Dr. Monalisa Acero Xavier

02/02/2026

February is Heart Health Month ❤️ Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide? Fortunately, many cases can be prevented through healthy lifestyle choices and early detection. Here are a few simple steps to protect your heart:

👟 Move more, aim for 150 minutes of activity per week

🥦 Eat a balanced, nutrient-rich diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods

🚭 Avoid to***co and alcohol

😴 Get 7–9 hours of quality sleep

🌿 Lower stress through movement, time in nature, and social connection

🩺 See a doctor to discuss your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar numbers

Many Walk with a Doc leaders will be sharing additional heart health tips at their February walks. Find a walk near you at https://walkwithadoc.org and take a STEP toward better heart health ❤️

You can also visit the American Heart Association for more tips!

31/01/2026

31/01/2026

Did you know that irregular sleep patterns can significantly affect brain function and accelerate aging?

Here’s how irregular sleeping patterns - including inconsistent bed/wake times and disrupted circadian rhythms - affect brain function, according to sleep health authorities such as Sleep Health (Sleep Health Medical Specialists in the USA) and guidance consistent with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine approach to sleep and health:

🧠 1. Impaired Cognitive Function

Sleep health experts emphasize that consistent, quality sleep is essential for clear thinking and optimal brain performance.

Healthy sleep and regular circadian rhythms help restore cognitive functions - including attention, working memory, decision-making, and impulse control. When your sleep is irregular or inadequate, these cognitive processes become significantly weakened. This is especially evident in the prefrontal cortex, which is crucial for executive function and complex thinking. ([SleepHealth.org)

🕒 2. Disrupted Circadian Rhythm = Brain Dysregulation

Your body runs on an internal 24-hour clock (circadian rhythm) that influences sleep-wake timing, hormone release, metabolism, and brainfunction:

Irregular sleep schedules desynchronize this internal clock, making it harder to fall asleep at night and wake refreshed in the morning.
Misalignment between your circadian rhythm and your environment can lead to daytime sleepiness, poor focus, memory problems, and difficulty with high-precision tasks. (Sleep Foundation)

This aligns with lifestyle medicine principles, which emphasize sleep timing and rhythm as part of overall wellness and brain health. (American College of Lifestyle Medicine)

🧠 3. Impact on Memory and Learning

While specific organization names (like the American College of Lifestyle Medicine) may not list all mechanisms in one place, research consistently supports that irregular sleep interferes with the brain’s ability to consolidate memory:

Sleep (especially REM and deep sleep stages) strengthens memory and learning. Disrupted or inconsistent sleep reduces the effectiveness of this process. (PMC)

🧬 4. Altered Emotional Regulation and Mood

Sleep and mood are closely linked:

* Irregular sleep - even without shortening total sleep time - is associated with worse mood and increased risk of depressive symptoms, similar to the effects of chronic sleep restriction. (Michigan Medicine)
* Poor sleep also impacts emotional processing, making it harder to cope with stress and maintain emotional stability. (Sleep Foundation)

🧪 5. Effects on Brain Health Over Time

Although not always explicitly cited by these organizations, broader sleep health research shows:

Reduced brain waste clearance during sleep and disruptions in sleep patterns are linked to accumulation of metabolic toxins like amyloid-β, which are associated with cognitive decline over time.

Irregular sleep and chronic sleep problems correlate with accelerated brain aging and increased risk of neurodegenerative changes, an effect reinforced by recent independent research.

🧠 In Summary

Irregular sleeping patterns compromise brain function in several ways:

📉 Weakened attention, memory, and decision-making due to disruption of sleep and circadian rhythms.

🧠 Reduced emotional resilience and increased risk for mood disturbances.

🧬 Potential long-term effects on brain health, including diminished metabolic waste clearance and increased risk of cognitive decline.

Sleep health recommendations — including those from Sleep Health specialists and lifestyle medicine frameworks — stress the importance of consistent sleep timing and good sleep hygiene as essential for preserving optimal brain function and overall health. (SleepHealth.org)

Resources: https://www.sleephealth.org/benefits-of-healthy-sleep/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Benefits Of Healthy Sleep"
[2]: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm?utm_source=chatgpt.com "What Is Circadian Rhythm?"
[3]: https://lifestylemedicine.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ACLM-Article-LM-Sleep-and-Health.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Sleep and Health— A Lifestyle Medicine Approach"
[4]: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12426325/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Sleep Patterns and Human Brain Health - PubMed Central - NIH"
[5]: https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/irregular-sleep-connected-bad-moods-and-depression-study-shows?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Irregular Sleep Connected to Bad Moods and Depression ..."
[6]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/sleep-pattern?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Sleep Pattern - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics"
[7]: https://www.tomsguide.com/wellness/sleep-problems/chronic-insomnia-could-be-aging-your-brain-by-3-5-years-research-finds?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Chronic insomnia could be aging your brain by 3.5 years, scientists find"

30/01/2026

For healthy diets, eat a variety of minimally processed and unprocessed foods to ensure you get enough essential micronutrients while reducing unhealthy fats, sugars and salt.

🥗🫛🍊🥑 Choose fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts and seeds with limited to moderate amounts of animal source foods such as fish, lean meat and dairy.

Aim for:
☑️ Adequacy (enough nutrients),
☑️ Balance (protein, fats and carbs),
☑️ Moderation (less of what harms our health),
☑️ Diversity (different food groups).

Individual needs may vary.

25/01/2026

Is the winter weather getting in the way of your walking routine? Take your walk indoors and keep those steps going no matter what! Search Walk at Home on YouTube or visit our website for virtual walking opportunities: https://walkwithadoc.org/join-a-walk/virtual-walk-with-a-doc-events

25/01/2026

25/01/2026

The Mechanisms of Magnesium in Sleep Disorders

🧠 Key Background Points

Magnesium is the second most abundant mineral in the human body and participates in 300+ biochemical reactions essential for cellular function.

It plays a role in neural conduction, muscle function, neurotransmission, and ion channel regulation—all relevant to sleep. ([PMC][1])

🛌 Magnesium and Sleep Regulation

Neurotransmitter Modulation

Acts as an NMDA receptor antagonist and GABA receptor agonist.
* Helps balance excitatory and inhibitory signals in the brain, promoting sleep initiation and quality. ([PMC][1])

Ion Channel Function

* Influences calcium (Ca²⁺) and potassium (K⁺) channels critical for neural and muscular relaxation.
* Magnesium deficiency can increase neuronal excitability, interfere with muscle relaxation, and disrupt sleep. ([PMC][1])

**Inflammation & Oxidative Stress**

* Low magnesium is linked to higher inflammation and oxidative stress, which may worsen sleep disturbances. ([PMC][1])

**Hormones & Neurochemicals**

* Affects synthesis of serotonin and melatonin—hormones that regulate sleep-wake cycles.
* Supplementation may reduce stress hormone (cortisol), aiding sleep onset and depth.

**Biological Clock & Circadian Rhythm**

* Magnesium helps regulate the cellular biological clock and circadian rhythms, contributing to normal sleep timing.

📉 Magnesium Deficiency and Sleep Disorders

* Deficiency is associated with:

*Shorter sleep duration
*Poorer sleep quality
*Increased risk of specific sleep disorders such as insomnia, restless legs syndrome, and sleep apnea.

💊 Therapeutic Insights

* Some clinical evidence suggests magnesium supplementation may:

* Improve subjective and objective sleep measures.
* Be beneficial in certain sleep disorders, though more research is needed.

📍 Clinical Implications

* Understanding magnesium’s role may:

* Reveal new treatment approaches for sleep disorders.
* Support nutritional strategies in sleep management.

Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12535714/ "

23/01/2026

What ends up on our plates, and what gets labeled “normal,” “healthy,” or “recommended,” isn’t accidental.

Power and policy shape food guidance, food access, and food culture. Over time, that’s how certain foods become mainstream, while others get dismissed as extreme, unrealistic, or “out there.”

Understanding that story matters. Once you see how these norms were built, choosing to eat plant-strong stops feeling fringe and starts feeling informed.

This perspective came up in a recent conversation Rip had with Andrea Freeman (), a James Beard Award-winning author who studies how food systems, history, and power continue to influence what ends up on our plates today.

Listen to the entire conversation on the Plant Strong Podcast.

23/01/2026

📊 Know Your Glycemic Index (GI) – Small Choices, Big Impact on Your Health

What you eat matters, not just what but how it affects your blood sugar.
This Glycemic Index guide helps you choose foods that keep blood sugar steady, support weight management, and protect your heart ❤️

🥗 Low GI foods→ choose most often
⚖️ Medium GI foods → enjoy in moderation
⚠️ High GI foods → choose least often

Remember: balance, portion control, fiber, and overall lifestyle still matter.
Your plate is one of your most powerful medicines. 🌱

— Doc’s reminder: Eat smart, live well.