED lighting 1-2 hours before bed

• Black out small LEDs on TVs, outlets, appliances, etc. in bedroom with electrical tape

The goal is to take advantage of time-restricted eating while preserving optimal metabolic signaling (which gets DESTROYED when you skip breakfast).

I typically do some sort of loose “cut phase” after the holidays and an earlier eating window is always a priority, so this time around I’ll be monitoring metrics more intentionally.

Skipping breakfast became highly popularized with the intermittent fasting trend over the last decade, but recent analyses have shown skipping breakfast long-term is associated weight gain and obesity.

I’ve personally spoken to and worked with a handful of men who got into fasting because it helped them lose weight, but eventually their progress stalled out and left them skinny fat.

So why would skipping dinner be any better?

Circadian Alignment

Metabolism is dictated by the circadian rhythm. The body is primed to digest and metabolize food when the sun is out, aka earlier in the day. An earlier eating window aligned with the circadian clock improves glucose metabolism, fat oxidation, hormonal profile, and sleep quality.

The standard 12:00-8:00 eating window touted by OG intermittent fasters is simply too late in the day. Even Jason Fung, the so-called godfather of intermittent fasting, says you need to eat earlier.

Leptin

Eating an early breakfast preserves leptin, the central metabolic hormone that dictates energy burn vs. storage. Leptin tells the brain how much energy is available via fat stores or in circulation.

Skipping breakfast suppresses leptin, triggering a metabolic cascade that increases appetite and reduces energy expenditure (i.e. increased fat storage). Your brain thinks you’re starving, so it shifts into food-seeking and fat-storage mode.

Conversely, an earlier breakfast signals abundance and safety. An early pulse of leptin = “we have plenty of energy on hand, so eat less and make more energy.” Appetite is regulated while resting metabolic rate improves.

Side note: leptin is a circadian hormone, so sunlight during the day + darkness at night is crucial for its function. Midday sun is also critical to drive leptin’s metabolic activity through alpha-MSH and the leptin-melanocortin pathway.

Metabolic Flexibility

Skipping dinner still allows for 16-18 hours per day in a fasted state, allowing the body to dip into fat stores for energy production. This improves the function of the mitochondria by training the ability to utilize both glucose and fat to produce energy, contributing to less overall energy storage.

Experiment Setup & Expectations

The aim is to have breakfast around 7:30-8:00am and finish a late lunch around 2:00p, equating to a 17-18-hour fasting window.

50-60g of protein in each meal with moderate fat and ensuring daily carbs don’t drop below 100g (since the long fasting window should account for ketosis). With one less meal, the focuses are sufficient intake of calories and nutrients.

Maintaining an optimal circadian rhythm to preserve leptin signaling and synchronize with the early mealtime.

Shifting exercise to a low-volume strength approach as to not add any confounding metabolic variables from a training standpoint.

Metrics tracked:

A comprehensive metabolic panel on days 1 and 30.

Morning glucose & ketones every 3-5 days.

Weight & appearance every 3-5 days.

Other than the initial challenges with hunger, I expect overnight hypoglycemia as a potential issue. This can be confirmed by measuring glucose in the night when wake-up’s occur. If this becomes a consistent issue, I may introduce a small serving of fruit juice or honey before bed to keep glucose topped off without significantly interfering with the metabolic mechanisms in play.

Otherwise, I’m anticipating improvements in body composition, appearance, and energy levels, provided I’m getting sufficient nutrients and keeping circadian rhythm dialed.

I’ll post updates periodically on all socials.

It stimulates melanocytes to make melanin, which deserves its own deep dive for its importance. Melanin:

• sequesters heavy metals

• protects the body from non-native electromagnetic radiation

• supports brain function

• transduces all forms of light into usable energy for the body, supporting various biological processes

• liberates free electrons and molecular hydrogen & oxygen from water molecules, improving redox, blood flow, mitochondrial function, and inflammation.

Beyond melanin, a-MSH supports:

• Metabolic health: a-MSH acts in the hypothalamus to reduce appetite and increase energy expenditure, quite literally nature’s Ozempic mechanism but without the gallbladder failure and heart shrinkage.

• Sexual health: Administering a-MSH analogues (ex: Melanotan II) boosts libido and erection quality. Also supports sexual function through regulatory effects on dopamine (see below).

• Athletic performance & recovery: a-MSH increases glucose uptake and thermogenesis in muscle tissue. Melanin also boosts recovery and performance through its ability to split water, harness light energy, boost the mitochondria, and mitigate nnEMF.

• Gut & immune strength:

  • a-MSH modulates the Nf-kB inflammatory pathway, regulating inflammatory cytokine activity.

  • Neutralizes lipopolysaccharide, an inflammatory toxin released by gram-negative bacteria due to leaky gut.

  • Improves gut permeability and resulting inflammation.

  • Reduces autoimmune activity

  • Contains anti-microbial properties to fight fungus, bacteria, yeast, and mold (95% of mold patients have suppresses a-MSH).

• Dopamine & cognition: a-MSH binds to MC4R receptors to regulate dopamine release in the reward pathway. It also indirectly improves baseline dopamine levels by reducing inflammatory burden and via melanin, which can convert to dopamine under high-stress or hypoxic conditions. Cognitive ability, coordination, goal attainment, and focus are highly dependent on dopamine status (read The Dopamine Restoration Protocol).

• Neurological health & resilience: This study found administering a-MSH preserved GABAergic neurons and improved cognitive function in a rat model of Alzheimer’s.

So how do you get it?

Alpha MSH is produced endogenously from the POMC molecule in response to UVB light (covered in depth in my UVB light article). If you’re not getting sufficient UVB at midday or subbing UVB for regular cold exposure, you’re already deficient.

Chronic stress, low-grade inflammation, and circadian dysregulation will also degrade a-MSH, so you must cover all the health bases as always.

This is also where administering the Melanotan II peptide can come in handy, something I may experiment with in future winter cycles. If you’re a 9-to-5-er with little to no access to midday sun, this is an option I’d look into for the myriad benefits above.

Whether you’re a health junkie, elite athlete, looks-maxxer, or chronically ill, optimizing a-MSH should be a priority. Build up to 60 minutes or more of midday sun and regular cold exposure in the winter, supplementing with UVB tools, and safe administration of peptides as needed.

The more I learn about health and performance, the clearer it gets that UV light is a requirement for the body to function optimally.

Whether you’re an athlete, 9-to-5-er, doctor…this holds true in every walk of life and performance discipline.

There are three relevant types of UV light, but I’m focusing on UVB here because of its unique properties, and because its typically the most vilified.

UVB is defined as light from 280 to 315 nanometers. It’s the strongest form of light we get from the sun (UVC is stronger but doesn’t penetrate past the stratosphere).

Most doctors and dermatologists would tell you unequivocally that UVB is harmful because its strong enough to break bonds within molecules including DNA, causing ailments like skin cancer.

The research tells a different story.

Rates of chronic disease such as multiple sclerosis, breast cancer, melanoma, and diabetes DECREASE the closer you get to the equator, where UV light is the strongest year-round.

Insufficient sun exposure is estimated to account for over 800,000 deaths per year in the US and UK, with low Vitamin D due to a lack of UVB exposure cited as a primary factor.

Additionally, indoor workers show higher rates of skin cancer compared to outdoor or blended occupations, and incidence of melanoma was highest in lesser exposed areas such as the abdomen.

And don’t forget your favorite Twitch streamer Ninja, who spends virtually all day indoors, got skin cancer…on the bottom of his foot.

The reality is that safe UVB exposure protects against virtually all forms of disease and its positive health effects are far-reaching, beyond just Vitamin D production.

This blog will unpack the many benefits of UVB light and the most effective ways to get it for optimal health & performance.

The POMC Lever

The magic of UVB lies in its effects on “pro-opiomelanocortin” (POMC). Light interacts with various molecules in the body like cholesterol, DHA, water, and amino acids. One such molecule is POMC, a large peptide hormone that gets “cleaved” or broken down into various other hormones depending on the type of light it interacts with.

UVB light exposure cleaves POMC into around ten different peptides, most importantly:

Alpha melanocyte-stimulating hormone (a-MSH):

• Produces melanin: Deserves its own blog for its importance. Melanin sequesters heavy metals, protects the body from non-native electromagnetic radiation, supports brain function, transduces all forms of light into usable energy for the body, and liberates free electrons and molecular hydrogen & oxygen from water molecules.

• Metabolic health: Reduces appetite and increases energy expenditure via the leptin-melanocortin pathway, acting as a natural body composition regulator.

• Sexual health: Boosts libido and erection quality.

• Immune strength: Regulates inflammatory cytokine activity by downregulating the Nf-kB pathway, neutralizes lipopolysaccharide, reduces autoimmune activity, and contains anti-microbial properties to fight fungus, bacteria, yeast, and mold (95% of mold patients have suppresses a-MSH).

Beta endorphin (b-END): An endogenous opioid that boosts mood, energy metabolism, and pain reduction. It works with dopamine to reinforce pleasureful activities.

Additionally, UVB indirectly supports optimal sex hormone levels by mitigating suboptimal POMC cleavage from excess blue light exposure.

Blue light tilts POMC cleavage towards ACTH and CLIP, hormones that raise cortisol, blood sugar, and insulin. This process diverts resources away from sex hormone synthesis in favor of cortisol production (”pregnenolone steal syndrome”).

Chronically activated ACTH and CLIP leads to metabolic disarray long-term, contributing to fat storage, insulin resistance, and mitochondrial dysfunction. In this sense, UVB is also indirectly protective of metabolic health.

More Benefits of UVB

Gut & Immune Modulation: UVB drives the conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol into Vitamin D, healing the gut lining and optimizing white blood cell activity. UVB exposure has also been shown to positively modulate the microbiome.

Regulates cholesterol: UVB ensures cholesterol is properly funneled into Vitamin D and sex hormone synthesis

Mood & Sleep: The amino acid tryptophan strongly absorbs UVB light with an absorption peak of 280nm. Tryptophan is the precursor for serotonin and melatonin, boosting mood and supporting sleep quality (provided you’re nighttime environment is as dark as possible).

Dopamine & Thyroid: Tyrosine, another aromatic amino acid, also absorbs UVB light (less strongly than tryptophan). Tyrosine is the precursor for molecules such as dopamine, thyroid hormone, noradrenaline, and melanin. Dopamine supports motivation, coordination, delayed gratification, and executive function while thyroid hormone is essential for metabolic health, regulating fat storage and energy production.

Tools to Optimize UVB Light Exposure

Hopefully it’s clear you need more UVB, even if you’re not chronically ill or focused on longevity. Obviously the most effective way to get it is through sunlight. If you live in a tropical area (sub-20 latitude) or a place like Florida, you can get UVB year-round. Use the MyCircadian app to find your exact window of exposure based on where you live and time of year. Prioritize sunlight first and foremost, maxing out during the summer months.

If you live in a cold winter latitude like Chicago or work a desk job and can’t get outside consistently, use the tools below to supplement UVB. Be careful to avoid burning and prioritize circadian health no matter what. Ensure adequate red and infrared light exposure throughout the day and before/during/after UVB sessions. Do your sessions on your lunch break or between hours of 10a-2p.

Lizard lamp:

Pros:

• Cost-effective (~$100 for bulb and lamp)

• Full-spectrum (contains red/IR, UVA, and UVB)

• Convenient (easily turn on while working)

Cons:

• High wattage

• Looks funny in an office setting

Chroma Trinity:

Pros:

• Superior engineering (strong power output, flicker-free, durable)

• Most comprehensive device with 11 wavelengths spanning red/IR, visible, UVA, and UVB

• Handheld for full-body sessions & portability

Cons:

• Expensive

• UVB is narrowband (only one wavelength at 297nm)

EMR Krypton:

Pros:

• Well-made

• Many size options including desktop

• Contains three red/IR wavelengths, broadband UVA, and UVB

• More cost effective than Chroma

Cons:

• Narrowband UVB (311 nm)

Sperti panel:

Pros:

• Broadband UVB

• Fast 5-minute sessions

Cons:

• Not paired with red/IR (less similar to sunlight, needs to be paired with sunlight or red light panel)

• Expensive for just UVB

I personally use a lizard lamp periodically (20 min. at a time 2-4x per day) while I’m working most days and the Chroma D-Light (discontinued) for 5-10 minutes a few times per week in the winter.

Additionally, cold exposure increases endogenously produced UV biophotons, including UVB as evidenced by cryotherapy increasing Vitamin D levels.

Final Thoughts

Before your body interacts with food and chemicals, it interacts with light. UVB is a potent regulator of metabolic health, the immune system, focus, discipline, mood, and hormones. It’s an essential input in the modern world that must be strategically built in to your lifestyle. Use the tools above to get more of it.

It’s generally useful to use empirical evidence to guide health decisions, but self-experiments allow you to find what works for your physiology, WHICH IS THE WHOLE POINT.

It forces you to stop outsourcing your thinking. You stop doing things because “Huberman said it’s good for me” and start engaging critically with your behaviors, building body awareness, and weeding through the BS yourself.

You start acting less like a mindless consumer and more like a sovereign scientist.

Don’t believe circadian rhythm is the foundation of health? Excellent. TRY IT and see for yourself.

And for those who say n=1 isn’t “good science,” that couldn’t be further from the truth. Self-testing done right is controlled, thoughtful, and tracked. Chris Masterjohn just posted a great conversation on this.

That said, here’s how you can successfully run your own n=1 experiments to optimize your health and performance.

Set-Up

One change at a time: If you’re manipulating multiple variables at once, there’s no way to tell what’s helping and what’s hurting. Focus on one variable at a time and keep every other element of your lifestyle as consistent as possible.

Form a hypothesis, but stay objective: There should be some intention behind what you’re trying rather than “I’m just doing it to see what happens.” You should also be prepared and open-minded to a result you’re not expecting. Your n=1 will often be vastly different than someone else’s.

Long enough timeframe: The body often changes slowly. I’ll be running 30-day experiments but the truth is you may need a longer timeframe of 2-3 months before you start seeing anything meaningful in the data. Don’t stop too soon before the magics starts to happen.

Plan ahead: Make sure life doesn’t get in the way ahead of time. Maybe that means meal prepping, communicating with loved ones, making sure supplements are ordered, etc.

Follow through: This ties in with the long timeframe. If you’re making meaningful changes, it’ll probably feel uncomfortable at times. Stay the course and log whatever you’re feeling as a datapoint. Ex: “Really strong cravings for sweets on day 7”

Tracking

Tracking your data is the key to stopping the guesswork and getting objective conclusions from your experiments. Ideally, you’re tracking over various time horizons:

Real-time tracking with wearables: Oura and WHOOP are helpful for metrics like HRV, resting heart rate, sleep quality, and menstrual cycle. A CGM offers insight into real-time blood glucose response from specific lifestyle interventions (food types, meal/exercise timing, sunlight exposure, etc.).

Daily/Intra-daily tracking: Use a KetoMojo to test glucose and ketone levels strategically throughout the day (ex: first thing after waking, one hour after eating). Chris Masterjohn also advocates tracking lactate for additional metabolic health insights, though this is more expensive. It’s also worthwhile to log daily food intake in Cronometer to ensure you’re staying consistent and/or hitting the desired macros and nutrient intake.

Longer-term tracking: Get labs done to assess progress over a longer time horizon (1+ month). Bloodwork is most common and cost-friendly, but you may also choose a GI map, organic acids test, or hair tissue mineral analysis depending on the desired metrics and outcomes. Use Own Your Labs if you’re looking for specific blood tests or a service like Function for comprehensive year-long testing.

Qualitative tracking: I highly recommend journaling daily to log subjective effects of the interventions you’re running. This will add color to all the quantitative metrics you’re tracking and really start to build body awareness. Timestamp what day/time you’re on and whatever emotions, physical sensations (pain, drowsiness, etc.), cravings, thoughts, and anything else meaningful that arises.

My 2026 Self-Experiment Lineup

Now that you have the framework, here are some n=1’s I plan on running on myself in 2026. The timeframe for most of these will be 30 days with before/after bloodwork based on the intervention and finances. May also dust off the old Oura ring if it’s still functional.

• Skipping dinner (starting next week)

• Nutrient maxing - thiamine, magnesium, potassium, etc.

• 60+ minutes per day of prayer and silence

• Grounded to the earth 24/7

• Eating strictly raw honey

• Testosterone maxing with Tom Seager’s cold + exercise protocol

• DHT maxing with topical androsterone + DHEA + pregnenolone

What else would you like to see?

This meta-analysis from September found consumption of short-form video was associated with poorer cognition, focus, and self control along with increased stress and anxiety.

And this study from December showed acquiring a smartphone in adolescence was associated with a significantly higher risk of depression, obesity, and poor sleep quality.

Over 108,000 participants across these two studies, and frankly, these results are just the tip of the iceberg.

Blue light from smart technology depletes dopamine and destroys melanopsin (the primary regulator of the circadian clock). The EMF burden reduces mitochondrial membrane potential, causing less energy production and greater oxidative stress especially in the brain, heart, thyroid, and reproductive organs where we often hold these devices the closest.

The fine print of your iPhone even says to hold your device at least 15mm from your body for “safe” radiation exposure (see below).

The mental and spiritual implications can’t be overlooked either. Empty, artifical abundance signals become the baseline while our feeds push content that’s more vulgar, negative, and stimulating than our brains were meant to handle.

What happens when you deplete these central mechanisms long-term? On the physiological level, greater prevalence and earlier incidence of dementia, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular disease. Mentally, innovation, creativity, and free thinking go down the gutter.

Sounds like a population that’s easier to control and more reliant on the pharma & food industries pushing “solutions.”

We can’t wait for science to catch up to common sense here.

As an individual, you must be relentless about setting technology boundaries for your own sake.

If you’re a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or anyone with any level of influence on our next generation, you MUST stand strong against tech and smartphones. Keep your kids from using them at all costs. Start to view technology as the enemy until you truly have a good handle on how to use it responsibly. Speak up to teachers, friends, and family. Don’t be afraid of judgment or resentment.

As for me, I’ll be switching to a minimalist phone in the new year along with a Daylight Computer for producing content, and I’ll have a full post soon on how we “de-innovated” our home for health and productivity.

Good health starts with moving backwards.

I’m a new dad working a traditional 9-5 while creating health content on the side, so productivity is a top priority. I wanted to share the framework that I use when building a nootropic stack that has been VERY effective.

First, as always, you need to dial in the fundamentals. You can craft the perfect nootropic blend but none of it matters if you’re not sleeping optimally, managing stress, protecting your circadian rhythm, etc. As I mentioned in the ultimate productivity protocol, good health lays the foundation for focus and output.

Now, there’s a simple framework I use when crafting a nootropic “brew”:

One dopaminergic compound, one cholinergic compound, and one GABAergic compound.

This is something my friend Jack Schroder has mentioned in his community and I’ve found it works really well at optimizing neurochemistry for deeper work and easier access to flow state. You can certainly get more advanced than this, but I’ve found this framework keeps things simple while still being very effective in enhancing my mental capacity.

Why it works:

Dopamine engages motivation, pursuit, and pleasure with completing tasks. You need to be engaged with your work to enter flow, and that relies on healthy dopamine signaling.

Acetylcholine sharpens mental acuity, increasing focus, detail orientation, and precision. It’s what helps you think clearly and sharpens your actual performance in said task.

Lastly, GABA smooths out the mental stimulation with mild inhibitory effects. It helps you work like a lion, not a squirrel.

The combination of the three result in deep, sharp, yet calm focus. The perfect mental state for getting sh*t done.

The productivity protocol lays out a long list of compounds you can use and the mechanisms they target (ex: increasing synthesis vs. inhibiting breakdown vs. improving receptor density/sensitivity…). Use that list to experiment with your own blends and ratios.

In the meantime, here are the three stacks that I use to reliably supercharge my productivity:

1. Coffee (1c) + Alpha GPC (600mg) + L-Theanine (200mg)

Warning: this one will rocket you violently into flow state. Coffee is both a MAO inhibitor and an adenosine antagonist, slowing dopamine breakdown while increasing release. Alpha GPC easily crosses the blood brain barrier where it donates choline for acetylcholine synthesis. Lastly, L-Theanine is a GABAa agonist, offering slight inhibitory effects to prevent jitters and scatter brain.

2. Oolong + Sencha Green + Gingko Biloba + Gotu Kola

Oolong and sencha green tea are dopaminergic, increasing dopamine release directly while disinhibiting dopamine via adenosine antagonism. They also inhibit MAO, though more mildly than coffee, and contain trace amounts of L-Theanine for mild inhibitory effects. Gingko biloba is a ChAT modulator, enhancing acetylcholine synthesis and release. Lastly, gotu kola demonstrates both cholinergic and GABAergic effects, increasing ChAT activity, protecting cholinergic neurons, and mildly inhibiting AChE to slow ACh breakdown. It also directly enhances GABA levels as a positive allosteric modulator of GABAa.

I combine these in loose leaf form with 1 part oolong, 1 part sencha, 1 part gingko, and 0.5 part gotu kola. Steeping 2 tsp at a time yields the greatest benefits.

3. Troscriptions Blue Cannatine

The Blue Cannatine product by Troscriptions contains caffeine, nicotine (strong dopaminergic and cholinergic), methylene blue (MAO inhibitor & mitochondrial upregulator), and CBD (GABAergic). It’s a nice formulation for smooth sustained focus with buccal (cheek) delivery for better absorption. In my experience, the effects are much more mild than the first two but still noticeable. I use this much less frequently.

It’s important not to over-rely on nootropic compounds and blends so your neurochemistry doesn’t become desensitized to the effects. I use the first two stacks 1-3 times per week and Blue Cannatine maybe once a month. If you have a known issue with neurotransmitter balance (i.e ADHD, history of SSRIs, low dopamine), it’s best to avoid altogether.

Build up a solid foundation and system for focus (use the productivity protocol) first, then add these to take it to the next level.

Godspeed!

Elite productivity takes intention in the modern world. If you want to get an insane amount of work done in less time and with less challenge, it comes down to four pillars: health, environment, focus, and process.

Good Health Lays the Foundation

“…to perform your best…and truly reach and sustain your performance potential, you need to be a healthy person first.” - Peak, Dr. Marc Bubbs

A solid foundation of health is required for any performance discipline, especially focus, creativity, and productivity. You can’t put out your best work if your physiology leaves you foggy and low energy. Make sure you’re consistently dialing in the health fundamentals:

• Sleep quality: non-negotiable for daytime output and alertness

• Circadian rhythm: alertness and energy production during the day and restoration at night

• Nature: mitigates mental fatigue, stress accumulation, and mitochondrial function

• Blood sugar: spikes and crashes cause brain fog and lapses in focus

• Gut health: Pathogenic overgrowth drives neuroinflammation, brain fog, and energy lapses

• Stress management: Keeping the nervous system regulated and building resilience is essential for getting work done

• EMF mitigation: Reduce exposure where possible, especially in your work space and while you sleep

• Oxygen delivery: Posture, mobility, breathwork, and sunlight/grounding are essential for delivery and utilization of oxygen in the mitochondria

Work Environment Optimization

Your workspace either enables focus or destroys it. The standard office cubicle is a classic example of how not to design your workspace for productivity. No access to the outdoors or windows. Flickering blue-dominant lighting overhead. Ambient noise and impromptu “pop-ins”…

The most ideal work setup would be outdoors in a relatively secluded area. The direct & indirect sunlight, brightness, fresh air, and grounding set the physiology for optimal productivity without burning out the system.

Now, obviously that’s not practical for most, but use that as a framework to strive for with your indoor workspace:

• Optimize lighting using a Chroma Sky Portal for brightness and NIRA or incandescent light bulbs for infrared light, reducing sympathetic load from flicker, and supporting retinal health

• A reptile bulb can be used periodically to supplement UV light while you’re working

• Use Iris software on your screens to minimize the blue light spike and open windows whenever possible to balance out the spectrum and get fresh air

• A grounding mat, ideally plugged directly into the earth and fed through a window, reduces neuroinflammation and increases energy output in the brain while working

• Prioritize getting outside and moving your body on your breaks

Additionally:

• Minimize distractions: situate your desk to face a wall, keep your phone out of the room, silence notifications on your computer, and use noise-cancelling corded headphones and daytime blue light blockers if necessary

• Declutter: a clean workspace reduces cognitive load and distractibility

Workflow Planning & Process

Productivity is as much about efficient work as it is about hard work. You need a consistent, clearly defined process for how you’re going to get sh*t done amidst a busy lifestyle and competing interests.

• Set long-term goals: what do you want to achieve three years from today?

• Break down the time horizon: You have your three-year target. Where do you need to be in one year, six months, three months, one month, one week from now to stay on track?

• Turn goals into daily actions: Winners and losers both set goals, but those who succeed are action-oriented, not outcome-oriented. If you want to supercharge your productivity, you need clearly defined daily actions to check off (pro tip: physically writing them down and checking them off engages the reward tract in the brain, increasing dopamine).

• Time-blocking: It’s not enough to have a to-do list. You need to map daily actions to a specific time of day that you’ll accomplish them. Make sure you block off enough time for the task and treat that time as sacred. No interruptions or reschedules.

• Eliminate busy work: Focus only on what moves the needle, eradicate everything else during your work blocks.

• Minimize distractions: Get off your phone, close out unnecessary tabs, turn off non-essential notifications, reduce physical and digital clutter, communicate with your people that you’re not to be interrupted.

• Use tools wisely: AI can speed up learning, synthesizing information, and organizing ideas (use it wisely - don’t outsource your brain). Pen and paper are useful for focus, retention, and reducing mental load. A Daylight Computer gives you the analog benefits of pen & paper with all the capabilities of a laptop (I plan on getting my hands on one soon).

Rebuild Focus & Supercharge with Nootropics

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In this study, over 40% of men under 25 report some degree of erectile dysfunction, with suboptimal sexual function creeping into younger and younger age groups.

It’s not just a “mental block” causing the performance issue. At its core, sexual dysfunction is a dopamine problem.

Dopamine and Sexual Performance

Sex is supposed to be one of the most dopaminergic experiences we have. Proper sexual arousal, erection, copulation, and ejaculation timing all depend on optimal dopamine signaling in the brain’s reward pathway. Glutamate and oxytocin play a role here as well, but these neurotransmitters are also governed upstream by dopamine.

Erectile Dysfunction

Erection quality relies on proper sexual arousal to trigger penile blood flow. When dopamine becomes depleted in the reward pathway and the prefrontal cortex, arousal is harder to achieve. Alternatively, you can feel aroused but the brain doesn’t relay the proper downstream signals through the PVN, such as oxytocin and nitric oxide, that trigger erection.

Premature Ejaculation

In a low-dopamine state, the brain constantly seeks cheap reward signals, orgasm being one of them. The nucleus accumbens speeds up ejaculation timing, while insufficient D2/D4 (the inhibitory dopamine receptors) and GABA activity can’t “put the brakes” on, lowering sexual stamina.

Research shows that restoring dopamine activity by administering D4 receptor agonists, like apomorphine, improves sexual function in rats, highlighting just how central dopamine is to the whole process.

The Dopamine-Prolactin Axis

Low dopamine also perpetuates sexual dysfunction via the dopamine-prolactin feedback loop.

• Dopamine regulates prolactin in the pituitary.

• Prolactin literally means “for lactation.” Its evolutionary purpose is to suppress sex hormones in favor of lactation. In men, it increases bonding towards mates and children.

• Prolactin lowers the gonadotropins (LH and FSH) via the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. The gonadotropins are what trigger sex hormone production in the reproductive organs.

• For men, this means lower testosterone and DHT, key drivers of sexual function and masculinity.

Evidence supports this connection: men taking 5-alpha reductase inhibitors for hair loss, which lower DHT, reported a 212% increase in sexual dysfunction.

The Vicious Cycle

Sexual performance issues can destroy a man’s confidence. Shame and loneliness can push you to withdraw and seek comfort in more dopamine-depleting habits like porn, social media, or gaming. This only worsens the deficit and further engrains the dysfunction. Overcoming the shame and getting your headspace right are just as important as your physiology when it comes to sexual health.

The Takeaway

There’s no Viagra in nature. If a species’ physiology is so weak that it can’t reproduce, it goes extinct.

Sexual performance is a tell-tale sign of dopamine status, but the implications go far beyond that. Building a resilient human race, one that can think freely, live free of medication and centralized control, and act independently starts with healthy dopamine signaling.

If you’re dealing with ED or PE, use the dopamine restoration protocol to get your brain back. Don’t let shame push you further into loneliness and bad habits.

I struggled silently for years before getting my physiology back online and mustering the courage to seek relationships. You’re definitely not alone - men usually just don’t want to admit it. Prioritize grace and patience.

A “worldview” drives insecurity:

• Acquire and consume more

• Guard what’s yours

• Elevate yourself by diminishing others

“Feeling good” is the end game, and when we don’t feel good, we simply need to suck more “goodness” from the world to stave us off for awhile more.

But it doesn’t work because the void we’re trying to fill is God-sized.

It’s eternal.

God designed us to be incomplete because He seeks relationship with us. We make the mistake of looking to the world instead of Him for wholeness.

Pleasure, status, and wealth expire. These are cheap counterfeits that never satisfy. You’re trying to fill a cup with a massive gaping hole in the bottom. “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

Completeness is only achieved when we turn our eyes to the Creator.

A “God-view” brings complete security:

• Peace overcomes fear

• You live to elevate others

• You let go of material wealth because every need is already met

• Worldly suffering loses its sting

The God-sized hole is filled. You act not so that you can be complete, but because you are complete.

This isn’t hypothetical. God tells us Himself:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matt. 6:25-26)

“He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

There’s a MASSIVE shift that takes place in your health and psyche when you move to a God-view.

Insecurity drives fear, shame, resentment, and pride. These negative “contracted” emotional states affect the human biofield, semiconduction, hormonal status, and tilt the nervous system towards survival mode. Entropy (aging) accelerates.

On the flip side are peace, love, and joy. These expanded emotional states are quite literally medicinal, and they stem from wholeness in God. They reduce inflammation, alter gene transcription, and improve resilience to all forms of stress and pathogens (PMID: 37054596).

You can’t fake this level of wholeness, and you can’t get it anywhere else. It’s in your design. Come to the feet of Jesus and know your fate is secured.

Most people equate dopamine to a “feel good” molecule or something that only matters for addiction or ADHD. In reality, dopamine orchestrates motivation, discipline, learning ability, skill development, movement patterns, and emotional tone. It’s also a hormonal and metabolic regulator in nearly every system in the body.

Optimal dopamine makes you feel like a lion. You can focus for long stretches and unplug effortlessly. You’re healthier, more present, decisive, and can think for yourself.

But the modern environment destroys dopamine signaling. Constant convenience and stimulation in the form of screens, porn, processed food, social media, recreational drugs & alcohol, and caffeine/nicotine light up the reward system far beyond what the brain was designed to handle.

On top of that, chronic stress, poor diet, nutrient deficiencies, environmental toxins, non-native EMF, and sleep disruption sabotage the physiology that produces and maintains dopamine in the first place.

You’ve probably experienced at least one of the tell-tale signs:

• Anxiety, depression, and mood crashes

• Weak discipline and near-zero motivation

• Addictive behaviors

• Sexual dysfunction

• Brain fog

• Anhedonia (lack of pleasure)

• Poor memory and focus

• Social awkwardness

• A sense that your brain is constantly sputtering

• Loss of coordination and balance

The implications go beyond your health. Low dopamine essentially turns you into a consumption machine. You lose your propensity to act especially on hard things, the opposite of “taking up your cross” as God instructs. Critical thinking also erodes, you feel less purposeful, and resilience against stress and temptation disappears.

You can’t reach your peak without optimal dopamine signaling. Read through the breakdown below and you’ll understand exactly why, and how you can get it back.

Dopamine in the Nervous System

“Dopamine participates in almost every centrally controlled event, from motor control to cognition” (Franco et al. 2021).

In the brain, dopamine is the currency for motivation, movement, learning, and survival. It’s meant to reinforce behaviors that help us stay alive and reproduce. In animal studies, removing dopamine led rats to starve themselves even with abundant food in their environment. That’s how essential it is for your will to live.

Dopamine neurons originate from the “ventral tegmental area” in the brain and project into several important regions:

• Nucleus accumbens
  Handles reward-seeking behavior. When dopamine signaling is strong you feel motivated and capable of exerting effort towards meaningful goals.

• Substantia nigra
  Regulates smooth motor control and habit formation. When dopamine drops here you see slower and uncoordinated movement patterns (low dopamine in this region is the basis for Parkinson’s disease).

• Striata
  Controls decision making, social presence, motor output, habit loops, and reward processing.

• Amygdala
  Handles emotional tone and fear regulation. Low dopamine here makes you much less resilient to the point where meaningless stressors trigger anxiety.

• Hippocampus
  Essential for memory formation and recall. This is one of the first regions to suffer when dopamine declines.

• Hypothalamus
  Controls the autonomic nervous system, temperature, appetite, metabolic rate, and hormonal signaling.

• Prefrontal cortex
  Responsible for executive function, focus, discipline, long-term planning, impulse control, and delayed gratification. When dopamine is depleted, the prefrontal cortex loses control and the less evolved limbic system takes over.

Dopamine also regulates neurotransmitters, notably the balance between glutamate and GABA. When dopamine is compromised, glutamate drives sympathetic overload as GABA falls. This is the underlying biology of burnout. You feel wired and tired, can’t focus, can’t sleep deeply, and anxiety rises. Over time, your movement quality and sexual function break down.

Dopamine in the Body

Most people don’t realize over 99% of dopamine exists outside the brain. Dopamine receptors cover the gut lining, liver, kidneys, pancreas, immune system, thyroid, adrenal glands, gonads, and heart. This makes dopamine depletion a whole-body phenomenon, not just limited to mental function and behavior.

As it relates to peak physical and mental performance, dopamine influences:

• Metabolic health

  Dopamine regulates thermogenesis (fat burning & heat production), insulin and leptin sensitivity, glucose and fat metabolism, thyroid hormone, and energy expenditure.

• Gut health

  Dopamine influences gut motility, microbiome behavior, gut lining repair, and GLP-1 production.

• Daytime alertness & sleep quality

  Dopamine follows a diurnal rhythm. High baseline levels during the day influence alertness and drive while low nighttime levels are required for melatonin release. Phasic bursts throughout the night are also required for REM sleep architecture.

• Sex hormone production

  Low dopamine levels increase prolactin in the hypothalamus, which suppresses the gonadotropins (LH & FSH). This results in low testosterone/DHT for men and suboptimal estrogen/progesterone for women.

• Chronic stress

  Regulation of the vagus nerve and HPA axis relies on optimal dopamine signaling.

• Sexual function

  Sex is the most dopaminergic stimulus we were meant to experience. Dopamine sits at the center of libido, erection quality, timing of ejaculation, and orgasm.

• Athletic performance & recovery

  Dopamine firing influences muscle contractions, force output, motor learning, and muscle protein synthesis. It also reduces injury through movement quality and enhances immune function and bone turnover.

• Hydration

  Dopamine’s effects on vasopressin, aldosterone, and prolactin alter water and electrolyte gradients.

• Reaction time

  Quick discernment and decision making relies on rapid firing of dopamine neurons.

Dopamine depletion clearly isn’t just a mood or motivation issue. It creates a whole-body performance collapse.

How Modern Life Hijacks Your Dopamine System

Dopamine was originally designed to respond to meaningful stimuli that required effort and benefitted our survival. Sex, sunlight, real food, connection, and innovation were the biggest dopamine triggers and they were relatively rare. The pain-pleasure balance favored pain, which kept dopamine peaks moderate and sustainable.

Modern life completely bastardizes the system. The world now provides endless sources of artificial abundance in the form of:

• Hyper-palatable processed foods

• Porn

• Social media

• Blue-lit flickering screens and LEDs

• Constant novelty

• Recreational drugs and alcohol

• Instant access to entertainment and pain-free convenience

These stimuli create unnaturally high dopamine peaks followed by equally deep crashes. Only instead of a natural recovery period, we have instant access to another hit.

Over time this lowers baseline dopamine and reduces dopamine receptor density (“receptor involution”). You develop more pleasure-seeking and pain-avoiding tendencies, need more stimulation to feel anything, lose interest in meaningful experiences, and give up on goals faster. You become less resilient because the reward system tilts toward instant gratification.

This is the mechanism behind addiction. Not just drug addiction - I’m convinced the vast majority of us have underlying addiction to technology and recreational stimulants like caffeine (which is essentially a legalized drug). Eventually, long-term dopamine breakdown forms the basis of dementia, impotence, and other chronic health issues.

On the other side of the coin is the breakdown of dopamine biochemistry. Even if you removed all dopaminergic stimulation, you still need the raw materials and physiology to synthesize dopamine in the first place. Chronic stress, nutrient deficiencies, blue light & nnEMF exposure, disrupted circadian cues, and environmental toxins reduce mitochondrial function and block the enzymes involved in dopamine production and turnover.

Hopefully, you’re starting to grasp the far-reaching implications of low dopamine, whether you’re an average joe or an elite performer. Rebuilding it takes awareness, time, and effort.

How to Restore Dopamine: The Science and Protocol

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The goal is to break down complex health & performance topics into 15-20 minute reads and efficient protocols. I can’t possibly cover every nuance of every aspect of the body, nor do I want to. We’ll go deep enough for you to grasp the concepts but practical enough for you to start implementing right away. I’ll also include self-experiments that I’ll be running periodically with before & after’s of subjective effects and relevant biomarkers (metabolic panel, hormones, etc.).

The body is more intricate than we’ll ever fully comprehend. All of these protocols will play off each other because there are no closed systems in the body.

In some ways, this makes things easier and more efficient - if you’re taking a holistic, nature-first approach to healing in one area, you will inevitably experience improvements in the entire system.

It can also make things confusing - for example, gut health requires optimal mitochondrial function, which requires nutrients that require optimal gut health for absorption.

Having fun yet? :)

Each protocol assumes you’re addressing all the fundamentals, even if not explicitly stated. That means:

• Light environment & circadian rhythm

• A nutrient-dense, real foods diet (with ~10% enjoyment if you’re healthy)

• Mitigating non-native EMF in your environment, especially your living spaces

• Addressing chronic stress and sympathetic dominance

• High-quality movement through strength training, walking, intentional cardio, mobility, and myofascial release

• Sleep quality

• Posture and breathing mechanics

• Daily grounding and nature exposure

If you need to dial in any of these areas, I suggest you check out my Instagram.

These protocols are for the people who want to be EFFECTIVE. I don’t care about health for its own sake. I want you to go out into the world fueled with purpose to raise families, start businesses, and advance the Kingdom.

If that sounds like you, let’s get after it.