The Brain Drain

Your Presenter

Paula Fortin

APRN, Family Nurse Practitioner

Direct Primary Care Lead

Paula is known for identifying root causes that other practitioners miss. Her functional medicine approach and genuine listening have earned her consistently…

About This Workshop

This workshop explores the circadian rhythm — the body's internal 24-hour clock — and how light exposure, especially blue light from screens, affects sleep quality, mood, adrenal function, and long-term health. The presenter explains how modern habits disrupt natural rhythms and shares practical, low-cost strategies participants can use, such as getting morning sunlight, wearing blue-blocker glasses, keeping a consistent wake time, and adjusting evening light. The session closes with an extended audience Q&A covering alcohol, children's sleep, melanin production, and shift work.

What's Inside

1. 1Welcome & What We'll Cover
2. 2What Is the Circadian Rhythm?
3. 3The Daily Cortisol Curve & Deep-Repair Sleep
4. 4Screens, Artificial Light & the Disrupted Cycle
5. 5What the Research Suggests About Light & Sleep
6. 6Q&A: Light Exposure, Sleeping in a "Cave" & Bedroom Lights
7. 7Blue-Blocker Glasses
8. 8Camping Reset & Blue-Light in Your Environment
9. 9Evening Protocol & Free Tools
10. 10Sleep Cycles & Why They Matter
11. 11The Glymphatic System & Aging
12. 12Metabolism, Immunity & Growth Hormone in Sleep
13. 13Adrenal Function & Cortisol
14. 14Adrenal Disruptors: Stress, Late Eating & Alcohol
15. 15Supporting Your Adrenals: Morning Light & Solar Callus
16. 16Consistent Wake Time, Travel & Delaying Coffee
17. 17Breakfast, Magnesium & Adaptogens
18. 18Longevity: Telomeres, Autophagy & Metabolic Health
19. 19Daily Hacks Summary & Key Takeaways
20. 20Q&A: Fans, Kids' Screens & Sleep Timing
21. 21Q&A: Why Alcohol Disrupts Sleep
22. 22Q&A: Getting Back to a Routine
23. 23Q&A: Melanin, Sunburn & Adapting to Light
24. 24Q&A: Shift Work in Alaska & Closing

What You'll Take Away

• The presenter describes the circadian rhythm as a 24-hour internal clock, set primarily by light, that she says influences alertness, hunger, hormones, healing, and sleep.
• According to the speaker, morning sunlight within 30 minutes of waking and a consistent wake time (even on weekends) are two of the easiest, highest-impact habits for regulating sleep.
• The presenter says screens and artificial light at night can signal "daytime" to the brain, suppressing melatonin and disrupting deep, restorative sleep.
• She recommends orange-tinted blue-blocker glasses from sunset until bed, stating they can preserve a large share of the body's natural melatonin/sleep signal.
• The presenter describes a natural morning "cortisol awakening response" and suggests delaying coffee about 90 minutes so the body's natural rise can occur first.
• She lists poor sleep, chronic stress without recovery, late-night eating, alcohol, and nighttime blue light as adrenal disruptors, and recommends a roughly three-hour gap between eating and bed.
• The presenter frames sleep as a time of memory processing, tissue repair, immune rebuilding, growth-hormone release, and brain clearing via the glymphatic system.
• She emphasizes that circadian dysregulation is not permanent — in her view, about a week of consistent new habits can begin to reset the system — and that lifestyle matters more than supplements.

Materials Included

• Your Body Clock — Workshop Handout

Downloadable after purchase, alongside the workshop.