Patrick Owen, Ph.D. - Ancestral Health & Functional Nutrition

03/10/2026

Losing just one hour of sleep can increase heart attacks.

Every year after the switch to Daylight Saving Time, hospitals report measurable increases in:

• heart attacks
• strokes
• workplace accidents
• car crashes

Why?

Because the human body runs on a circadian rhythm that evolved over hundreds of thousands of years, synchronized with sunrise and sunset.

When we suddenly shift the clock forward, our biology doesn’t instantly follow.

Instead, the body experiences something similar to mild jet lag.

• Sleep is disrupted.
• Stress hormones rise.
• Cognitive performance drops.

For me, this highlights a much bigger idea:

Modern life is full of small mismatches between our biology and our environment.

Sometimes it takes something as small as one lost hour of sleep to remind us how sensitive that system really is.

Swipe through for 3 simple ways to help your circadian rhythm recover.

I'm curious:

Do you think Daylight Saving Time should be abolished?

02/23/2026

There's something I noticed over the weekend.
A gold medal hockey game, a children’s birthday party, and a story about a lonely monkey in a zoo.
Very different scenes, yet they all pointed to the same biological truth: we are wired for shared emotional experience.
In this piece, I explore how the nervous system regulates through synchrony, when we feel something at the same time as someone else.
Modern life has quietly reduced those moments. We are connected digitally, yet often regulating alone.
If stress feels heavier than it should, part of the answer may not be discipline or optimisation. It may be connection.

This weekend brought three very different scenes together in a way I didn't expect. Early Sunday morning, a few freinds and fellow parents were upstairs watching the Canada–USA gold medal game.

02/15/2026

“I’m not that stressed. I sleep fine". I hear this very often in my practice.

They’re working, training when they can, and managing responsibilities. From the outside, and often from the inside, things seem under control.

But chronic stress doesn’t always feel like anxiety. It doesn’t always show up as panic or overwhelm. Often it becomes background noise, and the body adapts quietly.

Sometimes stubborn weight, fatigue, cravings, or inconsistent energy aren’t self-discipline problems.

They’re regulation and rhtythm problems.

In my latest piece, I explore what happens when stress becomes normal, why the body starts protecting, and how small, repeatable signals can help restore rhythm.

If you’ve ever felt like things are harder than they should be, this may resonate.

Full article here:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-fine-isnt-patrick-owen-nw3pe

02/01/2026

Over the years, I’ve noticed a pattern.

Most people who struggle with weight, energy, sleep, or stress aren’t lacking discipline. They’re often doing many of the “right” things. Eating better, moving more, or trying to rest when they can.

And yet, progress feels fragile or short-lived.

From an evolutionary perspective, this isn’t surprising. Our biology evolved in response to very different signals than the ones that shape modern life: food scarcity, physical effort, sunlight, social connection, and clear signals of safety.

Today, many of those signals are distorted, replaced, or missing altogether.

When a system doesn’t feel safe, it doesn’t prioritise long-term regulation. It prioritises coping. That can show up as fatigue, cravings, poor sleep, anxiety, inflammation, or stubborn weight, even when motivation is high.

This is the lens I use in my work: To restore context.

I’ve started writing again about this idea of mismatch, and how it plays out differently depending on the individual.

If this way of thinking resonates, you’re welcome to read along.

https://patrick-owen-wellness.kit.com/3be44b0809

01/25/2026

Over the years, many of the people I’ve worked with came to me feeling frustrated with their weight, their energy, or their motivation, often with a quiet sense that they should be doing better by now.

If that resonates, you’re not alone. I’ve seen how heavy that feeling can become, especially when life keeps asking more of us while leaving very little room to recover.

One of the most important things I’ve learned through this work is that these struggles are rarely about willpower or discipline. More often, they reflect a mismatch between our biology and the way modern life asks us to live, including how we work, eat, sleep, manage stress, and stay constantly switched on.

That perspective is what led me to restart my newsletter, The Mismatch. It’s a place to slow things down and make sense of what’s really going on beneath the surface, using grounded science and practical insight, without pressure or hype.

I’ve also reopened a limited number of one-to-one consultation spaces this year. These are not programmes or quick fixes, but structured conversations to understand what your body is responding to and to figure out what makes sense for you right now.

If you’d like to read along, you can find the newsletter here:
👉 https://patrick-owen-wellness.kit.com/3be44b0809

If a conversation would be helpful, you can book a free 15-minute Discovery Call directly here:
👉 https://calendar.app.google/zLUwSLN4fDAsFzKy5

Either way, I’m glad to reconnect!

12/31/2025

12/27/2025

08/12/2025

We’re excited to welcome Dr. Patrick Owen, an award-winning speaker, nutrition expert, and advocate for Indigenous health, to Life Sized Publishing!

With 20+ years of research in global wellness, Dr. Owen is redefining health. From McGill University to his media work, his expertise is shaping the future of nutrition.

Ready to learn from Dr. Owen’s wealth of knowledge? Stay tuned for more!

01/20/2025

Had a remarkable time in Halifax presenting "The Origins of Feeling Good" at the TEC Canada retreat led by chair Joe Gillivan.

This year, with a heightened focus on mental health, a key message I shared was the necessity of addressing mental and physical well-being in unison, not in isolation. Dating back to around 1550 BCE, The Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical texts, illustrates how the ancient Egyptians viewed mental and physical ailments similarly. Let's not forget the timeless advice of Hippocrates: "If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk."

It's about time we revive this holistic, old-school approach to health!

Vistage Worldwide

01/15/2025

02/22/2024

We're thrilled to share that Patrick Owen, Ph.D. - Ancestral Health & Functional Nutrition is our TEC 2023 Rookie Speaker of the Year!

Our community of over 1,900 members has made it clear: Patrick's groundbreaking insights into nutrition and metabolic health have been a catalyst for profound personal growth.

🏆 Share your congratulations in the comments below and dive deeper into his impact: https://bit.ly/3OLFkuM

📣 Share this post to honour Patrick's contributions and keep an eye out for more stories that inspire!

10/03/2023

I'm proud to be part of a team that is offering a unique funding opportunity for Indigenous individuals. We extended our deadline to submit your proposal on any topic related to health in the broadest sense (physical, mental, environmental, social, community, spiritual, etc.). Check out the details below.

Extension: November 3, 2023

Tahatikonhsontóntie’ Qc-NEIHR is excited to launch a new type of award designed to encourage the transmission of Indigenous knowledge. 😁 The Qc-NEIHR will annually fund four pairs of individuals, one who would like to learn and practise, and the other who would like to share knowledge, in the hope it will be transmitted to future generations. This Experienceship is to be granted to a recognised knowledge holder for their expertise in specific skills or knowledge, and to a learner who is seeking to learn this knowledge. Training would ideally be land-based and/or -based, face-to-face, and hands-on. To sign up, follow the link below and check out our beta version of our website ⬇⬇🔗

https://errsaqc-qcneihr.ca/en/financement-et-bourses/bourses-dexperience/experienceships-information-english/