Robert Carter III - The Morning Mind Use Your Brain to Master Your Day and Supercharge Your Life

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dr. Robert Carter III, FACSM, FAIS was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He is a United States Army Officer, an expert in integrative human physiology and performance with academic appointments in emergency medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Public Health and Health Sciences at Los Angeles Pacific University, and Nutrition at the University of Maryland, University College. Dr. Carter completed military assignments in Germany, France, Afghanistan, Washington, D.C., and the White House as a Military Social Aide for the Obama administration. Dr. Carter has a doctorate in biomedical sciences and medical physiology and a master of public health in chronic disease epidemiology. He was selected as a Yerby Postdoctoral Research Fellow, where he received his postgraduate training in environmental epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. He serves on several scientific editorial boards, he is a scientific reviewer for fourteen scientific and medical journals, and he is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (FACSM) and American Institute of Stress (FAIS) and is the Thermal Councilor for the Exercise and Environmental Committee of the American Physiological Society. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, abstracts, and technical reports on human performance, breath-based meditation, nutrition, human water needs, trauma, and environmental medicine in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Nutrition Reviews, and the Journal of Applied Physiology.

Dr. Kirti Salwe Carter, FAIS was born in Pune, India and received her medical education in India where she practiced as an intensive care physician before she moved to Texas to complete postgraduate training in public health. In 2010, she received her master of public health in occupational health from The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. She also has her graduate studies in integrative physiology. Dr. Carter is a Fellow of the American Institute of Stress (FAIS). She has over eighteen years of experience in meditation and breathing techniques and has been facilitating wellness seminars for the last ten years. She has been instrumental in bringing stress management and resilience programs not only to the general population but also to corporate employees, educators, middle school, and university students and to special populations like refugees in violence-prone areas, inner city schools, and victims of military sexual trauma. She is passionate about researching the effectiveness of breathing and meditation techniques to improve human performance. Dr. Carter has published her research on human performance, ergonomics, and breath-based meditation in several leading journals, such as the World Journal of Clinical Cases, Journal of Visual Experiments, and the Journal of Environmental and Public Health.

The Morning Mind represents an integration of our collective experiences, research, life, volunteerism, and professional training in science and medicine. We have learned from and are inspired by many scholars, teachers, colleagues, family members, and friends. Each has played an essential role in our collective development as husband and wife and individually as professionals. We decided to work on this book to translate scientific research and culture into a collection of real-world solutions to help people understand how to use their brain to feel better and enjoy a more fulfilling life.

First and foremost, we are grateful to Dr. Michael Smith. In 2010, we met in Dr. Smiths integrative physiology laboratory. He was not only our professor, he shaped our understanding of physiology, the scientific study of standard mechanisms, and the interactions at work within a living system.

As an inaugural Gates Millennium Scholar, I (Rob) would like to thank Bill and Melinda Gates for funding my education and taking on the really tough problems. Thanks to the American Physiological Society for your support of my (Robs) education and working to solve the major problems affecting life and health.

While the ideas and presentation of thoughts are ours, the scientific evidence and concepts presented are the work of many astute scientists, clinicians, and academic scholars who have greatly influenced our foundational ideas on human performance. We extend our gratitude to the many people who saw us through this bookthose who provided support, talked things over, read, wrote, offered comments, allowed us to quote their remarks, and assisted in the editing, proofreading, and design. We are also thankful to our literary agent, Giles Anderson, who guided and advised us throughout the process.

We are grateful to the International Association for Human Values for allowing us to serve as volunteers and to assist veterans and trauma victims affected by stress and the perils of life. Special thanks go to our spiritual teacher, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, for his wisdom and guidance in our lives.

We are tremendously thankful for our family for their encouragement and unstinting support during the preparation of this book: Camilla (Dear), Mary, Robert, Ashley, Shashikala, Pradnya, Prashant, Manoj, and Jagruti. We are grateful to our daughter, Rajshri, who supported us in spite of the time it took us away from her playtime. It was a long and demanding journey for our family.

I trust that everything happens for a reason, even if we are not wise enough to see it.

OPRAH WINFREY

BEFORE YOU WAKE up in the morning, your body is undergoing complex processes of which your mind is completely unaware. The human body is an intelligent organism, made up of trillions of tiny cells each with their own intelligence and responsibilities. All cells in our bodies have their own cellular clock. These internal clocks are responsible for helping each individual cell to regulate the timing and nature of its functions. For example, they govern such processes like energy use and the repairing or replication of DNA.

Many of the bodys primary organs also have their own clock. This timekeeping function plays a significant role in how you think, feel, and perform on a day-to-day basis. Developing an understanding of the inner workings of your body clock is a powerful way to enhance self-awareness and create a routine that will boost you from dark-eyed mornings to establishing an excellent start to your day, every day.

Biological Rhythms Affecting Your Body

Circadian rhythms, also known as the body clock, refer to processes in our bodies that are governed by 24-hour rhythms. These rhythms also apply to other organisms such as plants and animals. The body of knowledge that exists currently on these rhythms is far from complete, but what we do know is fascinating. Some recent evidence suggests that our biological rhythms may be longer than the previously thought twenty-four-hour cycle. Is it possible that the human body is at a different pace than the planet?

The body clock regulates physiological processes such as waking, eating, sleeping, and the function of the immune system and the major organs. These processes are determined from within the organism but can also respond to external signals such as light, odors, and temperature.

If the natural rhythms of the body clock are disturbed, this can cause various health problems, including increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular problems, and depression. Becoming aware of these natural rhythms helps you work in harmony with your body to get the most out of it at the right times of the day. The more you know about your energy levels and the effects of the circadian rhythms, the more you can make well-informed decisions and plans for your daily activity, especially in the mornings.