As the second spotlight for the European Biological Rhythms Society (EBRS) congress (taking place in Lübeck in Northern Germany from the 24th to 28th of August 2025), Prof. Henriette Uhlenhaut (Professor of 'Metabolic Programming' at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Director of the Institute for Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Helmholtz Center in Munich) talks about glucocorticoids (such as cortisol), commonly known as the “stress hormones”. We discuss how glucocorticoids regulate ...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 2025Ep. 4
In collaboration with the organizers of the 18th Congress of the European Biological Rhythms Society (EBRS) (taking place in Lübeck in Northern Germany from the 24th to 28th of August 2025), three congress speakers are interviewed to talk about their research. As the first spotlight, Prof. Michael Hastings (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge) talks about his research journey from circatidal rhythms in marine organisms to circadian and circaannual rhythms in mammals. Our main focus is...
Mar 25, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 2025Ep. 3
In this second part, Dr. Christian Benedict (Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Research and Pharmacology at Uppsala University, Sweden) explains how our sleep changes with aging and upon different challenges of adult life. We discuss the so-called gold-standard method for measuring sleep (Polysomnography, PSG) and how modern wearable technologies perform compared to PSG. In this context, Christian evaluates the potential value of measuring heart rate variability (HRV) to assess sleep qua...
Mar 16, 2025•56 min•Season 2025Ep. 2
Dr. Christian Benedict (Senior Lecturer & Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Research and Pharmacology at Uppsala University, Sweden) talks about how to study sleep and its relevance for our overall health. In this first part, Christian introduces us to different definitions of sleep. Together, we try to decipher the concept of sleep quality or in other words how to judge if somebody had a good night’s sleep or not. Christian also summarizes the research aro...
Mar 09, 2025•44 min•Season 2025Ep. 1
In the second part with Prof. Christian Cajochen (Head of the Centre for Chronobiology at the University of Basel in Switzerland), contributing to the Daylight Awareness Week (28th of October - 2nd of November 2024), we continue our discussion around the impact of daylight on our health, with a special focus on sleep. Christian summarizes the negative effects of bright electric light exposure on sleep and other health outcomes. On the other hand, he highlights the importance of daylight and alte...
Oct 28, 2024•48 min
As part of the Daylight Awareness Week (28th of October - 2nd of November 2024), Prof. Christian Cajochen (Head of the Centre for Chronobiology at the University of Basel in Switzerland) talks about the impact of daylight on our health, with a special focus on sleep. In the first part, we talk about the importance of light for the circadian timing system within our bodies, with melatonin playing an important role. Christian explains why light can have very different effects on our health dependi...
Oct 28, 2024•58 min
After discussing in the first part how caloric restriction can extend lifespan, Dr. Victoria Acosta-Rodriguez (Leader of the Circadian Biology of Aging Unit at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), USA) talks in the second part about her recent study showing that eating these reduced calories always at a certain time of day extends the lifespan of mice even further. Beyond longevity, her study reveals that enhanced health benefits are achieved when feeding versus fasting times are aligned with ...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Dr. Victoria Acosta-Rodriguez (Leader of the Circadian Biology of Aging Unit at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), USA) talks about her research on longevity and caloric restriction. In this first part, Victoria introduces us to longevity research: what kind of interventions and drugs are known to promote longevity and why precise terminology separating life- and healthspan is important. We discuss how the lifespan of mice relates to the lifespan of humans and to what degree we can therefore...
Aug 20, 2024•46 min
From the 11th to the 13th of March 2024, the 247Muscle podcast has been invited to cover the ERATO UK - Japan Joint Symposium on Circadian rhythms & Sleep, which took place at the University of Oxford. The symposium aimed to promote research exchange and collaboration in the fields of sleep and circadian clocks between the UK and Japan. In this episode, your host Frieder summarizes scientific insights from the symposium and shares short interviews conducted with speakers during the symposium...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In this second part, Dr. John O'Neill (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge) provides deep insights from his recent study on how the timing of food intake mechanistically modifies circadian clocks in cells and animals. He explains the research journey of how his group identified systemic time cues associated with food intake. John highlights the indispensable role of the vital protein kinase called mTOR for the cell to process the timing of food intake. Lastly, we discuss how the mecha...
Mar 25, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Dr. John O'Neill (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge) discusses his research focusing on the fundamentals of cellular timekeeping. In this first part, John explains the advantages of cells as a model to study circadian rhythms. He provides evidence of why we might consider questioning the current paradigm of how cells keep time, since his group for example demonstrated that even cells without nuclei show circadian rhythms. We further highlight a fascinating study in fibroblasts showi...
Mar 11, 2024•50 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In the second part with Prof. Russell Foster (Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, and Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford), contributing to the Daylight Awareness Week (13-17th of November 2023), we continue our discussion around the differential impact of daylight and electric light on health. We provide a historical perspective about human inventions that aimed to end the dependency on daylight - from fire to electric lighting. P...
Nov 13, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 9
As part of the Daylight Awareness Week (13-17th of November 2023), Prof. Russell Foster (Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, and Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford) talks about the differential impact of daylight and electric light on health. In the first part, we cover the basics of how daylight has shaped life on Earth and how it changes over the course of a 24-hour day. Prof. Foster further explains how light sets our inner tim...
Nov 13, 2023•55 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In the second part with Dr. Jorn Trommelen (Assistant Professor, Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands), we talk about Jorn's recent study on pre-sleep protein ingestion after acute endurance exercise to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. Jorn explains how these findings from acute studies relate to boosting long-term gains in strength, hypertrophy and endurance performance in response to regular pre-sleep protein ingestion. Based on his studies, Jorn shares his vi...
Jul 10, 2023•51 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Dr. Jorn Trommelen (Assistant Professor, Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands) talks about his research on pre-sleep protein ingestion after exercise to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. In the first part, we discuss the different forms of proteins and how endurance vs. resistance training differ in their post-exercise protein demand. Jorn further explains why the sleeping period is actually not so different from the awake period with respect to protein needs. We...
Jun 27, 2023•48 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In the second part with Prof. Frank Scheer (Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School, USA), we discuss what a night-shift worker could consider doing acutely (preceding, during, and following a shift) and chronically (when working years of shift schedules) to minimize health risks. In this context, we consider concepts like "sleep banking", when to exercise, caffeine ingestion, what to eat, light exposure strategies & more. We highligh...
May 21, 2023•49 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Prof. Frank Scheer (Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School, USA) introduces us to the topic of shift work and its adverse effects on many health aspects. We define the different forms of shift work with a particular focus on night shifts by painting a picture of what the everyday life of a typical nurse in the hospital looks like, and how working night shift possibly affects her health acutely and in the long term. Thereby, we cover the ...
May 02, 2023•59 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Dr. Cas Fuchs (Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands) talks about two of his studies in which he separately investigated the effect of cold- versus hot-water immersion after exercise on recovery. In this context, Cas explains the acute physiological response to cooling and heating. We question what athletes claim or hope to achieve by applying cooling and heating strategies in practice and whether there is scientific evidence behind these claims. The primary focus o...
Feb 15, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Prof. Alexandra Johnstone (The Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Scotland) talks about her recent study on the timing of calorie loading and its differential effects on weight loss and appetite control. Alex thereby investigated mechanisms behind the diet concept of "eating breakfast like a king". We further discuss the real-world implications of her findings and practical considerations for when to eat most of your calories for different populations. Main paper that we discuss: Timing o...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In the second part with Dr. Courtney Peterson (Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA), we discuss the most recent study published from her laboratory about "Effectiveness of Early Time-Restricted Eating for Weight Loss, Fat Loss, and Cardiometabolic Health in Adults With Obesity - A Randomized Clinical Trial". Subsequently, Courtney points out who should consider practicing time-restricted eating, and whether the early or late form is preferable. In contrast, we als...
Jan 09, 2023•45 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Dr. Courtney Peterson (Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA) talks about the timing of food intake and how it matters for metabolic and cardiovascular health. Courtney explains the terminology around intermittent fasting & time-restricted eating, complemented by a historical perspective on the scientific literature about how researchers became more and more interested in the timing of food intake. She thereby covers many diet approaches from caloric restriction...
Dec 16, 2022•37 min
In the second part with Dr. Samer Hattar (Chief of the Section on Light and Circadian Rhythms at the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA), we discuss: - the concept of extraocular phototransduction, meaning how the human body can sense and adjust to light beyond the eyes - how the eyes change upon aging and how this may affect circadian rhythms - how light at night possibly via impaired sleep can lead to higher appetite & cravings for unhealthy food - why "Why should I cha...
Nov 14, 2022•49 min
Dr. Samer Hattar (Chief of the Section on Light and Circadian Rhythms at the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA) talks about tools to exploit natural daylight and avoid artificial light after sunset to optimize health. In this first part, Samer shares practical recommendations on how to integrate daylight better into our everyday life. We discuss physiological mechanisms at play how light influences human physiology. We extensively cover the topic of blue-blocking glasses, wh...
Nov 08, 2022•52 min
Your host Frieder introduces the topic of light and its influence on human physiology. Properties of light, such as the visible wavelength spectrum of light as well as ultra-violett (UV) and infrared light, are described. Differences between natural daylight and electric artificial light are pointed out. Time-of-day dependency of the influence of light on physiology is highlighted with a special focus on the secretion of the "darkness hormone" melatonin. Practical recommendations on how 24h ligh...
Aug 24, 2022•1 hr 22 min
M.Sc. Saar Ezagouri (Gad Asher's Lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel) talks about his study on daily variance in exercise capacity, in which he showed that mice as well as humans have a higher capacity to perform moderate intensity endurance exercise in their respective late activity phase of the day, corresponding to evening hours in humans. We discuss the role of the molecular clock, liver glycogen, and other mechanisms underlying this daily variation. We also address potential...
Jul 17, 2022•1 hr 23 min
Dr. Nicholas Saner (Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia) talks about his study on how exercise can reduce the negative metabolic impact of sleep restriction. We discuss the overall role of mitochondria in skeletal muscle for metabolic health and zoom into his findings on mitochondrial respiration and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis after sleep restriction in combination with exercise. We elaborate on potential practical implications for shift workers and the general populatio...
Apr 11, 2022•1 hr 29 min
Dr. Jonathan Cedernaes (Northwestern University and Uppsala University) talks about the acute effects of sleep loss on skeletal muscle, adipose tissue and glucose metabolism. Sleep loss is associated with weight gain and loss of muscle mass in humans and insufficient sleep is considered a risk factor to develop obesity and metabolic diseases. We discuss Dr. Cedernaes' recent findings on the molecular changes in muscle and adipose tissue possibly underlying the negative metabolic impact of sleep ...
Feb 18, 2022•1 hr 23 min
Prof. Karyn Esser from the University of Florida introduces the circadian clock present in skeletal muscle. We discuss how muscle clocks... work when comparing mice that are active at night to humans that are active during the day; influence metabolism and exercise performance; can be altered by environmental factors such as light, temperature, food intake and muscle contractions at different times of the day; are possibly involved in the development of type 2 diabetes and are affected by alcoho...
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 44 min
In this episode, Frieder introduces the general idea of the 247MUSCLE podcast and himself. Papers that I refer to: Muscle cramps induce muscle hypertrophy: "Electrically induced muscle cramps induce hypertrophy of calf muscles in healthy adults" http://www.ismni.org/jmni/pdf/60/14BEHRINGER.pdf Electric muscle stimulation to treat muscle cramps: "Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Reduces Leg Cramps in Patients With Lumbar Degenerative Disorders: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial" https://w...
Dec 19, 2021•33 min
