In preparation for my 50-year-old medical test (a year late) I had the opportunity to fast for 40 hours in preparation.  Let me say up front, that I understand what the term “cleanse” means.

FASTING

Anyway, back to my numbers.  Of course, I did my normal gym routine.  I had planned to take it a little easier since I knew I wouldn’t be eating afterward and I usually get hungry pumping my blood and muscles, but as normal, I did a full normal workout.  The reason I mention this is to show the day was no different than any other workout day, except I didn’t get to eat between noon and 8pm.

I took a look at my resting Heart Rate and HRV around 5pm and the numbers were very good.  My heart rate was 41-42 and my HRV was 120+.  Those are close to my morning wake-up numbers after a full night of good sleep.  But these numbers were in the early evening, when they are normally 46-48 and 90s.

These good numbers really made me think about the effects of eating/digestion/blood glucose, etc.

Throughout the evening the numbers stayed really good.

I slept fine, but only until 6am, when I checked my morning numbers and they were a little lower than most mornings.  It was amazing to see my HR started the night at 44 (instead of 48-50) and stayed between 40-45 most of the night with few spikes (REM).

After drafting the above metrics, I went to review my HR during my 30 minutes scope procedure and saw my HR jump from the hour before (48 nervous), to 58 during the anesthetized procedure, then to 44 after in recovery and riding home.

HR Normal evening	HR Normal sleep		Fasted evening	Fasted sleep		Before anesthesia	During anesthesia	After anesthesia
46-48	43		41-42	40		48	58	44

So I’m left with some interesting questions: what does food do to your HR, your body in general in the very short term?

I’ve heard that other Oura ring users can see a change in their sleep numbers if they eat right before bed (I always do) and if they eat poorly that day, or especially evening.  Not to mention caffeine and alcohol consumption.  It sure seems quantifiable that what goes in your mouth, affects many parts of your body, quickly as well as over time.

So this is what a geek goes during LifeInFIRE when they are old enough to get a colonoscopy…

*** Nothing in this article is to be construed as financial advice.  I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend to be.  You should always consult your own professional when seeking advice. This post is not a piece of literary mastery, just a random thought I had.